You must have heard of the phrase “Nothing is Predictable” and how a certain degree of unpredictability is important for avoiding boredom. Well, positive changes and surprises boost your zest for life and test your adaptability. But, in certain scenarios, people expect predictable outcomes, for example, a job selection process.
Most people believe that, after walking out of the interview room, if you are filled with confidence, you would definitely expect to receive an offer letter. However, more often than not, job aspirants fail to land a job despite performing amazingly in the interview.
The reasons you didn’t get the job even after nailing the interview could be related to either you or the organization. While you cannot do anything about such a situation faced by you in the past, you can ensure that it doesn’t happen to you in the future.
Couldn’t get your dream job? The reason could be one of the following.
We have curated a list of possible reasons why candidates face rejection after appearing for an interview. Whether you are searching for jobs for opt students, indigenous students, or local experienced professionals, learning about these reasons will help you during your next job interview.
Signs You Didn’t Get the Job after Interview:
Your Approach for the Interview
Though candidates prepare diligently for attending the interview, they can leave a bad impression on the interviewer or the prospective employer unknowingly. The hiring manager determines your approach towards the interview or job opportunity on the basis of various aspects. Not paying due heed to these aspects can hurt your chances of securing a job offer.
- Time
Reaching the interview venue too early or too late is construed as unprofessional behavior. Therefore, you must arrive at the interview venue not more than 10-15 minutes earlier than the pre-agreed time. Needless to say, arriving late is not an option here.
If you are late for the interview due to some genuine reason or unavoidable circumstances, you should be honest about the same and apologize to the interviewer. Check the address one day before the interview. However, appearing for the interview at the right time is not enough.
- Appearance
From the moment you enter the premises of a company, you are judged on different factors. You must prove that you will be ‘a right fit’ for the organization by dressing appropriately and behaving politely. Showing up in casual attire or having an unkempt appearance makes the interviewer feel that you are not serious about the position or you are a disorganized person.
- Behavior
Along with your intellectual intelligence and physical appearance, your emotional intelligence is also considered for taking the decision. The hiring manager finds out about the way in which you would have addressed the staff member handling the reception desk to know whether you were polite and courteous.
Internal Factors of the Organization
Assessing the signs you didn’t get the job after the interview becomes difficult when you had no role to play in the selection process. Many times, the organization decides to reject a candidate due to internal policies, perceptions, biases, or sudden changes. You can never know what’s cooking behind the scenes. Therefore, you should try to analyze the situation before blaming yourself.
- Internal Hiring
In some cases, it has been observed that the hiring committee or manager make up their minds to resort to internal recruitment for filling the vacant position. But, still, the interview process is conducted to complete a formality. So, even if you have made your mark in a job interview, you will not be selected at any cost.
- Discrimination
The hiring manager or top executives in a few companies practice discrimination in the recruitment process. Candidates are discriminated against on the basis of age, gender, caste, disability, sexual orientation, or any other criterion. Naturalized U.S. citizens, green card holders, and non-immigrants who would have searched for jobs for international students might have experienced discriminatory behavior in their career journey.
- Budget
Whether it’s a salaried individual or a multinational corporation, everyone is restricted by budget. A scenario wherein the budget allocated for paying remuneration to a new recruit gets cancelled is not new. In such a case, the vacant position is closed by the organization.
- Organizational Structure
At times, the organizational structure gets changed due to a merger, an amalgamation, expansion, or diversification. As a result of such changes, current job roles become redundant, new vacancies arise, and the vacant positions get closed.
Performance during the Interview
You might be wondering how your performance can be blamed when we are discussing the reasons behind the non-selection of your candidature after giving a great interview. Well, don’t scratch your head after reading this fact.
Most of the time, an interviewee feels that they gave their best shot by dressing for the occasion, giving logical answers, and exhibiting smartness. But unfortunately, the interviewer has a different point of view.
- Education
You might have given a satisfactory answer to the question asked about your college major. However, your lack of awareness regarding the latest developments in your field of study might raise the eyebrows of the potential employer and render you unsuitable for the job.
- Experience
Along with educational qualifications, work experience, and personality are also areas of concern. Let’s say, you showed proof of your achievements in your previous job to the interviewer, but they consider it insignificant as your previous organization is not a trusted entity according to them.
