The hiring process is never perfect. You need to figure out how to improve your skills of interviewing even if you didn’t get the job. The important point is to continue believing in yourself. You did a great job with the telephone screen. You thought the face-to-face interviews went great, but you probably came in second.
WHAT HAPPENED??? Did you say or do something wrong? First of all, don’t beat up on yourself. You may have been the perfect candidate, but not gotten the job. Why? Here are some of the things that may have happened:
Someone else was connected – The hiring manager’s brother-in-law is a candidate, and to make it seem legitimate, others were brought in to interview. They all “fell short”. You just happen to be one of the interviewees.
Someone else was better prepared – Another candidate did more research and really understood the issues: Financials, competitors, industry, strategic direction, products, supply chain, customer issues and so on. You need to do much more investigation.
An internal candidate was always in the wings – The hiring manager heavily favored an internal candidate. The organization wanted to see who else was out there. You had a slim opportunity to demonstrate performance against an insider.
The computer can’t read, only add – In larger organizations, the computer does the initial screen. It counts key words and decides who gets to move forward based on how many times certain key words show up. It cannot tell about quality, only quantity. Move on.
You were seen as over or under qualified – A decision was made that you were over or under qualified for the job. You’ll never know who or why, nor will you have the opportunity to state your case. Longer term you could have been superior, but you’ll never know.
For some reason you’re the wrong fit – The organization has a working outline as to who will best fit, and you didn’t match their model: This is another mystery of the marketplace. On the other hand, if you were not a good fit for their culture, better you didn’t take the job with a low percent for success.
You could never have matched the real qualifications – The expectations of the organization were far above what the position description showed. The steep learning curve that was required exceeded your background or experiences.
You were duped – It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. The organization has a problem and seeks out people who have solved the issue somewhere else. They bring in candidates and interview them to find potential solutions. However, no one is ever hired.
The answer? – You can only do your best to present your results and fit in the most favorable light, based on what you know and have done. Always ask penetrating questions about the job and expectations that present you as a results-oriented candidate. You may get some good information, and then you decide whether to pursue the job, or not.
For a FREE critique of your resume, send it to: wkaufmann44@gmail.com