To submit a word, entrants should Tweet #FightForFeedback, followed by the word and its meaningDebut, the award-winning student and graduate careers app has launched a national competition as part of its #FightForFeedback campaign, to identify the modern ‘word’ which encapsulates the low feeling a candidate experiences when an employer fails to share feedback after a face-to-face interview.
The social media competition will result in the top-voted word being submitted to Urban Dictionary in the hope that it will become the official word, to be used by people feeling down-hearted about the radio silence that comes after 83% of face to face interviews, according to 18-23 year olds.
To submit a word, entrants should Tweet #FightForFeedback, followed by the word and its meaning.
The #FightForFeedback campaign is already being backed by global employers, including 02, Fujitsu, Network Rail, the FDM Group, Capgemini and EY – more best practice employers are expected to follow suit.
The study has also revealed the average cost of attending a face-to-face interview for the interviewee is £41, which can include travel, new clothes, dry-cleaning, but excludes annual leave from their current employer.
To add insult to injury, 51% of people say they also had to take a day’s annual leave to attend a face-to-face interview, which is a further £117 loss, based on the current average daily wage.
The amount of time the candidates spend preparing for a face-to-face interview is anywhere between 30 minutes to five or more hours – with no feedback from a previous interview – the preparation for the next interview is a difficult task.
When asked how candidates would like to receive feedback, their preference was:
- Via email (42%)
- In person (24%)
- Via social media messaging (14%)
- Via phone (10%)
- Via WhatsApp (6%)
Other mediums that candidates would least prefer to receive feedback via are post, video call, and text message.
Feedback is vital, and timing is also something to consider – according to candidates, it is reasonable to expect employers to share feedback within 48 hours (41%), followed by a working week (34%) – fewer people demanded feedback within 24 hours (21%).
Melissa Amouzandeh Network Rail’s Emerging Talent Acquisition Manager shares her words of support for Debut’s Fight for Feedback campaign:
“Feedback is vital for a candidate’s progression – without it, they may struggle to secure that next opportunity.
“It’s the responsibility of the employer to share feedback, not only to help the candidate develop, but also in the interest of the UK workforce – good quality feedback reduces the time it takes for candidates to secure a position of employment, and also reduces the time it takes to find the right person for the role. This campaign is win:win for all involved.”
As Debut has fast become the recruitment method used by most of the UK’s leading graduate employers, including EY, Microsoft, Barclays, Capgemini, Rolls-Royce, L’Oréal, and General Electric – the organisation is in a great position to support the interests of candidates.
Charlie Taylor, 28-year old CEO & Founder of Debut is investing time and resources into pushing the campaign forward in the interest of tomorrow’s candidates:
“Feedback is powerful, and anyone who takes the time to attend an interview is entitled to it.
“There has been a real shift in the role played by the candidate and the employer during an interview in the last decade, with candidates moving into the ascendency and the panel grilling being replaced by the chemistry session approach.
“It’s now time that employers saw the holistic value in giving feedback – it will have a positive impact on the quality of candidates in the future; it will cut down the time it takes to find the right person, and eventually the UK workforce will benefit as more people will be in employment.”
Who else is backing the campaign?
The FightForFeedback campaign is backed by two heavyweight HR stakeholders – the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), and the Professional Body for HR and People Development, CIPD.
Stephen Isherwood, AGR’s CEO shares his support for the campaign:
“Giving candidates interview feedback is not only really helpful to candidates who have invested time with an employer, it also helps employers build a good reputation amongst students.”
Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy at the CIPD commented on their support for the campaign:
“We agree that feedback after face to face interviews is something all employers should deliver whenever possible. It helps candidates understand what they can improve on, and ensures that employers are using robust hiring practices.
“The FightForFeedback campaign can shine a light on the value of good quality feedback to job candidates who make it to the interview stage and encourage more employers to provide this.”
Grace Mehanna, Campaign Director of BITC’s Talent and Skills team comments:
“We’re proud to support Debut’s #FightForFeedback campaign as we know that not providing feedback can have a damaging effect on confidence levels for young people. For young people applying for a job for the first time, constructive feedback is vital.
“It helps them to learn from their experiences, and improve their applications. With youth unemployment remaining disproportionately high, employers need to do more to demystify the recruitment process and providing feedback is an essential part of this.
“We know from our survey of 4,000 young job seekers, conducted with the City & Guilds Group, that this disproportionately affects young people who are NEET (not in employment, education or training) as 40% say they did not receive any form of feedback after an interview.
“Though we recognise that it can be hard for employers with a high volume of applicants to always provide individual feedback, we would urge them to make it a priority for candidates that are interviewed.”
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