Your resume was good enough to get you interviewed. You've gone through one (or more) rounds of interviews.
You met - and liked - the people who would
be bosses or co-workers, and you decided you would like to work there with
those people.
But, in the end, they didn't offer you the job. You can ask
for feedback, and, occasionally, feedback is provided. But, often, fear of
lawsuits keeps the feedback from happening.
Sometimes, external things that have absolutely nothing to
do with you personally get in the way of the job offer or completely derail the
hiring process. While, other times, the rejection is personal, possibly
something you might have avoided.
10 Reasons You Didn't Get the Job That You CAN NOT Control
Many of the reasons you didn't get the job are completely
outside of your control. One or more of these might apply to your situation.
1. They hired someone who already worked there.
Known as an "internal hire," competing with a
current employee is very tough because choosing someone already working in the
organization is typically low-risk for the hiring manager.
Many other employees know these people and their work, so
the hiring manager has a fairly accurate impression of the person's
capabilities, personality, and work ethic. Plus, they can usually "hit the
ground running" more quickly than someone new to the organization. In
addition, internal hiring allows organizations to offer good employees the
opportunity for advancement or, at least, for change.
2. Someone else was a better networker.
With two equally well-qualified and impressive people to
choose from, the person who was referred by an employee gets hired twice as
often as the "stranger" - probably because the referred person is
viewed as the lower risk (similar to #1).
You cannot control who your competition is and how they
connected with the hiring manager. But, you can remember how important
networking is for job search -- employee referrals are the number one source of
external hires in the USA and have been for many years.
3. The "chemistry" didn't work.
This mysterious factor is critical in determining who gets
hired. It often translates to how well you were liked by the people who
interviewed you. For some reason, you didn't seem to be "a good fit"
to one or two (or more) of the people who interacted with you. Since working
for -- or with -- them was necessary to do this job, you didn't make the
cut. Sometimes you can impact this (see #7 thru #9, below),
and sometimes you can't.
4. They canceled or revised the job.
In a recent study of more than 100,000 job postings, nearly
10% of all those job postings were never filled.
Maybe the job requirements were deemed inappropriate or they
decided to try another solution - job sharing, shifting around responsibilities
or tasks, or even deciding that a job was no longer necessary. Some jobs are
"outsourced" to a completely different organization.
Possibly, something impacted the ability to fund this job.
Perhaps sales or profits dropped, a market opportunity (or a crisis) developed,
or something else unexpected happened. As a result, the employer decided they
didn't want to -- or couldn't -- spend the money to have someone do the job
specified in the job description. So, they canceled the job, made it a
lower-level (cheaper) job, or changed it in some other way that disqualified
you.
Or, maybe business improved, and they restructured the job
to a higher level, necessitating the re-posting of a very different job.
5. Organizational issues ended the opportunity.
They decided to reorganize, shifting employees and/or
responsibilities from one part of the organization to another. Perhaps someone
left, a new need was identified, or something else happened which provided the
opportunity (or necessity) for restructuring the organization. Maybe management
decided to head in a new direction. Or any of a thousand other things may have
happened. "Until the dust has settled" and the new direction is
clarified, they don't add new staff.
5 Reasons You Didn't Get the Job That You CAN Control
Many of the reasons you didn't get the job are within your control.
Assuming that you are applying for jobs that are a good match for you (or you
wouldn't have been interviewed), adjust your approach if you feel that any of
these reasons are perhaps negatively impacting your job search.
6. You didn't effectively leverage your network.
Particularly if you are shy or introverted, networking is
easy to avoid -- a big mistake. An internal advocate can be a significant
make-or-break advantage (see #2), and many of those internal advocates are
motivated by more than a chance to do you (and their employer) a favor. Often,
employers have an "employee referral program" which rewards employees
(with $$$) for referring someone who is hired.
Solution: Choose your target employers,
and focus your networking activities on them. Follow these companies on
LinkedIn. Look for contacts in your neighborhood and network, including
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Understand that simply having social media
profiles does not mean you are using them effectively for job
search networking.
7. You weren't prepared for the interview.
Many things can go wrong in an interview - from arriving
late, dressing inappropriately, and texting during the discussions to
bad-mouthing the people in your current or a former job. One of the most common
-- and deadly -- mistakes is walking into the interview unprepared.
Solution: Thoughtful preparation and
practice (with a friend or your mirror) before the interview will help to
settle your nerves and improve your performance during the interview. Know your
answers to the standard questions. Have examples of your accomplishments ready
to discuss, to demonstrate your ability to do the job.
8. They didn't believe that you were truly interested in the job.
This is a very common (and deadly) mistake employers mention
often, particularly if you didn't have a good answer to the "What do you
know about us?" question. They felt that you didn't demonstrate a genuine
interest in them or the job. They picked up on your lack of interest, real or
perceived.
Solution: Be sure you have a good answer
to the "What do you know about us" question. Prepare relevant
examples of your accomplishments to share. Have good questions ready to ask
about the job, the organization, and what they do.
9. Your references didn't support you.
Often the last step in the hiring process, references can
sometimes be the opportunity killer. Your references can close the sale for you
so that you get the job offer, or they can end the opportunity very quickly.
Solution:
- Manage
your references -- stay in touch so you have their most current
contact information and availability to speak with the employer.
- Protect
your references -- don't hand out their names and contact
information to everyone.
- Prepare
your references -- make sure they have a copy of the resume you
gave to the employer and the job description, and coach them on why you'd
be a good fit for the job.
10. You expected to fail.
Many job seekers radiate this attitude unconsciously. A job
search for most job seekers is a very discouraging, confidence-killing,
seemingly endless stream of rejection -- from the resume black hole to lack of
contact after the interviews. Particularly if you have been unemployed for a
while, your confidence can evaporate because of all of the rejections associated
with job search for most job seekers.
Solution: It takes just 2 minutes of privacy, before the interview,
and it works! Try before the interviews to improve your attitude.
Expect success with every interview. Greet every interviewer
and networking opportunity with a big smile and a firm handshake. Expect the
best to happen this time!
Bottom Line
The reality is that you will probably never know
what happened -- why you didn't get the job. Often, rejected job seekers have
impressed people inside the organization, but the job offer was not made.
If they filled the job with someone else, perhaps that
person had advantages no one could overcome, or perhaps they asked better
questions in the interview or gave better answers. Keep plugging away at your
job search, trying to improve each time, and trying not to take the rejection
personally.
In most cases, remember that the rejection was only
for this one job -- not a permanent rejection by
this employer. The first job offer I received after graduate school arrived in
the same mail as a rejection letter from a different part of the same very
large company. I accepted the job offer, and worked there very happily for more
than 10 years.
IF you REALLY liked the people and the organization, consider sending them a thank you note. This is probably your best opportunity to get some good feedback and be that better-networked candidate next time.
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