Job interviews...what am I doing wrong

[JustGettingBy]

I've made it no secret in this section that I've been getting a decent amount of interviews, but no offers. Its now pushing 20 interviews for living wage paying jobs in my field without an offer that's stood. I can tell that I'm doing something wrong, but am unable to place my finger on what exactly. I struggled in past parts of my life, but since then, I've been done a lot of research and practice, so idk what I'm doing wrong this time. These nearly 20 interviews have all been done with advice from job coaches and all common advice. I always:

 

Research the company

Come in well-groomed and well-dressed

Have good questions prepared

Be as professional as possible (avoid knocking past employers, stating everything in the best possible light, shake hands at the start and finish of the interview, be polite to everyone there, etc.)

Use open body language and display confidence without being arrogant

Make eye contact with the interviewer(s)

Show an interest in the position and company

Follow up afterwards

 

I'm obviously qualified as I've been getting so many interviews, with many interviewers stating that they're impressed with the work I've displayed on my website. I can tell based on my google analytics reports that they did see my site before the interview, so they're not just being polite. I've never had an interview end abruptly or early, so they're all at least interested enough in hiring me to take the time to go through the entire interview (often near an hour).

 

What could I possibly be missing?

[d0nnivain]

From the internet I can't tell. Perhaps pay a professional head hunter / job coach to have a mock interview with you & provide feedback.

[JustGettingBy]

From the internet I can't tell. Perhaps pay a professional head hunter / job coach to have a mock interview with you & provide feedback.

 

I've already done that twice, with both saying that I did good.

[Mr. Lucky]

Its now pushing 20 interviews for living wage paying jobs in my field without an offer that's stood.

 

Boy, 20 tries without a hit is more than just bad luck, must be something going on. If you've already followed d0nnivain's advice, you might ask a good friend to role-play an interview with you and film the process. Upon playback, you might see something in mannerisms or body language you weren't aware of.

 

Is it possible you're so over-prepared your answers seem canned and/or generic?

 

Mr. Lucky

[Chris2016]

What were their responses in the no offer letter, if you got one?

 

Side note:

How'd you get 20 interviews? In what time span?

 

When I was job searching, I applied to many jobs, but interviews were here and here.

[coolheadal]

I've made it no secret in this section that I've been getting a decent amount of interviews, but no offers. Its now pushing 20 interviews for living wage paying jobs in my field without an offer that's stood. I can tell that I'm doing something wrong, but am unable to place my finger on what exactly. I struggled in past parts of my life, but since then, I've been done a lot of research and practice, so idk what I'm doing wrong this time. These nearly 20 interviews have all been done with advice from job coaches and all common advice. I always:

 

Research the company

Come in well-groomed and well-dressed

Have good questions prepared

Be as professional as possible (avoid knocking past employers, stating everything in the best possible light, shake hands at the start and finish of the interview, be polite to everyone there, etc.)

Use open body language and display confidence without being arrogant

Make eye contact with the interviewer(s)

Show an interest in the position and company

Follow up afterwards

 

I'm obviously qualified as I've been getting so many interviews, with many interviewers stating that they're impressed with the work I've displayed on my website. I can tell based on my google analytics reports that they did see my site before the interview, so they're not just being polite. I've never had an interview end abruptly or early, so they're all at least interested enough in hiring me to take the time to go through the entire interview (often near an hour).

 

What could I possibly be missing?

 

Did they ask you the STAR Question: Task, Action, Result these are aim at you only no one else should be mentioned.

 

I wear business casual just way to hot here to wear a suit. I still get made offers to work for these companies. Past all they're test too. I am looking for a new role myself. I have to use Service Account Manager to get me to the place I want. Not easy to get in. Resume past the HR department. Resume I designed it myself not like your regular resume. 1 page be the STAR. The Senior Account Manager added something to my resume but I see what he did, just added STAR Question and gave them up front answer. . What ever you doing change your game plan.

