One of the biggest levers for improving hiring outcomes in Latin America isn’t a better tech stack or recruiting automation. It’s feedback.
At Silver.dev, we see feedback as foundational to hiring software engineers effectively, especially when working remotely and across cultures. It shapes not just candidate improvement, but the quality of the talent pool, the reputation of your brand, and the likelihood of long-term success in remote hiring.
In this post, we’ll walk through how to give and receive feedback the right way when building remote engineering teams in Latin America, and why getting this right will make your hiring efforts more effective and human.
Feedback is a Gift (and a Skill)
Whether you’re rejecting a candidate or helping a new hire improve, how you deliver feedback matters. In LatAm, where many candidates are navigating international interviews for the first time, feedback isn’t just helpful—it’s vital.
We use the philosophy of Radical Candor: feedback that is clear, direct, and rooted in care. This means telling people what they can do better, even when it’s uncomfortable.
- For the giver, this means embracing the discomfort of honesty.
- For the receiver, it means recognizing that feedback, even when it stings, can help them grow.
Startups hiring in LatAm should treat feedback as part of their competitive advantage: it helps candidates improve, reflects positively on your company, and fosters a reputation for fairness and clarity.
How to Give Great Feedback
1. Make it Authentic
Feedback must come from the person who made the observation. Recruiters shouldn’t be rephrasing technical feedback from engineers. Instead, technical reviewers should write it themselves, or at least sign off on it.
This matters especially when hiring software engineers. Authenticity builds credibility. It tells the candidate: we took your interview seriously, and this is what we saw.
Bad example:
“The tech team didn’t think you were strong enough.”
Better example:
“You struggled to implement the algorithm efficiently and missed some edge cases. Consider practicing problems involving recursion and time complexity.”
2. Make it Concrete
Vague feedback is worse than no feedback.
Good feedback points to specific behaviors, patterns, or examples. It doesn’t hide behind generalities like “you’re not a fit.”
| Weak Feedback | Strong Feedback |
|---|---|
| Your experience isn’t aligned | Your experience is mostly with backend APIs, but this role requires deep frontend expertise with React and TypeScript. |
| You don’t communicate well | We noticed you struggled to explain your thought process during the live coding session, which made it hard to evaluate your approach. |
3. Make it Actionable
The best feedback gives the candidate a path to improve. Ideally, this includes concrete resources or recommendations. Even if you’re not hiring them now, pointing them in the right direction helps the entire ecosystem grow.
At Silver.dev, we routinely suggest:
- Voice coaching for English fluency
- Tutorials or platforms to improve data structures and algorithms
- Resources on storytelling and behavioral interviews
Example:
“We believe your English skills need improvement in pronunciation and vocabulary. This can be improved with classes or coaching. We recommend trying a free assessment at https://silver.dev/english.”
What to Avoid: Bad Feedback Patterns
1. Retaliatory or Harsh Feedback
Feedback should never be used to punish or vent frustration. Saying things like “You’re not cut out for this” or “You should reconsider this career path” is damaging and often inaccurate.
2. Vague or Lazy Feedback
General feedback like “not a fit” or “not enough experience” doesn’t help anyone. It suggests you didn’t care enough to provide value. Worse, it can leave good candidates confused or discouraged.
3. Feedback Without Responsibility
Don’t deliver someone else’s opinion unless you’re also willing to own it. If a hiring manager has thoughts, they should deliver them directly, not through a recruiter middleman.
Why This Matters in LatAm
Hiring in LatAm isn’t just about finding the best candidates—it’s about building relationships and growing a network. When you give good feedback, you:
- Strengthen your employer brand across borders
- Increase the likelihood a candidate will reapply (and be better prepared next time)
- Help raise the standard of engineering talent in the region
Remote hiring can feel transactional. Feedback makes it human.
Candidates in LatAm are often incredibly motivated, but they may not have had access to the same opportunities or interview training as U.S.-based engineers. Feedback closes that gap and helps them level up.
Closing the Loop with a Feedback Culture
If you’re serious about hiring remotely in LatAm, your hiring process should include:
- A written feedback step after each interview
- A clear policy on who gives what kind of feedback (technical vs. behavioral)
- Optional follow-up resources or links for candidates to improve
Silver.dev candidates always receive structured feedback, especially when rejected. We don’t see it as an extra step—we see it as our responsibility to help improve the community we hire from.
And that’s not just good practice. It’s good business.
Blog • Silver.dev 
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