- Personality
You might have been able to get a laugh or two out of the interviewer with your answers. But, the interviewer might have laughed just to make you at ease. On the other hand, giving plain answers might make you come across as a boring person.
- Practice
Another point that you need to focus on is the moment where most of the candidates go blank. We are talking about the “do you have any questions about us?” question asked by every interviewer. Use this question as an opportunity to show your proactiveness and enthusiasm by asking about job responsibilities, employer’s expectations, and performance evaluation criteria.
Learn about the company and your job role to come up with interesting questions. Remember to never answer “No, nothing as of now”, or ask not-so-important questions, like “How many days in advance do I need to apply for leave?”, or even worse asks silly questions, like “What if I come late to work once in a while?”. You can also take shl talent measurement test, just to practice yourself.
- So, what to do?
You should keep in mind that hiring managers or employers are good at hiding the real emotions and using words or facial expressions that don’t convey the truth. An interviewer might look pleased during the interview, but you should look beyond face value.
You cannot assume that you will receive the job offer just because you deserve it. To get a clear picture of your chances, you can use the trick of asking for feedback at the end of the interview to know what exactly is going on in the mind of the interviewer.
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Visible and Non-Visible Elements
The verbal and non-verbal communication that takes place between an interviewee and an interviewer decides the outcome of an interview. So, you must stay aware of all the elements that can play a role in the selection process for filling the vacancy you have applied to. You might be sure of landing a job as your capabilities make you the perfect candidate. But a few mistakes here and there can spoil your hard work.
- Unasked Questions
You can put effort into correctly answering the questions that were asked during the interview. But you can do nothing about the questions that were never asked. Some interviewers assume answers for such questions as per their past experience and understanding.
- Remuneration
One of the major factors that affect the decision of any employer is remuneration. Though you should never bring up the topic of salary during an interview, you should not hesitate in expressing your thoughts if the interviewer touches on this subject. You can state your previous/current and expected figures for CTC (Cost to Company) and in-hand salary.
However, if the interviewer asks only about your previous/current salary, you should also mention your expected salary. If you are willing to negotiate for accommodating the budget of the prospective employer, you should share that as well.
Discussing the expected salary and scope for negotiation prevents the employer from assuming that you won’t like the compensation package. Usually, such situations arise in the case of seasoned professionals who apply for jobs that require relatively less experience.
- Stability
Another major factor affecting the decision of any employer is the stability of an employee. If your resume shows that you change jobs frequently or that you are looking for a career change, you should be ready with a justifiable explanation for the same.
- Rapport
Your interpersonal skills and charm also matter a lot when it comes to grabbing a job offer. In today’s time where relationships have become limited to social media, people really like it when they just hit it off with someone they have just met.
Therefore, a candidate who has built a rapport with the interviewer has more chances of getting selected than a candidate who possesses more qualifications or skills. Employers believe that skills can be taught but behavior cannot be changed.
- Body Language
Employers keep an eye on the body language of candidates to understand their mindset and assess their level of enthusiasm. Non-verbal cues, such as a lack of eye contact, improper posture, and fumbling while speaking is attributed to a lack of confidence.
Body language signs you didn’t get the job after the interview can be nervousness, desperation, confusion, overconfidence, or overexcitement. Attend every interview with a calm and relaxed state of mind. Don’t be scared of showing your true personality.
Final Takeaway
The decision of getting selected for a job can never entirely be in the hands of a candidate. But, you can make sure that you don’t face rejection due to innocent mistakes. Try not to commit the mistakes mentioned in this blog post otherwise, you might lose a lucrative job offer.
You should research the company before appearing for an interview. Find out the common questions that are asked from the candidates during an interview for your position. You can use online interview practice tools for gaining confidence.
If you have just completed higher studies, go through the books once again. If you are an experienced person, never bad-mouth your previous employer/s or organization/s. You should carry all the documents specified by the interviewer with yourself.
In the end, we will just like to say that in facing rejection, remember this beautiful line “When one door closes another one opens”. Remembering the same philosophy, we guide international students pursuing education in the United States of America for shaping their careers.
Employers and recruiters from various fields and geographical areas across the USA post jobs for international students on our online job portal. Job seekers can register for free and search for job openings on our portal. For all your queries, reach us via [email protected] or (804) 715 – 8126.