Interviewing: It's Not (Necessarily) About You

We all do it. You go on an interview and on the way home you start replaying your answers in your head. "Why did I say that?" you think, or "I'm so mad that I forgot to tell her about that wonderful accomplishment I just achieved!" Further still, you start berating yourself for the littlest of things: for wearing a navy blue suit instead of a black one, for deciding to accept the glass of water instead of refusing it, for sending an email thank you note instead of a hand-written one. This second guessing increases exponentially which each passing day that you don't hear back from the employer.

You need to keep in mind, however, that not getting the job is not necessarily about you or what you did or didn't do. Very often, interviewees do everything right and still don't get they job. Why? Well, it can be for a number of reasons. Sometimes, to the chagrin of many a job seeker, the employer already has someone in mind for the job but has to go through the formality of interviewing multiple candidates to satisfy human resource policies. Or it could be that, while you are a super well-qualified candidate for the position, another candidate has one key significant advantage over you. Thirdly, the company decides to go with an internal candidate who would clearly have an advantage over you. These are just a few reasons why you won't get the job even if you do everything right. Losing out on a job for reasons that are beyond our control is one of the most frustrating aspects of the job search, but the key to success is to keep on doing your very best in your interviews, realizing that the hiring decision wasn't necessarily about you.

So, how do you know who got the job over you? With a little detective work on LinkedIn or researching the company's employee directory, you can easily find out and then examine that person's background to see why he or she got the position over you. Or you can try calling the employer and asking them, but bear in mind that some employers might not be willing to share this information.

Have you every lost out on a job for a reason that was beyond your control? Please feel free to share it here to help other job seekers know that they're not alone!