By Clive Dunne MSc. Director, Elk Recruitment
I am so disappointed, I felt I did a great interview and I still didn’t get the job, What? This is not an uncommon occurrence as there are so many factors at play during the interview itself and broader hiring process that you unfortunately have no control over. Although doing the pre interview prep work like Googling the interviewers, company website and knowing the job spec and your CV inside out are imperative, it does not necessarily mean you will get the job, so prepare yourself for this real possibility.
For the most part, the practical side and logistics of the interview is fairly generic across the board and most interviews will follow the same interviewing format and questioning. The part of the interview we don’t have any real control over is the cultural & personality traits the employer has identified as important to making the position a success within their companies cultural setting. So although you may think you are a perfect fit for the role, you answered the questions extremely well and gave an excellent account of yourself, you may also have come across as too brash, too quiet, too meticulous, too prepared, too qualified, too polished, too cocky, too intrusive, too confrontational, too relaxed, too confident or indeed too funny to fit in with this employer. With another employer these traits could have been perfect.
Cultural & personality questions like 1. How do you deal with teams? 2. Tell me about an excellent day you had in work? or 3. How do you deal with conflict? will let you know that the company has a strong emphasis on culture within their organisation. The only way to answer these questions is as honestly as possible but do let the interviewers know that you have the ability to adapt well in different types of working environments and be prepared to give examples. So in summary if you are not chosen for a role, don’t panic, they might have inadvertently done you a favour. Try and get some feedback though, dust yourself off and go again, eventually the doors will open for you.
