Acceptable to ask for CV feedback at interview?

Question

After every interview the interviewer always will ask "Do you have any questions for me?". I was wondering if it would be appropriate to ask for feedback on your CV/Resume or would it come as something negative?

Examples:

1. Do you think my CV is reflecting my personality?
2. Do you think my CV is representing accurately?
3. How is my CV compared with others' you received?

The main reason is that while being at a few interviews I might as well get some feedback from the proffs instead of asking friends and family.

Answer 1

It would not be appropriate for an interviewer to compare your CV to other people's CV just as it would be inappropriate for them to discuss your interview performance with other candidates.

Beyond that, it is certainly possible to ask. In the vast majority of cases, however, you're not going to get a useful response and you probably won't leave a good impression in the interviewer's mind. A company's HR department would generally tell interviewers not to provide feedback since that can only lead to grief if someone misconstrues feedback. Interviewers generally want to avoid criticizing a candidate as well. If they ultimately offer the candidate the job, they don't want the last impression from the interview to be criticism. If they don't offer the job, they don't want to get into an argument with a candidate that wants to explain why the criticism isn't correct or to ask for another chance to correct whatever impression they left. And then there are people that would try to drag an interviewer into a long, drawn-out resume consultation process.

Beyond the fact that you probably won't get great feedback, asking the question generally makes a poor impression. If you're a 16 year old applying to bag groceries, it probably makes you look eager to improve. On the other hand, if you're a professional and you have questions about how you're presenting yourself, the expectation is that you can figure out how to deal with that. Perhaps you'd want to talk with your college's career office about how to create a CV. Perhaps you'd want to get feedback from friends and colleagues that can invest the time to do a real review. Perhaps you want to consult with a professional CV writer for assistance. Asking random interviewers for feedback isn't a good look for most candidates.

Answer 2

Pay attention during the interview. You get lots of feedback, just not directly.

Figure out answers to your questions by thinking about the following...

Do you think my CV is reflecting my personality?

Does the interviewer ask questions which seem confusing? Do you often find yourself having to "insert" your personality? Or are you naturally talking about things which reflect your personality?

Do you think my CV is representing accurately?

Do you have to try to clarify or correct the interviewer's impression of you? Do you need to "so, here is information about me" that the interviewer didn't already know? Why did you have to do this?

Do you find you have to summarize your CV to help make sure the interviewer understands who you are?

How often does an interviewer ask a question that doesn't make sense based on your background/experience, because of what they read on your CV?

How is my CV compared with others' you received?

Did you get the job? How about an interview?

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I think understanding the motivations for those interviewing you will be far more effective than directly asking. Frankly, most managers won't be able to give you meaningful answers to those questions anyways - evaluating a CV is hard, beyond "bad," "ok," and "good."

Answer 3

Yes, some of your example question are appropriate, and some are not.

Do you think my CV is reflecting my personality?

In this case, you might not get a helpful response. If the interviewer is really sincere and honest, you would get an honest answer. But, in most cases, you would get somewhat a cheesy Yes, which wouldn't be really helpful in your pursuit.

If this is a non-technical/ HR interview, then go ahead and ask this.

Do you think my CV is representing accurately?

If by accurately, you mean the skill-set and your summary, then this is a nice question. In most cases, you would get an honest reply as the interviewer has been testing you on this all the time during your interview.

If this is a technical interview, then go ahead and ask this.

How is my CV compared with others' you received?

No, this question is inappropriate, as the interviewer would definitely not want to answer this, and they don't want to answer this to you, specifically.

One of my answers for a similar question might also help you here.

Answer 4

Don't do it in the interview!

1. Asking that sort of question on the spot will most likely convey lack on self-confidence.

You are supposed to be knowledgeable and self-possessed in an interview. Asking for that sort of feedback will come across as asking for validation, or reinforcement, when you're the one who is supposed to be convincing them that you're the best, not the other way around!

2. You're putting them on the spot.

They might think your CV is pretty poorly formatted, or not at all what they are looking for (you did make it into the room, but sometimes HR forwards resumes that the hiring manager may not like, etc). But they most likely won't tell you that to your face. Very few people are comfortable openly criticizing others, because it's seen as unprofessional in the workplace. Instead, they will probably offer you platitudes: "Oh yes, it's a very nice resume", or "It gets all the information across very succinctly", which may not be what they're actually thinking.

Advice

It is customary to write a thank you e-mail shortly after the interview. Send that out with a short request for feedback:

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today. I am very excited about the prospect of joining you team, bla bla bla. As I'm always looking for ways in which I might improve myself, I would like to ask for your feedback regarding my resume and my presentation in the interview. Any critique would be greatly appreciated.

This gives the person in question time to gather their thoughts and compose a message that they are comfortable sending you, instead of blurting out a platitude simply to avoid an awkward situation. At the same time, people will tend to be more honest in a written communication, than face to face. Quite simply, if you're not taking their advice well, they are not in the room having to deal with your reaction.

That's my advice, at any rate.

Good luck!

Answer 5

No. Most emphatically no.

First and foremost, the interviewer will almost certainly decline any comment or immediate review of your CV or interview performance because they could easily open themselves up to legal problems if the interviewee is unsuccessful.

Secondly, the interview is a time for you to sell yourself, and get a feel for the company you are interviewing with. It is not the time to get pointers on how to market yourself for future job applications.

Finally, by asking this in an interview, you are demonstrating a lack of confidence in your presentation and skill set. And as an interviewer, I'd start questioning how accurate your CV is.

The time to ask for feedback would be if you are unsuccessful after interviews. I will always respond to requests fir feedback.

If you are succesful, then you know you got it right - so no worries.