2 Interview Feedback Examples (with Best Practices)

Giving detailed interview feedback might feel like an extra step in an already-packed hiring process, but it’s one that pays off. If you have told a candidate that you're not running with them, it might feel like a time-sink, but there's an actual upside to giving feedback. It builds up your employer brand and supports a more structured and fair interview process.

But let’s be real—giving feedback isn’t always easy. You want to be honest without demoralizing candidates, specific without being overly critical, and time-saving without making it feel rushed. This guide will show you how to do just that. We’ll break down what makes feedback effective and share best practices to make the process smoother for everyone. We'll also give you some templates so you don't have to make it up (or recur to sloppy AI answers).

Why Interview Feedback Matters

Ever walked out of an interview wondering how you did? Candidates feel the same way. They appreciate knowing how they did. Providing feedback helps them do better next time and makes candidates feel good even if they don't get the job.

On the hiring side, structured feedback makes decision-making easier. Instead of relying on gut feelings, hiring teams can use clear evaluation standards to compare candidates. For example, rather than just saying, “She seemed like a good fit,” a hiring manager might document, “Strong communication skills and problem-solving ability, but lacked experience with our specific project management software.” This makes it easier to discuss candidates objectively.

Structured feedback also helps combat bias. If one interviewer focuses too much on a candidate’s confidence while another prioritizes technical skills, written feedback helps to make sure everyone is evaluating based on the same criteria. For instance, a hiring team might realize that while a candidate was quiet in an interview, their written case study demonstrated exceptional critical thinking—something that could be overlooked without detailed feedback.

When feedback becomes a habit, hiring decisions get better because you're adding a new layer of information. Instead of debating vague impressions, teams can look at past feedback to refine their hiring criteria. Over time, this leads to stronger hires, a more consistent hiring process, and a better reputation as an employer.

What is a Talent Pool? →

Interview Feedback Examples for Common Scenarios

Giving feedback in different interview situations can vary depending on the candidate's performance. Each kind of feedback, like positive, constructive, or neutral, needs a special arrangement to make it clearer and more effective. Let’s take a look at some examples of common scenarios:

Positive Feedback

Positive feedback confirms the strengths and successes a candidate demonstrated during the interview. It’s key to be specific so the candidate knows exactly what they did well. But if you're not hiring the person, be very wary of giving overly positive feedback because you might send out a misleading signal. Here are some positive interview feedback examples:

• “Throughout the interview, you demonstrated excellent communication skills, and you clearly explained some complicated concepts. Your previous experience managing cross-functional teams also stood out, and it’s clear you’d bring strong leadership to the role. We’re impressed by your ability to think on your feet, like how you did during the case study.”
• “During the interview, you showed your impressive problem-solving abilities, especially when answering the technical questions. Your attention to detail and thorough approach to addressing challenges is undoubtedly what we’re looking for. Additionally, your enthusiasm for the role and the company culture was evident.” ✍🏻 Note: If you're about to hire this person, you can finish this paragraph off with: “And we think you'd be an excellent fit for the role and our company.”

This type of feedback confirms what the candidate did right and leaves them feeling confident, even if they don't get the job.

💡 Just in case, disclaim that they're not getting hired (yet) and tell them about the next steps. Look, positive interview feedback can be misleading if you don't very explicitly say “Our next steps are such and such” and “We're really considering you for this position, and now you made it to a shortlist.” Because if someone hears such praise, they'll be asking out loud “Then that means I'm hired?”, and you won't want to blow up their illusions, right? That would be detrimental to the employer's brand.

➡️ Always finish your feedback with some next steps or status updates. This is in line with what we've been saying about being wary about the overly-positive feedback.

Constructive Feedback

Giving constructive feedback shows candidates where they can improve. It should be framed in a way that favors progress rather than discouraging the candidate. Remember: it’s not negative interview feedback. Here are some constructive interview feedback examples:

• “You did a great job discussing your technical expertise. Still, we felt that your answers to situational questions could have been more specific. For future interviews, I'd suggest you incorporate more examples from your past work to demonstrate how you handled similar challenges. You really have a good profile going on here.”
• “You showed a good understanding of the job requirements and a lot of enthusiasm for it. But we noticed that you answered questions about behavior in a general way. In future interviews, try to give more detailed examples of how you've handled similar situations in the past. This will help us better understand how your skills match the demands of the job.”

This method shows where the candidate can improve and gives suggestions to further develop them.

Neutral Feedback for Undecided Outcomes

Sometimes, a hiring decision isn’t clear enough, and you need to provide neutral feedback. This can happen when the candidate meets some criteria but falls short in others. But that doesn't mean you want to drop them from your list. Maybe they will get the job. Here’s an example of how to get them primed:

You showed a good understanding of the job and an interest in the team's work. But there are some concerns about your project management experience. We will be discussing your candidacy further and will reach out once a decision has been made.”

Neutral feedback buys time for your team to finalize decisions. And it doesn't disparage the candidate's position. Because it'd be a larger-than-life fumble to tell a candidate “You're not good enough” only to call them up two weeks later because there was no-one better.

