The most common concern of youngsters looking anxiously for jobs happens to be “Despite doing our best, why do we fail to crack the job interview?!”
Since you are here reading this, we assume that you also happen to be one of those people with the same concern. But before we begin to analyze the problem, let’s understand the definition of ‘best’ and how it differs from person to person.
You don’t know how much efforts others put who actually get those jobs and what are the factors that differentiate you from them. We all are heroes in our own stories but we need to know the stories of those who emerge victoriously. You might be wondering about all the reasons by now. Still puzzled? Do not worry much because we are here to bring to you the best advice which would really make a difference in your lives. All that you are required to do is give it a read and apply it to your own lives.
1. You are not Being Proactive
Are you sitting around overthinking about your current situation and doing nothing else about it? You might sit in front of your computers/laptops every day, check sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, CareerBuilder and OPTnation etc. and then crib about the fact that no job confirmation notification has popped up in your inbox. But do you think just maintaining an account and simply clicking and scrolling all day long could get you a job? There is so so so much more to be done in order to get somewhere. Now, even if luckily you do get a call but will you crack the interview when you haven’t really done what is necessarily important for you to do? RESEARCH, PLAN, SET ASIDE MORE TIME FOR THIS, WORK ON YOUR SKILLS and so on. You really need to put your heart and soul into it because there is a cut-throat competition as far as getting a job is concerned.
2. Lack of Passion
Your lack of passion shows. When you go to an interview unprepared or with little preparation, the recruiter will know. They just do. They are sitting there not just for the sake of it. They are extremely experienced people and they have been there in your place sometime in their life. So it becomes very easy for them to scan the right candidates. They know that skills can be inculcated in the employees, but if the passion is missing nothing really can be done to improve on that from their side. So they are only left with one decision that is to reject you right away.
3. You don’t sell Yourself
If there’s this one time when you have to sell yourself, it is when you are job hunting. Even if you have the right skill-set and the required talent to fit in the job profile, but if you fail to convey the same to them then, in that case, you will probably get rejected. They have a lot of candidates there for them to interview who know that it is their only chance to let the recruiters know each and every important skill that they possess. Otherwise, if they are clueless or have little knowledge about you, why would they hire you anyway? Those few minutes is the only time that you have to let them know every single detail that would interest them to hire you.
4. You Haven’t Researched about the Company
It would hurt a bit but if you have everything that is required to ace the interview while having no knowledge about the company, there is a full chance that you will go home with the bad news. Facing rejection isn’t easy when you know how capable you are for grabbing the job that you had applied for. But this is the bitter truth. Do your research and let them know that you are genuinely interested in joining the company. And this can only be proved if you have thorough knowledge about the company. You can check out these interview tips if you want a great method to apply for jobs quickly and easily online.
5. You are Overqualified
It might sound bizarre but being too qualified could also turn out to be problematic for you. You might be the best person out there to successfully get any job. You are confident that you have all the required qualities, in fact much more than that. But this where you fail to see the disadvantage of it. They are looking for the right candidate which means nobody who’s underqualified or overqualified. They wouldn’t want to hire someone who is too qualified for the job because they fear you would leave the job as when you are offered a better opportunity somewhere else. They want candidates who will stick with the company. This is probably their main agenda. So if you were clueless about the unfair rejection that you had to face, now you know why.
6. You lack Professionalism or do not Appear to be Likable
Just imagine you are the one interviewing someone and the person appearing for the interview appears in a purple shirt and polka dot patterned pants. How would you feel? You will probably laugh uncontrollably. Now just reverse the situation, the reaction is the same. You have to take care of a lot of things other than the technical aspects. Presenting yourself, your body language, communication skills; all of this plays a very important role during the selection process. So take care that you appear in formals and communicate in a professional manner and look like a dignified candidate.
7. You are not Connected in your Industry
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” This has never been truer, especially in today’s competitive job market scenario. According to research compiled by Interview Success Formula, while there were 3.6 million job openings in the U.S. in 2012, 80% of these were never advertised. This indicates that employers were likely looking internally and amongst their current sphere of connections to find suitable candidates.
If you aren’t already, make sure you’re putting yourself out there by recurrently attending conferences, networking groups, and industry events. You never know who you’ll meet!
Now you the possible reasons why you were rejected. Work on yourself while keeping all the above-mentioned points in your mind.
All the best for your future endeavors!
Author Bio:
Abrons Dilan is PR strategist and writer, with extensive professional management experience in the public and private sectors.