[JustGettingBy]

Boy, 20 tries without a hit is more than just bad luck, must be something going on. If you've already followed d0nnivain's advice, you might ask a good friend to role-play an interview with you and film the process. Upon playback, you might see something in mannerisms or body language you weren't aware of.

 

Is it possible you're so over-prepared your answers seem canned and/or generic?

 

Mr. Lucky

 

Did they ask you the STAR Question: Task, Action, Result these are aim at you only no one else should be mentioned.

 

 

Tried these recently. Had an interview yesterday, and the interviewer wants to set up a second interview. Had another interview at a second place today, and should hear back within a week. Fingers crossed.

 

What were their responses in the no offer letter, if you got one?

 

Side note:

How'd you get 20 interviews? In what time span?

 

When I was job searching, I applied to many jobs, but interviews were here and here.

 

Mostly the standard 'thanks for applying, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Sadly, we have selected another candidate who was a better fit for the position. Good luck in your job search.

 

Also: 8 months. I've been working part-time though, so not totally unemployed

[Malin889]

Maybe none of these jobs were the right one for you. Maybe lucky 21 is right around the corner. Interviews are hard to get, so you are lucky that you are getting interviews. And it sounds like you go in very prepared. Can I ask you - out of these 20, have any of the companies really interested you, where you felt really passionate about? Have any of them felt like they were "your" job?

 

For example, I am casually applying for a new job currently. I interviewed for a job a couple days ago that I knew instantly I wasn't going to take - I got a few red flags from the interviewee, and the job just seemed very boring and the company didn't offer health insurance (???). There were a few other things. Anyway, so I knew leaving that the job wouldn't interest me in the long run, and I was overqualified and my salary range was too high. They emailed me the next day telling me the job was filled. (I knew the reasoning was because I needed health insurance and my salary range was too high. But either way, I was excited they didn't call me back for another interview.)

 

On the other hand, I have gone in for two interviews at a company that I know I would love, in an industry I love -- I know I'd be very happy there if I got it. It feels like "my" job! Have you been passionate about any of these companies/jobs? Once you are, I think that'll be the job you'll get.

[vickyp]

id say body language, eye contact, being confident in your skills, and sounding excited about the position. Or maybe they think you wouldn't fit in to the " work culture"

[JustGettingBy]

Maybe none of these jobs were the right one for you. Maybe lucky 21 is right around the corner. Interviews are hard to get, so you are lucky that you are getting interviews. And it sounds like you go in very prepared. Can I ask you - out of these 20, have any of the companies really interested you, where you felt really passionate about? Have any of them felt like they were "your" job?

 

For example, I am casually applying for a new job currently. I interviewed for a job a couple days ago that I knew instantly I wasn't going to take - I got a few red flags from the interviewee, and the job just seemed very boring and the company didn't offer health insurance (???). There were a few other things. Anyway, so I knew leaving that the job wouldn't interest me in the long run, and I was overqualified and my salary range was too high. They emailed me the next day telling me the job was filled. (I knew the reasoning was because I needed health insurance and my salary range was too high. But either way, I was excited they didn't call me back for another interview.)

 

On the other hand, I have gone in for two interviews at a company that I know I would love, in an industry I love -- I know I'd be very happy there if I got it. It feels like "my" job! Have you been passionate about any of these companies/jobs? Once you are, I think that'll be the job you'll get.

 

A few of the earlier ones I felt kind of "meh" about, but anything within the past 6 months has been something I've actively wanted. I was pretty neutral on most of the companies, but the actual role (my day to day duties) were exactly what I wanted.

[Malin889]

I’m SURE something will come along soon. Maybe look up companies that you really like and see if they’re hiring your kind of position?

[JustGettingBy]

I’m SURE something will come along soon. Maybe look up companies that you really like and see if they’re hiring your kind of position?

 

Have a list that I went through that with a couple of months ago.

