Ever asked for feedback?
“What do you think of these new shoes I’ve just bought?”
“What do you reckon to that goal I scored, eh?”
“Does my bum look big in this?”
– all questions asking for feedback where the last thing you really want is the truth.
But what if the questions on your mind are:
“How did that presentation really come across?”
“What did you think of the latest draft of the chapter I emailed to you last week?”
“Can I have some feedback on how I performed in the interview?”
It’s hard to get others to give you honest feedback unless you consider:
- Why you want feedback
- What kind of feedback you want
- Who could give you feedback
- How to ask for feedback
- How to react to feedback
That’s a bit too much to cover in one blog post, so here’s a handout I’ve written, covering all those topics, plus hints on how to take the first steps in getting more, and more useful, feedback:
If you read it, whether you’re one of our postgrads or anyone else, I’d be interested in any feedback to help improve the advice and make sure it’s relevant. For example:
- Is it clear?
- Does it cover things which are of concern to you?
- Is the tone right?
- Are there any typos?
Just leave a comment if you’ve got any feedback.
University of Manchester Careers Blog 
It’s very clear and helpful, thank you! It covers the main topics, keeps the right kind of tone, and I didn’t notice any typos. I read it through quickly. Being able to save it as a pdf is useful for me because I can easily refer to it when I’m next thinking about feedback issues.
Hi Robbie
Many thanks for your feedback – much appreciated!
I’ve been writing a web resource to help PhDs during their research degree and wanted to do something on asking for feedback, and suddenly remembered a handout I’d written long ago. A quick rummage round our old training directories, a bit of a spring clean, and voila, a new “How to … Guide” for postgrads! Glad it still seems relevant.
Good luck with getting feedback – ask the right people the right way and it can be really helpful.
Elizabeth
There’s some good information on Mindtools on the subject of feedback (both giving and receiving) including a helpful feedback matrix. See:
– http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/SKS-process.htm
– http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_54.htm
– http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/UnfairCriticism.htm
– http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_98.htm
Thanks Emma – some good articles there!
Cheers
Elizabeth