If you had a seemingly great interview, or multiple interviews, but haven’t received a job offer, you might be wondering what went wrong. While some aspects of the hiring process are outside your control, like an internal candidate being selected or a hiring freeze, there are several issues you can identify and fix.
4 Reasons You’re Not Receiving Job Offers After Interviews (And Solutions)
Let’s dive in. The following are four potential reasons you may not receive an offer after your interview, and how to address them:
1. You’re “catfishing” the interviewer.
One reason you may not be receiving job offers is that there’s a disconnect between your resume and your interview responses, which can result in the interviewer feeling “catfished.” What I mean is that you come off differently on your resume compared to in your interview.
While rarely done with intention or malice, this can sometimes happen if you’re a skilled writer but haven’t taken adequate time to practice your interview stories. It can also happen if you hire an inexperienced resume writer who developed your resume without learning your unique voice.
Solution: Craft a resume that genuinely sounds like you and actively reflects your career accomplishments. Then, be prepared to effectively walk the interviewer through your resume.
2. You are blending in.
Another reason you may not have received a job offer after interviewing could be that you failed to differentiate yourself from the crowd during the interview process. This is especially important if you want to land a job in the tech industry, as the space is incredibly competitive, and you don’t want to come across as mediocre.
Don’t make the mistake of coming across as an unconfident generalist who is unsure of their unique value proposition. Doing so can often result in making it to the final round of interviews but getting passed up for another applicant.
Solution: Stand out from other applicants by taking time to identify your “fabulousness,” then sharing memorable stories throughout your interview that reinforce it.
3. Your interview answers are forgettable.
Speaking of standing out from other applicants, you don’t want to give answers that leave the interviewer unimpressed, or even worse, bored. While no one is expecting you to tell stories like Shonda Rhimes, it helps if some of your stories have some “stickiness” to them.
There is often a week or two, or sometimes more, between interviews and the decision as to whether you’ll make it to the next round or receive a job offer. “Sticky” stories make it easier for the interviewer to recall your answers come decision-making time, which can increase your chances of receiving a job offer.
Solution: Learn how to use the STAR(T) formula to structure your responses to behavioral interview questions. But don’t stop there. As you practice your responses, jot down a half-dozen of the most memorable, and relevant, stories from your career, then weave them into your next interview.
4. Your delivery is off.
In addition to refining the content of your interview responses, you also want to assess your delivery. For instance, are you talking too quickly or going off on tangents during the interview? This can be caused by a lack of preparation, low confidence, or even imposter syndrome.
You want to answer each interview question clearly and compellingly, without fluffy language or unnecessary details. Your goal is to come off as practiced and confident, but not rehearsed.
Solution: Don’t be afraid to write down questions as you’re asked them. Also, practice speaking slowly and taking a breath between each sentence, as this provides the interviewer ample time to truly hear and absorb what you’re saying.
On a final note, if you’ve given all these tips a try and still haven’t received an offer, consider speaking with an interview coach. They can help you identify what is standing in the way of landing a job you love. You’ve got this!
