After doing your best to make a great impression at a job interview and getting your hopes up, it can be deflating to discover you weren’t selected for the job. Even at this stage of the interview process, you can gain valuable information and possibly even open up future job opportunities with that employer.
After a round of job interviews, most employers enjoy calling the candidate they have selected for the job, but they hate calling the candidates who were not selected for the job. The employer has spent time in an interview getting to know those people, and if those candidates presented themselves well in the interview, the employer may like the candidates they did not select and may even think some of those people would be a good fit for the job.
Keep all of this in mind if an employer calls to tell you they have selected another candidate for a job. Continue to be friendly and polite because this is still part of your job search, and it’s a chance to open up future opportunities with that employer.
If you get that dreaded call from an employer, be gracious, be sure to sincerely thank the employer for the opportunity to meet with him or her and mention something positive about the meeting. Next, tell the interviewer that you’d like some feedback on your interview; ask him or her to give you some insight into how you could do better for your next job interview.
Granted, some interviewers will answer this question in a way that doesn’t provide a lot of insight. “We decided to go with a candidate who had more experience.” is an answer that doesn’t always give you much insight, but you’ll hear it from time to time. Many interviewers, however, will give you an honest answer to the question, and that can help a lot in improving your interview skills.
Be prepared to truly hear and consider what the employer has to say.
If, for example, the employer states that you seemed somewhat unprepared for the interview and didn’t communicate your thoughts clearly or thoroughly, don’t react by taking offense. Instead, use this information as a learning opportunity. Determine how you can improve on that aspect of your interview the next time you are invited to an interview.
Remember, asking for feedback can open up new opportunities with that employer.
Asking an employer how you can do better at your next interview can improve an employer’s perception of you. It shows the employer that you are sincere in your job search efforts and that you are the type of person who takes every opportunity to improve upon your performance, and that makes a positive impact on the employer’s perception of you as a potential employee.
For example:
A client of mine was interviewing for a job as an administrative assistant. She had no previous office experience, but she did have the skills that were required to be successful at this type of job. A couple of days after the job interview, she came home to find a voice mail message. It was the employer stating that he enjoyed meeting with her, but he had decided to hire another candidate.
After calling me to get my input, my client called the employer. She thanked him for taking the time to interview her and noted that she was impressed with the work his organization did in the community. She then asked if he would be able to give her some feedback on her interview and whether there was anything she could improve for her next interview.
The employer noted that my client gave a very strong interview. He said he was very impressed with her, but he hired another candidate who had office administration experience (in this case, “We hired someone with more experience.” was a sincere answer).
My client took this information into consideration and realized that she was seeking work in a competitive field. She considered taking on some volunteer work to get the experience she lacked.
However, about two weeks after that interview, the employer called my client again. He was offering her the job that he had previously offered to a more experienced person. The employer stated that the person they hired did not work out, and he needed to hire someone else. Out of all of the other candidates he had interviewed, my client was the only person who had contacted the employer, thanked him for the interview and asked how she could improve for her next interview. He was so impressed with her industriousness that her offered her the job over many other, more experienced candidates.
Following up after an interview, even if you don’t get the job, is a powerful job search technique. Not only will it provide useful insight into the way you are being perceived by employers, it can also demonstrate to employers that you take every opportunity you can to continually improve your performance, and that can open up doors in unexpected ways.
For more job interview tips, review the information on the page Preparing for a Job Interview on the main Career Choice Guide site
