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Will recruitment give negative feedback between rounds if you passed that round?

I have had the first two rounds, and after every round the recruiter would call me and give me feedback. The feedback was always overwhelmingly positive, as in really no negative points. However, I know I am up against other candidates. So I was wondering, does this mean that my feedback so far really has been all positive and I might be a top pick, or do they not mention the lesser points in order to keep you interested/motivated?

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Top answer
Ian
Coach
on Jul 17, 2022
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Honestly, whether they give all positive feedback or all negative feedback it means nothing. As in, we cannot interpret it.

Ultimately, feedback they do give is generally (generally) unhelpful and generic in nature. If you truly want hard-hitting, honest feedback, the best thing you can do is get one from an expert (a coach)!

As you prepare for the interview, you can read this article here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

And this article for the behavioral portion: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Moritz
Coach
on Jul 15, 2022
ex-McKinsey EM & Interviewer | 7/8 offer rate for 4+ sessions | High impact sessions + FREE materials & exercises

Hi there,

Sounds very promising already!

There may be an explanation for this. MBB and other firms often have a strength based feedback philosophy. This means that areas of strength are highlighted rather than those of weakness; the idea being that energy is best spent turning good into really great ("spike" in McKinsey language) as opposed to decent into good.

That being said, candidate feedback is usually “weakness” based and interviewers consultants will always find gaps to being great. Hence, I'd recommend to specifically ask your HR contact for any improvement areas. But manage your expectations; she already passed on the feedback notes from the interviewers and there's likely not going to be more.

Keep up the good work! Best of luck!

Udayan
Coach
on Jul 17, 2022
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

The truth is that it is very hard to give negative feedback. While you sound like you are open to it, there are people who start to question recruiters or even reach out to interviewers to clarify questions. As a result the incentive to provide negative feedback is quite low.

That being said, if you have made it to the final rounds you are doing well and you don't have any glaring areas of concern to work on. Everyone has some minor issues that's normal.

Clara
Coach
on Jul 17, 2022
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Congrats, that sounds awesome!

usually there is a combination between praising what you did well, and pointing out the parts that were weaker so you can focus on them. However, if they didn´t say anything specific, it can very well mean that it was an impeccable job. Keep it up!

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Deleted user
on Jul 19, 2022

Hello,

I would say typically you get both positive and negative feedback, with the negative part framed constructively as points of improvement (= it may be that you didn't do anything badly per se, but maybe there's something that you could do even better). If you're only getting positive feedback, it's hard to tell whether that's because there's genuinely no areas for improvement, because something got lost in translation, or because the interviewer you got happens to lean more on positive feedback. So I wouldn't read too much into it in terms of where this puts you in the candidate ranking, but it's certainly a good sign - if there were any big issues, they will generally let you know. I would infer this as a sign that you're doing well, but to keep up the good work! Best of luck going forward!

12
on Jul 15, 2022
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Q: After every round the recruiter would call me and give me feedback. The feedback was always overwhelmingly positive. So I was wondering, does this mean that my feedback so far really has been all positive or do they not mention the lesser points?

They will share feedback according to the performance and usually mention areas of improvement if present. 

However, normally the feedback on improvements is relatively generic so not very applicable. Plus, if it is HR that communicates that, they are referring to what the consultant said, so part of the feedback may be lost / be incomplete.

Good luck with the next steps!

Francesco

on Jul 14, 2022

Might be both the case, there are some lesser points in every candidate as we can't meet everyone's expectations, but if your positives are high, then it all makes difference, and you will definitely get selected for the job. You should also keep yourself motivated and interested both.

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