How do you respond to feedback?
Not only is your interviewer curious about how you respond to feedback, but also how you approach it. Do you wait for feedback to come to you, trying to stay under the radar while hoping no news is good news? Or, do you proactively seek out feedback, learning what you can, while focused on your own professional development? How you answer this question should inform your interviewer more about your emotional intelligence, and how proactively you take charge of your own development.
"Well, typically with gratitude. I am very proactive in seeking out feedback. If I know I did a great job, I know. But if I feel there is room for improvement, or I haven't mastered a skill for very long, I will keep checking in with my supervisors and my peers. I want to know. On rare occasions, I get unsolicited feedback, and I listen and take to heart what can be learned from the feedback. You have to know yourself, and take ownership of what is yours, and gain insight from the rest. Whether it is about yourself or others, there is always something to learn."
Heineken states that they "continuously develop ourselves and support the development of others. We treat your personal growth as a business priority. We want you to succeed. We are learning together, sharing experience and collaborating internally, across our operating companies, and externally with our partners and peers." So when answering this question, go the extra mile by not only sharing how you proactively seek out feedback from your leaders and your peers, but how you offer feedback to those on your team as well. Offer how you are never caught off guard by your performance reviews, and even if feedback isn't what you hoped to hear, or when it may not have been delivered with the best messaging, you can take what you can to learn from it, seeing it as constructive criticism, and constantly improve yourself and your skills.
