Last June, PARW member, coach and resume writer Donald P. Orlando, wrote a great article titled “Four Reasons Why Your Top Notch Client Wasn’t Offered the Job.” His article inspired me to share some of his points with you, the job seeker. And I’m adding a bit of my own philosophy.
By now, you know how I preach “People hire people to solve their problems, make their lives easier, and enable them to get on to the next project that concerns them.”
You also understand how companies want to verify you can do the job, have passion for the role, and most importantly, will fit in.
(Here comes the but.)
But it seems most people still don’t understand or accept how most of the time you will never know why you weren’t selected. Sure, on occasion a nice or inexperienced interviewer will tell you something. But the overwhelming experience for most job seekers is that feeling of “What did I do wrong.” You hear nothing back. The line is dead between you and the company.
And even if you did discover the reason, most of the time you can’t do anything about it.
Sound strange? Disagree?
Are you thinking, “But I need to know what I did wrong; so, I can fix it!”
You are assuming you did something wrong.
Most of the time you probably didn’t do anything wrong.
You see, the top four reasons people aren’t hired have nothing to do with them doing anything wrong!
Reason #1: There never was a job to begin with.
Example - The CEO’s son has just completed his MBA. His father thinks the best place for him to get a start is in his family’s own company. Nevertheless, the organization wants to avoid any EEOC complaint. Therefore, while it's never written down, the guidance is straightforward. Find and interview top notch clients. Take them to lunch if you. want to, but you will not offer them a job. There is no job.
Reason #2: Another candidate simply had more knowledge and experience.
Example – They worked for the company’s major competitor; had more experience with the software, etc.
Reason #3: An overqualified candidate agreed to take the job readily and provided compelling reasons why he will stay at the job and not jump ship in a year or two.
Example- They like the work and the location is close to an ailing parent.
And finally, reason #4 (which I think is the most common): You were considered too short, too thin, too fat, wore glasses, reminded them of their great aunt. And the interviewer just felt you “wouldn’t fit in.”
No, logic doesn’t have to have anything to do with it.
And that’s why you must stop obsessing over what you did wrong and why you didn’t land the job.
That thought process leads to tinkering, negativity, and defeatism.
Yes, it’s OK to perform self-examination, reconsider some answers, and ask yourself how you could do better next time. J
But don’t dwell on the past; don’t obsess with fixing something about yourself.
Remember—there’s nothing wrong with you. You don’t need to be fixed.