 

Might take another shot at it soon.

[ChatroomHero]

You can always ask. Call the one that interviewed you and ask for 5 minutes of honest feedback. Ask straight up if they feel you were over qualified, under qualified and just not a fit personality-wise.

 

 

If wonder if in your field your personality might be different than the candidate they usually get. Good or bad, it might be a determining factor if you will mesh with their current employees. If you are applying for accounting jobs and your personality is too outgoing, it might throw them off. If you are going for customer service or a party planner or something, maybe you seem too straight-laced.

 

 

Just a thought. You might not fit the prototype, but if you ask for honest feedback you might actually get it.

[JustGettingBy]

Was just turned down at a place after getting 3 interviews there, and they specifically said I was the 2nd choice. Losing confidence fast at this point.

[Mr. Lucky]

Two things here. First, being "second choice" out of an interview pool, while not the result you want, means you're getting closer. You may have come across as well as the person they hired, who might have had more specific job experience.

 

And second, many times I've turned to the second choice when something didn't work out during the onboarding or training process with the first.

 

Keep throwing your line in the water, you'll hook something soon...

 

Mr. Lucky

[BluBell]

I've made it no secret in this section that I've been getting a decent amount of interviews, but no offers. Its now pushing 20 interviews for living wage paying jobs in my field without an offer that's stood. I can tell that I'm doing something wrong, but am unable to place my finger on what exactly. I struggled in past parts of my life, but since then, I've been done a lot of research and practice, so idk what I'm doing wrong this time. These nearly 20 interviews have all been done with advice from job coaches and all common advice. I always:

 

Research the company

Come in well-groomed and well-dressed

Have good questions prepared

Be as professional as possible (avoid knocking past employers, stating everything in the best possible light, shake hands at the start and finish of the interview, be polite to everyone there, etc.)

Use open body language and display confidence without being arrogant

Make eye contact with the interviewer(s)

Show an interest in the position and company

Follow up afterwards

 

I'm obviously qualified as I've been getting so many interviews, with many interviewers stating that they're impressed with the work I've displayed on my website. I can tell based on my google analytics reports that they did see my site before the interview, so they're not just being polite. I've never had an interview end abruptly or early, so they're all at least interested enough in hiring me to take the time to go through the entire interview (often near an hour).

 

What could I possibly be missing?

 

20 interviews in 8 months is way too many, to be honest. Your takeaway at this point should be that on paper you're a great candidate, but in person you are not delivering well. Interviewing people takes a ton of time away from our regular workloads.

 

If you've tried the same exact approach all 20 interviews, that is an indicator itself that you can work on self-evaluating to learn what went wrong in conversation. My opinion of your list above is that all of those things are pretty standard ways to prepare for and handle an in-person interview. Coming in for an interview well-dressed and having done research about the company is a basic amount of effort. There's nothing special about making eye contact and shaking someone's hand. To me your tone is sounding a little entitled/cold.

 

However- you say "avoid knocking past employers"...you should absolutely never ever reveal anything remotely negative about a previous employer. Ever. If there's something unpleasant about a past employer- share the story here and ask others for advice about how to spin it. HR is on the hunt for people who cause personality conflicts. If they think you are likely to have conflicts with coworkers, they will not hire you. We ask for letters of recommendation because we want to know we will get along with you and that you left previous jobs on good terms.

 

Even if your complaint about your last job is substance based- ex. they weren't challenging you enough and you were bored- this is still negative on you. What steps did you take to ask for more responsibility? Everyone gets bored from time to time, it's not acceptable from their standpoint to do all the work to keep you happy, you need to meet your managers halfway.

 

Do you think you've connected on a personal level with your interviewers? My best guess is that they don't see you as someone they would like to work with/or manage. At this point, you're clearly qualified, so it's gotta be a personality conflict. Be more personable, smile and ask questions like- what's your biggest challenge in your position, what are your goals this year, how long have you worked here, how did you get started in this field, etc. 40 hours/week is a long time to spend with people you don't get along with, so personality fits matter so much more than people admit.

