How to Answer: How do you handle negative feedback about the courses you design?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Instructional Designer job interview.
3. How do you handle negative feedback about the courses you design?
How to Answer
Evaluation is a key part of the instructional design process. The hiring manager wants to learn that you value feedback and are well equipped to process it properly. Talk about instances in which you received impactful constructive feedback about courses or training materials that you designed. A successful answer will highlight the steps you took to use the feedback to your advantage.
Written by M Cheryl Harkins on September 6th, 2021
Answer Example
"In my life and career, I have long learned to seek and welcome feedback. I have great empathy for others' experiences. While I strive to consider as many of those experiences as I can during the design and development of training programs, I can only account for so much. When I first started as an ID, I was resistant to constructive feedback. I thought that the evaluation phase only applied to the learners. I've since learned to evaluate the program's effectiveness, specifically the content and delivery method. What I do now is help facilitate the feedback process and ensure that learners have an easy and quantifiable way of assessing the effectiveness of the courses they go through. If I'm designing a self-paced online course, for example, I will add a short questionnaire once the modules under one topic are completed. Questions are around the length of the course, the relevance of the content, whether the objectives were met, among others. I also give learners space to comment freely. This way, I can make improvements to the current course and apply useful feedback to new courses. Not only that, but I also value their opinion."
Written by M Cheryl Harkins on September 6th, 2021