Why Haven’t I Heard Back After My Job Interview?

You may have had a successful and positive interview, but you never heard back from your potential employer. You performed all of the right steps: positive attitude, practiced all of your responses, and followed up with a thank you note. Unfortunately, you didn’t get a job offer or the call for a second interview. It is incredibly frustrating to be so close to a new career, but in the end, it just didn’t work out.

Chances are it is not your resume or your ability to find a job; it is possible it could be your interview skills or a personal reference that damaged your chance at a new job. We will evaluate the potential areas of concern when job interviewing and explore how you can improve in time for your next interview.

Preparation

Did you truly prepare for your job interview? Did you research the company thoroughly? Do your research on the company and ask a friend to help you with potential interview questions. Do not practice the questions once and be done with preparation. Maybe you memorized your interview questions word for word? Be sure to keep your responses natural. Formulate and practice your responses.

Additionally, scoping out the interview location a few days prior to your interview is a smart idea. This will make you feel comfortable if you are unfamiliar with the area and avoid any opportunity for being late to the interview. Give yourself extra time to get to the location. Preparation and practice equals confidence in your abilities to perform.

Attitude and Appearance

In order to figure out what went wrong during your interview, you have to be honest with yourself. You may have felt very confident throughout your job interview, but perhaps it came across as being over confident. Did you make the proper amount of eye contact? Did you establish a positive rapport with your interviewer? What about a firm handshake? How did you dress for the interview? Did you allow the interviewer to finish speaking or did you interrupt them? What about the discussion of salary? I hope you did not mention it unless it was brought up first by the interviewer!

Did you thank the interviewer for their time? What about your follow up skills? If you truly think you did everything you could to nail down the job interview in a positive way, the issue may lie with the interviewer’s attitude or a personal reference on your resume.

References

If you feel that you truly did your best at your interview, you may want to check with your personal references from your resume. Did you choose the right reference? Did you prepare your reference for the position you were interviewing for? The error could have been that they were unprepared for the interviewer’s phone call. Remember this for next time!

If you have looked at the aforementioned steps and truly feel you succeeded in your interview and with your personal references, it may be time to connect with previous interviewers. You want to find a previous interviewer or a personal colleague that will give you HONEST feedback on your interviewing skills.

Create a list of what you think you did right or wrong for your own personal point of reference. A career services center is also another option for you to try to refine your interview skills. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Occasionally, it truly may not be your personality or references; you may have lost out on the job due to inexperience or you were overqualified for the position.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of what the situation may be for you, please remember not to take the loss of a job offer too personally! Highlight your qualifications, crack a smile, and remember, no matter what happens, treat this interview as a learning experience for the next interview.