How can you use feedback to improve your job search skills and build stronger relationships with employers?

Using feedback to your advantage is essential for improving your job search techniques and building strong employer relationships. Make an effort to get feedback after networking events or interviews in order to learn important things about your areas of strength and growth. It's about continuing to grow, not just about getting the job. Giving constructive criticism helps you polish your approach and shows potential employers how dedicated you are to personal development. By incorporating feedback into every step of your job search process, you turn every encounter into an opportunity to learn and gradually establish yourself as an applicant who values development and pursues excellence.

Asking for feedback humbles us, revealing blind spots and areas to sharpen. It sparks growth, guiding us past our comfortable plateau. Openness invites diverse perspectives, fueling innovation and enriching our solutions. Feedback, a gift wrapped in critique, fuels our journey to excellence.

If you can’t self reflect, you can’t improve. If you’re not learning you’re not current. Being humble and able to receive feedback, then process it, is a unique and desirable skill set.

Feedback is crucial to the success of any organisation or a person and it is given often without asking. Feedback and referels work hand in hand as well as employee relations, and here is why. In any organisation, you are expected to build professional relationships, & work collaboratively with others and this is the first test. Building professional relationships is one thing but building trust is completely different. It requires confidence, expertise, and being known as the go to person who delivers. Making mistakes is in our DNA and askig for help is not a shame. Asking for feedback is good but is better when it is given to you. Your focus should be to strive to invest in yourself, read learn, build and make yourself invaluable.

When you ask for feedback you find out what a person wants and how you can perform with excellence. We humans are all different. One manager may want one thing and the new person in that place wants something else. This means your job shifts without you even knowing - unless you ask. Feedback is tricky because not everyone is comfortable being candid so do your best to read between the lines. Pay attention to tone of voice and word choices. Eye contact. Recommended reading: Chris Voss “Never Split the Difference” - master listener and communicator.

How I ask for feedback - While attending interviews, in the end once don't with asking questions. I took a moment to Thank the interviewer for this and the way he/she took the interview. Followed by that I ask for feedback based on my interview.

It is always a good time to ask for feedback, yet for some reason, job applicants rarely do so. However, when they do, recruiters and hiring managers are pleasantly surprised for several reasons. Firstly, it leaves a positive impression and provides closure to the interview process. Secondly, it showcases professionalism and initiative on the part of the applicant. Thirdly, it helps with improvement and builds a relationship with the employer. Also, it highlights openness to growth and clarifies expectations. Finally, it presents a networking opportunity and may lead to future opportunities within the organization.

Clarify goal: Why feedback? Improvement, specific skill? Target right source: Expertise, experience relevant to goal. Ask specific questions: Avoid yes/no, guide deeper insights. Listen openly, no judgement: Appreciate honesty, even critique. Show gratitude, take action: Thank them, use feedback to grow.

Asking for feedback can get a little tricky at times but if you do it right you might get some really valuable insights and shows that you're not scared of improving yourself. I would suggest taking a couple of minutes at the end of the interview once you are done with it and ask politely. Start with showing appreciation for their time and expertise. It's a very simple thing but can help you in a long way. Focus on asking questions that provide concrete guidance for improvement such as "Were there any areas where I could have strengthened my responses?" While asking for feedback a lot of people start getting defensive if the feedback is negative. Be open to receiving both positive and negative feedback graciously.

In my experience, most companies don’t offer feedback without a request from the candidate. The majority of those who were unsuccessful do ask either via phone or email. I would advise candidates to always ask and take onboard what they say. Don’t be afraid to ask questions around the feedback to get a better understanding of what skills (hard / soft) you were missing.

Regardless of the feedback, the answer is grateful and professional. If I may advise you, if you receive "rough" feedback from someone who knows you, please understand that they value you and want you to reach the next level. So, take that feedback as a gift, analyze it, and work on improvements. Also, returning to the person and asking them for advice on utilizing advances is a good idea.

