How do you respond to and learn from professional criticism or feedback?
How to structure your answer, what the panel listens for, and the mistakes to avoid.
By Nikhil Utane · Updated
Practice this questionWhy interviewers ask this
People who can take feedback improve quickly. The panel wants to see that you listen without getting defensive, check that you understand it, and change something as a result.
What a strong answer does
- Choose feedback that was hard to hear and genuinely about your work.
- Describe your first reaction honestly, then what you did with it.
- Show the change and the evidence it worked.
Structure it with STAR
- SituationSet the scene in two or three sentences: where, when, what was at stake.
- TaskWhat you were responsible for, and what made it hard.
- ActionThe steps you took yourself. This should be the longest part.
- ResultWhat happened, with numbers if you have them, and what you learned.
New to STAR? Read the STAR method guide, with a worked example.
Example answer
- Situation
- After my first big presentation to leadership, my manager told me it had been hard to follow: too much detail and no clear recommendation.
- Task
- I was due to present the quarterly plan to the same group six weeks later.
- Action
- My first reaction was to defend the detail, but I asked her for two specific moments where she lost the thread. I then rebuilt the next deck to open with the recommendation and the decision I needed, moved the detail to an appendix, and did a dry run with her a week before.
- Result
- The quarterly plan was approved in the meeting, with time to spare. Two directors asked for my format to use in their own reviews, and I now start every presentation with the decision I need.
Use it for the shape, not the words: your own story, told in your own words, will always score better.
What interviewers listen for
- The other person's point of view, described fairly.
- What you said or did to move the situation forward.
- How the working relationship ended up, not only the task.
Common mistakes
- Feedback that was really praise.
- Pretending you welcomed it instantly, which rarely sounds true.
- No change afterwards.
Likely follow-up questions
- Tell me about feedback you disagreed with.
- How do you give feedback to others?
- What is the most recent feedback you received?
Say it out loud and InterviewGPT scores each part of your story the way an interviewer would. Start practicing
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