You applied for a job that seemed to be the perfect match for your skills and experience. You soon received a call back from the hiring department and an interview was scheduled. You know you aced the interview. You were confident, well-dressed, and you had done your homework on the company in advance. There’s no way you won’t land this opportunity. You go home after your interview, sit back, and wait for the phone call letting you know that the position is yours if you want it. But that phone call never comes. Weeks go by, and you finally come to the realization that you didn’t get the job after all. But why? Here are some reasons.
- You intimidated the hiring manager. It could be that you handled yourself so well during the interview that the hiring manager came to view you as a threat. Nobody is going to hire a candidate if they fear that person might end up taking their job.
- The hiring manager suspected that you might not stick with the company since, unbeknownst to you, the department you were interviewing for is disorganized or otherwise lacking. If they don’t think you’ll stay, chances are you won’t get the job.
- The hiring manager wanted to offer you the job, but upper management referred someone else for the position. Rather than putting their own job in jeopardy, the hiring manager opted to go with the boss’s first choice over their own.
- They just couldn’t afford you. If your salary requirements exceeded the amount budgeted for the position, and the employer did not believe that you would settle for a lower pay rate, then they likely gave the job to a candidate with lower salary expectations.
- The company decided to go with another candidate who already possesses the training necessary to do the job right out of the gate. In other words, you lost out on the position to someone with comparable qualifications but whose work experience is more relevant to the position.
- For some reason, they just didn’t like you. It happens. If your personality simply doesn’t mesh with that of the hiring manager, or if s/he does not believe that you will fit in with established employees within the department, then you probably won’t get the job.
- You are too qualified and they fear you won’t stay if hired. Regardless of how much you believe you would like a job, if you are overqualified an employer will likely pass you over for someone they believe will stick with them for the long haul.
