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Why you didn’t get the job
Yesterday, I got on my soapbox and ranted about the fact that there is no one “right” way to search for a job. It might be nice (or maybe not), but there are so many people and twice as many opinions involved in every job posting, resume review, interview and hiring decision.
As promised, today – a look at why you didn’t get the job from my friend Stephanie Lloyd, Consultant on Talent Acquisition strategies and Owner of Calibre Search Group. Stephanie wrote a great post on her blog, Radiant Veracity. It’s called “75 Reasons You Didn’t Get the Job.“
(Stephanie is also a National Careers & Workplace Columnist for Examiner.com.)
Before you start to sweat and feel overwhelmed, the point of Stephanie’s list is to remind job seekers that, sometimes, the reason they do not land the job is more about the organization and situations than about any one specific thing that a job seeker does in the process. A sample:
- You’re not qualified.
- You’re overqualified.
- You were overdressed.
- You were underdressed.
- The job was filled internally.
- The job was put on hold.
See? You can’t please everyone all of the time. The fact is, personal preferences will enter into the process, and every individual has his or her own likes and dislikes. And, you don’t control when and if an employer’s needs change. It’s up to the job seeker to react flexibly in this ever-changing environment and to move deftly through the process.
I DO believe that every job seeker controls his or her own destiny, despite the fact that there may be aspects that you cannot change. Have you really done everything you can to improve your chances? Yesterday, I spoke to a potential client who was really doing most everything right, but I advised her how to ramp-up her networking and to improve her online presence by writing a blog. Take a critical look at what you can do differently to help improve your chances in this tough market.
I’m glad you are reading this! Be sure to look through my blog roll as well! Take and follow good advice from professionals about your job search and you are much more likely to land something in a reasonable time frame. You don’t need to go it alone…Save your time, money and sanity…Approach your search with the very best information and there is no need to get frustrated!
There is no “right” way, but there are things that you may be doing wrong! So, are you ready to get in the game? To grab the keys and climb the stairs to your own career bus? Let me help get you started ahead of the pack. Learn more about what I can do for you.
photo by thomashawk
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Excellent advice, Miriam.
You are so right… we are in control of our careers. Staying on top of things and being very active in your job search is key.
Great post.
Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CERW
Professional Resume Services
Miriam – I agree with Erin, this is a great post and great advice from you and Stephanie! Your readers should find the resources in your blogroll especially useful. I definitely have.
I do have an observation to offer as I am both a hiring authority and I own a recruiting/sourcing company. To make things even more complex for job seekers, employers don’t often tell you the real reason that “you didn’t get the job”.
This is for many of the same reasons that employers don’t provide candid feedback to their own employees. Employers would much rather tell you that they “found someone that was a better fit” than “you alienated the hiring manager in your interview when you criticized a company for which you both used to work” or “you reinforced our fears that arose when we found all the drunken pictures/captions on Facebook with your repeated questions about whether there were company sponsored happy hours”.
The truth may hurt the job seeker, but it would be WAY more valuable.
Best wishes and always Act As If It Were Impossible to Fail!
Joe Lavelle
Joe Lavelle’s last blog post..How To Bring Your Career to a Crashing Halt
Erin – Thanks for stopping by!
Joe – That is an excellent point. To complicate matters, job seekers who receive benign feedback such as your suggestion, ’someone else was a better fit,” should still think long and hard about the interview and all of their interactions with the employer. It is very possible that there was a “fatal flaw” mistake, but no one will mention it. It would be nice if we didn’t have such a litigious society that contributes to employers’ fears of sharing honest feedback. It really puts the onus on the job seeker to seek some unbiased and well informed feedback. Dare I say a job search coach could help?
Thanks so much for adding to the conversation!
I agree with Joe. A couple of times I received an email “Sorry but someone else was a better fit”. Off course you can let it be and go on. But one tip I have is to always CALL the recruiter after a rejection. Not to find out the real reason (like Joe said, most recruiters aren’t that honest) but for FEEDBACK. You’d be surprised what you can learn from that.
Even though some of the reasons maybe legitimate, you have to wonder if there was a ‘preferred’ candidate in the picture?
I’m thinking of that person who’s already established a relationship with the hiring manager (probably through networking) and is pretty much a shoe-in for the job.
All the other candidates don’t know about him, like the hidden job market, there are the hidden candidates too!
Simon at VirtualjobCoach.com
Simon Clay Michael’s last blog post..Job search stalled? 10 signs and how to kick re-start your job search.
@Imran – Great point Imran! I strongly believe that feedback of any kind is a gift and if taken as such, will only help us improve. Good luck!
Yes – asking for feedback in and of itself is a sign that you are interested in improving and learning. A lot of people are afraid to ask – when you do ask, it can only help!
As someone that has been on the hiring side as well as on the interviewing side (mulitple times over the course of a long career) my recent experience with interviews leads me to conclusions in addition to what is already mentioned and is specific to the current hiring environment.
First, as this is a “buyer’s” market, hiring managers have been able to take their wish list of candidate skills and attributes to the extreme. You don’t have one of the items on the list?? Next!!
Second, as everyone’s job is at risk in this economy, hiring managers would rather error on the side of being over cautious. Rather than taking a (perceived) risk on a candidate whose skills and accomplishments are transferable and translate into a success in the stated role, it is safer to find an exact match and to provide material for CYA!
Last, I have found that experience and accomplishments only matters if your interviewer is in the same generation as you. No one will openly talk about their propensity for age discrimination.