Sorry You Have Been Unsuccessful On This Occasion
I’m sure you like all of us have experienced this.
You get invited for a job interview. You do your preparation, go along and have an interview which seems to go well.
Then you get the news that to inform you that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.
So what do you do next?
Chances are you might be pretty disappointed, maybe even angry or just plain fed up.
All natural reactions.
The thing is what you want to be doing next is to start to get as much feedback as you possible can.
One thing I notice is that people are sometimes reluctant to actually ask for feedback. They are perhaps a little bit frightened about what they are going to hear.
In reality this is just your ego at work. Truth is most good recruiters will give you balanced feedback.
By that I mean they will highlight what you did well and what let you down.
Armed with this information and insight you can start to focus on paying attention to those areas where you can make improvements.
I first started interviewing people for jobs about 20 years ago. So what were some of the reasons candidates were unsuccessful?
1. The CV they had prepared and the person who showed up for interview seemed completely different.
2. The quality of the answers they gave did not match the experience they claimed they had on their CV.
3. Poorly prepared for the interview.
4. Failed to demonstrate that they had the right skills.
5. Failed to demonstrate that they had the right attributes.
6. Failed to demonstrate that they understood the role and culture of the organisation.
7. Nerves got the better of them.
8. They couldn’t state why they wanted the job.
9. They couldn’t state why they were the ideal candidate.
10. There was a better candidate.
Now the feedback you might be getting could be some of the above or something different.
The most important action to take if you are unsuccessful in a job interview is to get feedback.
Duncan Brodie helps accountants and professionals achieve more career success. Learn more here
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.