Positively receiving feedback is a great trait and shows you have an open mindset. It is important to take a reflective approach and seek opportunities to work on the gaps that are identified. A great way to do this can be to make contact with a coach or mentor to be a sounding board for improvement.

Be a student. What we know is finite, where as what is out there is infinite. I would encourage those receiving feedback to divorce emotion. Listen to understand and improve, not to reply. This can greatly allow you to grow as a person and professional.

Pay close attention without interrupting or getting defensive. Ask clarifying questions to make sure you understand the feedback fully. Thank the person for their honest input

In my experience it really depends on the giver of the feedback. If the intention of helping a process, or improving communication is always helpful, any ego backed motive can be the negative. Prefacing the conversation with a good dialogue and not being defensive receiving the feedback as constructive.

My friend Joe is extraordinary at this. He landed a killer job at a company that created a new role. After about six months they decided to eliminate the role and unfortunately let him go. It was harsh. Instead of being bitter, Joe asked to meet with a VP afterward and do an autopsy on where he excelled and where he could've done better. It was a candid conversation that produced an effective list. Joe is self-aware and highly emotionally intelligent. He pondered the list and then put in motion some necessary things to grow. Not only that, in future interviews he was able to talk about his strengths/weaknesses in a very clear, confident manner. Fortunately, he landed a better job and is thriving! Utilizing feedback empowered him.

Feedback is a great tool to view one's work/attitude/thought process, basically anything to get another perspective. We are usually too close to our own work and lack the objectivity to judge its quality. Otherwise individuals can feel defensive and shut down. Let's call these people mentors and mentees. Mentors always start with positive comments to set the stage for meaningful dialogue. Even stating " I am committed to your professional success." reinforces personal relationships and caring. Then, make specific recommendations for improvement. Mentors should always ask first if they can provide feedback and/or tips. Otherwise, the mentee can feel defensive and shut down. It's a dynamic and cooperative process, a win-win for all. Try it!

When giving feedback to others, it's important to be honest yet constructive, focusing on behaviors rather than personal attributes, and offering actionable suggestions.

Implementing feedback is about making concrete changes based on the information received to improve your job search outcomes.

I have been the bearer of bad news for many many years and it’s always tough delivering a negative result! I always read / listen and make sure I understand it before providing it and it’s important to empathise with the candidate. Some take it well and some don’t but remember you are simply trying to help them to improve.

I have always constructed feedback positive or negative with a quick chat to set the recipient at ease, asking a question first about their wellbeing.. Going from there it disarms their anxiety usually. Then I state clearly the subject we are going to discuss and what the feedback is, and then ask the recipient questions on what they think. Regardless of negative or positive, then how we can resolve or celebrate!

When you want to give feedback you have to be sincere and come across at the right volume. For the other side to listen to you attentively, you have to disarm the guards that are up against anything that would make them feel hurt, or mistreated, or not good enough. Add value sincerely.

While feedback offers potential for growth, calling it a "gift" risks overshadowing challenges. Constructive critique is valuable, but delivery matters. Unkind or poorly framed words can wound instead of empower. Embrace the intention, but approach with discernment.

People like to give and receive feedback in various ways. For example, some people prefer it f2f, while some prefer it online or even anonymously. Organisations that value feedback often implement meetings or tools to cater to how their employees can give and receive feedback comfortable, where they are the most open to use it constructively.

Feedback you would assume would be a regular practice. But unfortunately, there are many jobs out there where management does not give timely feedback, and that can be very detrimental to their business. I have always recommended my teams meet at least every other week for a team meeting to give feedback.

One needs feedback to gauge their where they stand as a professional. Feedback is imperative to receive if you wish to progress and grow. Without feedback it’s almost impossible to know what skills you need to refine and hone because you haven’t received the information (the feedback).

Don't forget that failure and rejection are the most important types of feedback. When you can look at failure from a neutral place and evaluate yourself from: 1) what went well, 2) what didn't go well and 3) what to do differently next time- there is a system of self-evaluation that you can use as feedback. Imagine if you did this everyday for the next year? Who would you become?