Reddit Experience · Jan 2025

Handling negative feedback from an interview

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Interview Experience

I recently finished my final onsite interview where I had to present my work and get acquainted with the team. During the onsite, they had minor feedback to give me and said I answered all their quest

Full Details

I recently finished my final onsite interview where I had to present my work and get acquainted with the team. During the onsite, they had minor feedback to give me and said I answered all their questions well. So I thought it was going well. Recently, the recruiter sent me a rejection email. I asked if the hiring team had any feedback. I got positive comments at first but then it ended a lot more negative than I expected. For context, they used words like “shallow” and “reluctance to feedback” and “defensive” towards the end of my review. I was shocked. I didn’t expect to get this kind of negative feedback, especially the choice of words in the feedback review. During the onsite interview, I asked for feedback on my presentation twice (once after the presentation and later during a Q&A session with the manager 1:1). I also made sure to say things to questions like “that’s a good question” or “if I had more time….” And I know I tried answering their questions as best I could, even if I was unsure of the answers. I’ve been reflecting a lot, trying to understand and move on. I was definitely nervous during the interview presentation, speaking maybe a little more frantically and nervously than how I usually talk. If I did come across as reluctant or defensive, I want to make sure I don’t come across that way again. What are people’s take on negative interview feedback? I definitely want to improve.

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