I was heartened to receive a follow-up email from Nancy Doan, a talented recent college grad from UCLA I met with earlier this summer. Nancy had just had a phone interview for a job she would have wanted and had the sense it didn’t go well. I encouraged her to ask for feedback, per an article I had written last year on the Huffington Post. I am so impressed that she did it and received her permission to post her email here:

“I never got to update you on the feedback email I wrote to the first job I got a rejection from. It took a lot of persistance, but I was finally able to get a hold of her and she gave me great feedback. She felt I was really nervous and unprepared when she asked certain questions about the position. She was really impressed with my resume but disappointed that I didn’t exemplify these characteristics over the phone. It was really hard to hear what she had to say, but I’m glad I got the chance to speak with her.

“Since then I have really made sure to do extensive research before going on any kind of interview. I’ve had one phone interview since and three in-person interviews. I didn’t get the phone interview job, but the in-person interviews have gone really well! I’m going on second rounds next week. The job search has been incredibly stressful with its many ups and downs, but I feel like I am learning so much.”

I love that Nancy received feedback that was hard to hear but ultimately led her to improve her interviewing skills. I have no doubt that a new job is on it’s way for her! Her email also reminded me that phone interviews are extra challenging and require a different kind of preparation than in-person interviews.