Best Practices for Effective Interview Feedback

Giving out honest, helpful feedback involves being clear and respectful and making sure that the feedback serves the needs of both the candidate and the hiring team. These are some good practices you can rely on.

Internal Teams vs. Candidates

When sharing feedback, it’s important to adjust it based on the audience.

For internal teams, feedback can be more technical and detailed. Focus on the candidate’s competencies, skills, and how they fit within the team. For example: “Candidate A demonstrated strong leadership skills but lacks experience with our CRM software. They’d need training, but their previous experience in managing cross-functional teams could make them a good addition to the leadership team.”

For candidates, on the other side, feedback should be constructive and encouraging—while still being specific about what's coming next. Send feedback that highlights strengths and areas for growth, and encourage them to apply again in the future if they didn't make the cut. For instance: “You did a great job discussing your strengths in customer relations. But we would recommend improving your technical skills for a more well-rounded skill set, which will help in similar roles.”

Dos and Don’ts of Delivering Feedback

When providing feedback, there are a few dos and don’ts to guarantee that it’s effective and respectful. Here you have a list of what to do and what not to do:

Do:

• Be specific and provide examples.
• Keep the tone positive and constructive, even when offering critique or negative feedback.
• Be objective and focus on skills and performance.
• Deliver actionable feedback and offer clear suggestions for improvement.
• Always explain what's next!

Don’t:

• Use vague language like “You did well” without elaboration.
• Make personal comments or judgments—e.g., “You’re not a good cultural fit.”
• Offer feedback that feels rushed or insincere.
• Provide feedback on aspects unrelated to the interview performance, like appearance or personality.
• Send out AI-generated responses that signal low effort. It's just better to use a template.

Timing and Format Considerations

It's also important to remember to give feedback at the right time and in the right way. Feedback should be provided as soon as possible after the interview—ideally within 24–48 hours—while the details are still fresh in everyone’s mind.

For candidates, if you’re sending feedback via email, it’s a good idea to keep it concise, focusing on the key takeaways and actionable steps. Use a positive tone, even if the feedback is largely constructive. Once again, we're saying it: Remember to include the next steps.

For internal teams, feedback can be provided in a more detailed format, such as a structured feedback form or a meeting, to discuss the candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and fit for the role. Some things are better told verbally than in writing.

In either case, be consistent. To achieve this, document interview feedback in a structured way. Using a standard format can help keep things fair and make comparisons easier. And it'll save you time.

How TalentHR's ATS Can Help

TalentHR’s ATS simplifies and accelerates the feedback process as it offers automated feedback collection tools. The platform lets interviewers to quickly submit their feedback through pre-set forms configured specifically to your company's standards. These forms keep parallels across interviews, as they prompt interviewers to evaluate specific competencies or qualities in each candidate.

What is more, TalentHR’s ATS centralizes feedback and makes it easy for the hiring team to access and review the feedback from all interviewers in one place. This thins out the likelihood of unclear messages or inconsistent evaluations. Feedback is automatically organized by candidate, role, and stage of the recruitment process, which helps teams make faster, more informed decisions.

24 Best Software Engineer Interview Questions (2025) →

Sample Templates for Interview Feedback Forms

Having a structured template for interview feedback can help standardize the process. This way, it’ll be easier for hiring teams to grade candidates and for candidates to receive clear, actionable leads. Below are some sample templates that can be used for both internal feedback among hiring teams and for providing feedback to candidates.

Quick Feedback Forms for Hiring Teams

Quick feedback forms for hiring teams should focus on the key elements of the candidate’s performance, skills, and cultural fit, without being overly detailed. These forms invite interviewers to quickly share their thoughts and help the team make more objective decisions. Here’s a basic template for quick feedback:

Templates for Candidate-Facing Feedback

When providing feedback directly to candidates, the tone should be constructive, specific, and encouraging. This feedback should highlight both strengths and areas for improvement. It should also offer clear suggestions on how the candidate can improve for future interviews. The very best interview feedback is a super customized one. The second-best one is feedback based on a template like this one. And the one you should avoid at all costs is the AI-generated feedback. It'll look like you don't even have an HR team if you go around hovering over AI-generated texts. These are good templates to get started:

Use an ATS to Make the Best Use of Interview Feedback

Bringing on an applicant tracking system or ATS like the one offered by TalentHR into your hiring process can significantly improve how feedback is gathered up, shared, and put into practice. The automated feedback collection tools simplify the process for hiring teams, so that feedback is consistent, timely, and structured. This automation helps deal with potential biases and mistaken assumptions and eventually leads to more informed decision-making.

Since it centralizes feedback in one place, TalentHR's ATS makes it easy for teams to access and check feedback quickly so they can move forward in the hiring process without hold-ups. It's the best way to build up a talent pool that's ready to jump out when the right time to hire comes.

Register now for free and give it a try! Our Free Plan includes the applicant tracking features. And setting TalentHR up takes just seconds—you'll see.