<p>It is really just an on-campus job interview. The interview itself went ok. But I didn't get the job. It was a bit informal maybe that's why I stayed less vigilant on the employer's questions. </p>
<p>I wonder if I should ask the employer for any feedback on my interview because I am going to have important internship interviews very soon. This would be very good trial run if I can learn what mistakes or areas I should pay attention to. </p>
<p>Do you think this is appropriate?</p>
<p>Possibly, but does your school have co-op department. Usually you can get set up with counselor who will do mock interviews with you and help you sell yourself.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s appropriate to ask. I would ask using email – it gives them the chance to respond when it’s convenient for them. If they encourage you to actually have a conversation in realtime, that would be great, but I wouldn’t expect it, so you’re probably really asking for a one-time, one-way summary of whatever they think is important for you to hear. Be polite, and understand that you are asking and that the answer may be “No.” That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t appropriate to ask, and it doesn’t even mean that they definitely wouldn’t say “Yes” under different circumstances, but “No” is a perfectly reasonable answer.</p>
<p>If they do give you feedback, don’t argue with it. What matters is their impression of you, not whether they have an accurate picture of you. If they have an inaccurate picture of you, you will want to take that information and try to figure out what you did to give them the inaccurate picture. (It may actually be that they didn’t read your resume or whatever, but that’s something for you to conclude after you have considered whether you made any mistakes.) Unless you are invited to (if they are talking to you in realtime, that invitation doesn’t need to be explicit), I wouldn’t ask followup questions.</p>
<p>And thank them afterwards. If they turn you down on the feedback thing, thank them for the interview. If they give you feedback, thank them for the interview and the feedback. (In general, you can always thank companies – via the people who interviewed you – for considering you even if they don’t hire you. It can leave them with a good impression with you (partly because you’re polite, and partly because you made them feel important), which may be useful if you ever apply for a different position in the future.)</p>