[JustGettingBy]

20 interviews in 8 months is way too many, to be honest. Your takeaway at this point should be that on paper you're a great candidate, but in person you are not delivering well. Interviewing people takes a ton of time away from our regular workloads.

 

If you've tried the same exact approach all 20 interviews, that is an indicator itself that you can work on self-evaluating to learn what went wrong in conversation. My opinion of your list above is that all of those things are pretty standard ways to prepare for and handle an in-person interview. Coming in for an interview well-dressed and having done research about the company is a basic amount of effort. There's nothing special about making eye contact and shaking someone's hand. To me your tone is sounding a little entitled/cold.

 

The list was more so to say that I haven't been dropping the ball on anything basic. I wasn't showing off.

 

However- you say "avoid knocking past employers"...you should absolutely never ever reveal anything remotely negative about a previous employer. Ever. If there's something unpleasant about a past employer- share the story here and ask others for advice about how to spin it. HR is on the hunt for people who cause personality conflicts. If they think you are likely to have conflicts with coworkers, they will not hire you. We ask for letters of recommendation because we want to know we will get along with you and that you left previous jobs on good terms.

 

Even if your complaint about your last job is substance based- ex. they weren't challenging you enough and you were bored- this is still negative on you. What steps did you take to ask for more responsibility? Everyone gets bored from time to time, it's not acceptable from their standpoint to do all the work to keep you happy, you need to meet your managers halfway.

 

I usually only mention previous jobs in using my STAR stories, and when they ask why I want to move away from my current job, I say that I'm at a point in my life where I feel I should be working within my field. Saying that previous jobs aren't in my field isn't negative.

 

Do you think you've connected on a personal level with your interviewers? My best guess is that they don't see you as someone they would like to work with/or manage. At this point, you're clearly qualified, so it's gotta be a personality conflict. Be more personable, smile and ask questions like- what's your biggest challenge in your position, what are your goals this year, how long have you worked here, how did you get started in this field, etc. 40 hours/week is a long time to spend with people you don't get along with, so personality fits matter so much more than people admit.

 

I feel there were a few where I connected. Its kinda strange though that my job coach has informed me that those questions specifically aren't very good unless they pertain to my personal role.

[BluBell]

The list was more so to say that I haven't been dropping the ball on anything basic. I wasn't showing off.

 

 

 

I usually only mention previous jobs in using my STAR stories, and when they ask why I want to move away from my current job, I say that I'm at a point in my life where I feel I should be working within my field. Saying that previous jobs aren't in my field isn't negative.

 

 

 

I feel there were a few where I connected. Its kinda strange though that my job coach has informed me that those questions specifically aren't very good unless they pertain to my personal role.

 

When it comes to interviews and the job search process, everyone has advice and lots of it is conflicting. My advice is based on my own personal experiences. I can recall several interviews being asked totally inappropriate questions such as-

 

You don't have a husband in this city? Your family lives across the country? What brought you out here then?

 

On numerous occasions as a young woman who moved from one coast to the other, those type of personal questions were asked. Completely irrelevant to my skills or qualifications, sure. I also never got any of those job offers. Coincidence? Probably not. They thought I had no anchor in their city therefore why waste their time training me and bringing me onboard.

 

While the job search process is inherently personal, the decisions employers make are often less a reflection of you and more about what's in their best interest. When you start to think about things from their perspective, you'll find yourself moving farther ahead.

[Eternal Sunshine]

My thoughts as someone that has been on both sides of the panel:

 

1. Are you working in a field where somehow there are negative rumors about you? This may sound weird but in my field, nobody takes a risk in hiring someone they have heard anything remotely negative about. Most often, it's not through a direct reference.

