Why career feedback is vital

Sometimes you work really hard on something in your job. Maybe you have an interview coming up and you’ve spent a whole day preparing to impress. Wherever you might be in your career, you will always come across some bumps in the road and the right career feedback can help you progress.

Maybe the idea you proposed wasn’t welcomed with open arms. Or something you did in your daily routine wasn’t executed as well as it should have been. Or, the interview didn’t result in a brand new job. We’ve all been there, so the best thing you can do is embrace every bit of feedback you receive. 

Should I request career feedback?

The answer is yes! Sometimes you won’t get feedback directly so you might have to chase it. By chase, we don’t mean constant emails and requests to meet. Politely ask if you could have some comments about what you could do differently or what didn’t work. This is especially important if you are interviewing for roles, as the hiring manager might be too busy to respond. If you are working with a recruiter, ask them if they are able to receive some feedback on your behalf.

If you are within a role, and something needs improvement, it’s possible your manager will tell you. However, if you feel as if you would like some feedback and don’t feel you’re getting it, we recommend a polite request for this too. 

How to accept career feedback gracefully

Don’t feel saddened or angry that something didn’t work out how you had hoped. Take these simple steps, and you’ll be ready to move on with ease:

• Take note of EVERYTHING that has been said. There might be some positives in there that you’ll easily miss by focusing on the negatives. You have to know what worked well to help improve what didn’t.
• Be grateful for the feedback. If you’re told something needs improvement, it’s to help your career as well as your workplace.
• Ask some questions with the aim of finding a solution. If there is anything you are unclear about, get immediate clarification.
• Plan your solutions and how you will improve your approach to certain things.

Now you have learnt something, you can move forward and appreciate what the feedback will do for your future endeavours. 

Learn from good feedback too!

When you get a positive report about your performance at work or in an interview, evaluate this too. So you achieved something great and you feel good about the response to it. It’s a good feeling right? Ensure you will experience it again by looking at what worked so well and how you can outdo yourself going forward. 

If you enjoyed this panda post, you'll love our #CareerCounsel blog series...