To give feedback following interview

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I had a job interview last week.

Haven't heard back from it yet but I'm assuming I will do sometime this week (they said 7 days either way)

Now, I mostly applied for this job for form filling in/interview experience. If I were offered the job I would have to seriously think about taking it, so this isn't me being peeved at perhaps not being offered the role.

It's with a body that works as an outside agency with my current place of work, so I know the role and know a lot of their staff etc.

Anyway that's a bit of background.

I ended up knowing one of the panel - I had a feeling this person would be on it as the role in question would be to assist them.

I walked into the interview and I can only describe the atmosphere as hostile.

The table was a massive oval one with no means of leaning over to shake hands either as I arrived or as I left.

When I began to answer the first question a member of the panel started to exhale loudly and continued to heavy breath/yawn noticeably throughout it.

I have never been in an interview where there hasn't been a tiny bit of warmth or Smalltalk. This was brutal.

When I spoke to two people I know who were also interviewed they described it as awkward, unfriendly, tense.

It's not a high flying role and it's one where, if successful, your ability to be friendly, approachable and pleasant would be key.

Anyway, when I receive my response would it be a no-no to give them feedback on the style of the interview?

The layout of the room?

None of them got up to walk me to the door (or the other two because we have discussed this) in fact only one panel member thanked me for coming and said it was nice to meet me.

Maybe I'm thinking it through too much but in my current role I have interview experience and I would be mortified if someone felt how I felt when leaving the room.

If I am successful (and take the job, which I'm not leaving towards) I would bring it up once I was in and settled.

But if unsuccessful I would like to respond to their feedback with my own. AIBU?

I personally don't think you're being unreasonable at all. If they took offence at constructive criticism you have nothing to lose. And, if truly ignorant of the impression they were giving, it might give them food for thought and prevent future interviewees from having such an unpleasant experience.

However, my gut feeling is that surely no one could be so unaware of that setup and approach. Despite the empathetic public face of the role your interview would have rung alarm bells about working there. Horribly unprofessional and quite contemptuous really when people have probably taken leave and incurred expense to be treated so rudely.

I once went for an interview like this through an agency. I gave my feedback to the agency and was told they chose that style to see how I dealt with it and that they wanted to offer me the job

I said no because I didn't like their approach. Definitely worth telling them

Thanks @Tyersal & @catsmother

I do think they need feedback.

Like I say, I knew a member of the panel through working with them as an outside agency in my current role and they aren't usually like that. It could have been set up that way so they would play 'bad cop' but if not and that's them in normal working mode, I may be glad to receive no job offer.

Well I've just got an email to say I was unsuccessful.

Will it look like bitter grapes to offer feedback now?

No - definitely offer feedback.

Tell them that as a, now disinterested, party you want to give them some feedback... and then focus on the lack of welcome and how poorly it reflects upon them as a company.

I will never apply for a job within this company again on the back of this experience.

I'm sure they're not badly bothered mind you

If you think you might ever work with any of these people in the future, I would not offer feedback. Compose the email if you like to get it out of your system, but I do not think I would send it. It is a very small world.

I recently had an interview (unsuccessful) and I knew it would be the minute I walked into the room. They were at least 15 minutes late without any apology, after asking me to arrive 10 minutes early (first interview of the day before 9am, so not like they were running late), the interview was not as they described in the invitation, the location was unclear, and they were unpleasant. I was disgusted, but I just asked them for feedback from them and left it there because there is the slightest possibility that I may come into contact with them again.

Why do you want to give them feedback? Do you think your feedback will have any impact at all?

What good will it do? At best they will ignore it, at worst your card will be marked, and you do never know if you will come across these people again.

Just forget about it.

Sorry, have just seen your update. The point I was trying to make in my reply was that you never know if people from that interview will work in other companies you may interview at in the future. So you might want to hold your tongue.

I know people who deliberately interview like this. To see how you handle it and mainly cause they enjoy the power trip. I doubt it was unintentional because it’s pretty hard to end any meeting without saying some version of “thanks, there’s the door”.

If you applied directly for the role I wouldn't bother. If you applied via a recruitment agency then give feedback to the recruiter. I've stopped a couple of recruiters wasting their time.

I would never give unfavourable feedback to them for several reasons:

Who knows, the management may change and you may wish to re-apply.
You could meet one of the interview panel that read your feedback if you interview elsewhere (people obv. move around) and it could give them a poor opinion of you.
Maybe part of the interview was how you'd cope with difficult clients/situations. I will sometimes deliberately put people under pressure to see how they would cope if this is relevant to the role.
It sounds like sour grapes.
You are probably doing it for your own reasons relating to self-justification.

When I was last looking for work I interviewed for a post that looked fine on paper. But from the moment I walked in, I had a mounting feeling that 'this isn't for me'. The atmosphere in the interview itself was not exactly hostile, but was definitely lacking warmth or any sense of real connection or interest in me as a person. Sounds a bit precious but I think that matters! Also, there was a sort of stale feeling to the place, I didn't like the layout of the office space and even the toilets felt wrong - just two tiny cubicles crammed in to a windowless box room. Might sound like an odd thing to object to when you're visiting somewhere for an hour - but I would potentially be spending the majority of my week there if I got the job.

So, just after the interview I sent a polite email thanking the panel for their time but saying that I didn't think I would be the right fit for their organisation. I don't know whether they would have offered me the job had I not withdrawn; it was impossible to get a read of the situation. But I wouldn't have wanted to work there even if they did want me, so it seemed like the right thing to do - take myself out of the running and not waste their time. I didn't send any feedback beyond that but presumably they would have worked out that they didn't make the best of impressions!

What would your aim be?

They’re unlikely to be open to it, based on their behaviour at the interview. And could have negative consequences for you.

Yes, reflecting on more responses there I think it wouldn't do me any good.

Thanks for more opinions.

I will ask for feedback on my performance though to help my own professional development.

Thanks all

I have told the agency when that happened to me. Panel of 7, basically trashed me, personally as well as my CV, for 45mins. I was eminently qualified for the job, skilled at interviews & usually get to the last two or offered it. It was so brutal that by the end I'm afraid I turned into my Dad and demolished (wide eyes & sweetly though so no comeback on me) the other woman who sneered at me for being from the Midlands (relocated to London 10yrs back). Agency told me they'd interviewed half of London & didn't like anyone.

Good on you @CSIblonde

This wasn't through an agency.

It was a public company and I currently work for a private company.

I wasn't expecting any kind of favourable treatment from the person I knew on the panel - but a polite hello would have been nice.

Having spoke to two others I know were interviewed we are convinced they didn't want anyone from our company (ex company of the panel member) but couldn't discriminate by not interviewing us?

I won't offer them feedback but will ask for some for me.

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.