 

2. Write out a well thought out answer on "why did you apply for this position". You will be asked that 99% of the times. It's not enough to say that you want a job in your field. You need around 4-5 articulate points why you want that specific role in that specific company. At the same time, those points need to highlight your key strengths. It will also set a positive tone and make you more confident for the rest of your interview.

 

3. If you are asked a question that you are not sure how to answer, be generic and vague. Nobody answers all the questions perfectly so a neutral answer on a few is OK.

 

4. If you have never had experience in something technical, don't lie. It's really obvious when you do.

 

5. Ask questions in the end but it doesn't matter much what you ask. It's never really a deciding factor.

 

Overall, preferred candidate is selected before the interview. If it's you, all you have to do is not say something totally out of line. If you are not the preferred candidate, you really need to ACE the interview and you need the preferred candidate to screw up. Latter part is out of your control. So it's possible to have 20 interviews where you are a filler candidate in most.

[JustGettingBy]

When it comes to interviews and the job search process, everyone has advice and lots of it is conflicting. My advice is based on my own personal experiences. I can recall several interviews being asked totally inappropriate questions such as-

 

You don't have a husband in this city? Your family lives across the country? What brought you out here then?

 

On numerous occasions as a young woman who moved from one coast to the other, those type of personal questions were asked. Completely irrelevant to my skills or qualifications, sure. I also never got any of those job offers. Coincidence? Probably not. They thought I had no anchor in their city therefore why waste their time training me and bringing me onboard.

 

While the job search process is inherently personal, the decisions employers make are often less a reflection of you and more about what's in their best interest. When you start to think about things from their perspective, you'll find yourself moving farther ahead.

 

I agree that its pretty personal every time, but I'll try to keep this in mind.

 

My thoughts as someone that has been on both sides of the panel:

 

1. Are you working in a field where somehow there are negative rumors about you? This may sound weird but in my field, nobody takes a risk in hiring someone they have heard anything remotely negative about. Most often, it's not through a direct reference.

 

2. Write out a well thought out answer on "why did you apply for this position". You will be asked that 99% of the times. It's not enough to say that you want a job in your field. You need around 4-5 articulate points why you want that specific role in that specific company. At the same time, those points need to highlight your key strengths. It will also set a positive tone and make you more confident for the rest of your interview.

 

3. If you are asked a question that you are not sure how to answer, be generic and vague. Nobody answers all the questions perfectly so a neutral answer on a few is OK.

 

4. If you have never had experience in something technical, don't lie. It's really obvious when you do.

 

5. Ask questions in the end but it doesn't matter much what you ask. It's never really a deciding factor.

 

Overall, preferred candidate is selected before the interview. If it's you, all you have to do is not say something totally out of line. If you are not the preferred candidate, you really need to ACE the interview and you need the preferred candidate to screw up. Latter part is out of your control. So it's possible to have 20 interviews where you are a filler candidate in most.

1. Its possible, but extremely unlikely. I'm still very entry level, have never done anything that would warrant anything like that. I also believe that if it was due to a negative rumour, I would have been weeded out before the interview.

 

2.I usually have 2-3 points specific to the job and company. Guess I need a couple more each time. Thanks.

 

3. I generally ask for clarification, now I'm wondering if that's a mistake.

 

4.I'm honest. There's also been points where I've mentioned that I'm not experience with "technical item A" is my weak point, still been given a second interview, and learned said technical item in between interviews.

 

5. I should be good here.

 

I could see being a filler candidate for 10ish interviews, but 20 does seem stretching it, at least from my perspective.

[BC1980]

In many fields, it matters who you know. They already have a candidate in mind, and you are just brought in to fill a quota. Do you have connections you can work? It's also supply and demand. Is there a great demand for your position and no supply, or is it the other way around? For instance, it's insanely difficult to get a job as a professor with a PhD in English because there is too much supply. I stopped at the masters level because there are no jobs in that field. I went into another field where there is a great demand and not enough supply, so it's really easy to get an entry level job.