Career Cube Blog

Doncha’ just love it when you start on the job hunt and have a string of bad interviews? You did everything you could to prepare, and gave great answers to their questions, but you still didn’t get the offer! Then your self confidence starts to fade and you begin to doubt your interview skills and assume that you must have done something wrong.

Believe it or not, when I start to coach someone on improving their interview skills, the first thing we do is talk about their past interviews. Not to discover what they did wrong, but to debunk their bad experiences and show them that it’s not them, it’s the company that’s got the problem. I also point out to people that some companies are so dysfunctional that they’re better off getting out while the gettin’s good.

One client described a company that made her wait for 25 minutes, and then when she was brought back to the interview room, waited another 10 minutes because she was supposed to interview with someone else. My advice: If the interviewer seemed appropriately mortified at their inability to pull it together, then they can be forgiven. If they acted like this is par for the course, take that into consideration when you evaluate their offer.

A friend of mine had a great interview for a job she wanted, they liked her, she liked them, but the company went with an internal candidate. 6 months later that same company called her again, she had another great interview; they liked her, she liked them, and again they gave the job to another candidate. They wanted to keep in touch with her after that 2nd round, but she advised them to “forget you ever met me.” I concur.

I was talking with someone this week who was interviewed by a hiring manager in shorts and flip-flops. He was interviewing for a professional position, not something involving sunscreen and a beach. The insult to the candidate was that the flip-flop guy didn’t think my friend was qualified for the job. My advice: I asked him if he’d really be happy working for flip-flop guy and respect him as a boss. His answer: No. NEXT!

Another horror story from a client who had a great first interview with the people she’d be working with and to whom she’d be directly reporting. They asked her back for a 2nd interview-seemingly as a formality-to meet with the boss one level up. Unfortunately she didn’t get along with that boss, and she found out that the company had already had 3 people in that position over the past 18 months. She was frustrated because she had been the runner-up candidate for several positions and didn’t understand why she wasn’t getting offers. When we talked about what situations she saw at those companies, she saw that it wasn’t all about her, but that companies can have too much internal drama and you’re really better off walking/running away.

So the next time you’re lamenting your poor job interview luck take a closer look at what the interview process taught you about the company. Sure, everyone wants to be flooded with offers like dates to the prom, but just because the rude jerk/witchy woman asks you, doesn’t mean that you should spend an evening with them. You deserve better!

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