Interview Feedback: Do you give it or do you not?

If you're a salesperson who's been recently rejected for a sales job , here's a PSA for you 🚨

👉 Stop that the hiring manager/sales manager is going to give you some sort of feedback about how you failed in the interview. Here's why:

💡There's literally no upside for the interviewer to give you any sort of feedback and, in fact, there's lots of downside risk.

In plain terms, there is a simple, legal reason for this: it reduces the potential for getting sued.

Telling a sales candidate why they didn’t get hired can open a can of worms. 🐛

Even if the interviewer's intentions are good, something might slip that smells like bias or discrimination to somebody who is already angry about being rejected for the job.

For instance, telling them that you were “looking for someone with more energy,” could be interpreted as “You only hire younger people.”

✅ So rather than risk the backlash of a lawsuit, the interviewer should opt to say nothing at all.

Yeah, I get it, the sales candidate is frustrated and left wondering what they did wrong and they're likely feeling resentful as a result. And that sucks for the candidate. 🤬

But the interviewer hasn't revealed anything that could be perceived as discriminatory which protects the company from risk.

Bottom line: it's not a good idea for the interviewer to give rejected candidates any sort of feedback about why they were rejected. In fact, it exposes the company to risk if they do.

And if you'd like to read 100 more real learning lessons after building sales teams at 8 startups, check out my book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW2BSYHC