Why Didn’t I get the Offer?

This post comes from the excellent online resource http://www.net-temps.com/crossroads/.  They send out high quality articles on career issues and job search weekly.

You may have experienced what you consider to be a great interview – I mean a GREAT interview.  You waited; maybe you even decided not to pursue other opportunities because this job and the chemistry in the interview felt so right.  But the call didn’t come.  It can be frustrating. 

Here’s what Judi Perkins, career expert, writing for Crossroads, has to say:

Consider these factors, all of which take place without your knowing:

• A last-minute candidate appeared on the scene who was exactly what they were looking for. Maybe you were almost perfect, but for some reason, the last-minute candidate was just a bit more whatever they were looking for. If you experienced a delay in your interviewing late in the process, odds are very good your position as the top candidate was usurped at the last minute. 
• An internal candidate entered the picture. Though many companies post positions internally first and go outside only after exhausting internal options, that doesn’t account for someone changing his mind – especially if it was the person they were initially targeting. 
• The company decided to eliminate the position or put the hiring process on hold. Sometimes when a company doesn’t know in which direction they want to go, they run an ad to “see what’s out there” and then eliminate the position when their water walker fails to submit a resume. On other occasions, the process might be halted as a result of some event that changed the circumstances – and thus changed their decision about interviewing. 
• One of the interviewers that came into the picture later in the process didn’t like you. Perhaps you reminded them of a former employee that didn’t work out. Maybe they were threatened by your expertise and skill. In any case, they carried enough weight or had enough of a valid point to get you jettisoned from the process.

Interviewing is the process by which you find a company you like, and by which a company hires you because they feel you’re the best person for the job. Everything happens for a reason, and if you missed getting an offer with one company, something better may be just around the corner. So concentrate on what you can control and forget about what you can’t. If you mope around worrying about what you did or didn’t do and wonder why they didn’t like you or where you messed up – your attitude will bring about another negative outcome.  Look objectively at whether or not you can pinpoint something you might have done differently, and then learn from it. Otherwise, put it behind you and move forward with a confident and positive outlook!

The author: Judi Perkins, the How-To Career Coach, was a recruiter for 22 years, consulting with hundreds of hiring authorities throughout the hiring process. She’s seen over 500,000 resumes, knows how hiring authorities think and how they hire. As a result she understands and teaches what other coaches don’t: why the typical strategies in finding a job so often fail, what to do instead, and why. She’s been on PBS’s Frontline, will be in the May issue of Smart Money magazine, and has been quoted frequently in numerous articles for CareerBuilder, MSN Careers, Yahoo Hot Jobs, and the New York Times, among others. She’s also been featured as an expert in numerous career books. Sign up for her free newsletter at www.FindthePerfectJob.com!