The upside as others have mentioned is that good feedback means you may get to hire that person later (maybe not even at the same company, people remember you if you give good feedback, because it is so uncommon)
I’ve seen this and done this as a hiring manager at multiple companies.
If you are honest, clear, and direct, and your interview (key point) does a good job quantifying the candidate’s performance, and their expectations are well set before the interview, there’s little risk of a reputation hit.
I’ve had folks push back or disagree, but it’s pretty rare and I’ve never been worried about someone dragging the company into a spat.
I’ve seen this and done this as a hiring manager at multiple companies.
If you are honest, clear, and direct, and your interview (key point) does a good job quantifying the candidate’s performance, and their expectations are well set before the interview, there’s little risk of a reputation hit.
I’ve had folks push back or disagree, but it’s pretty rare and I’ve never been worried about someone dragging the company into a spat.