Good Interview but Eliminated from the Hiring Process?

When an interview goes poorly it’s no surprise that a candidate is not invited in for another round of meetings. After all – that is the purpose of the interview process. The head scratching begins when interviews seemingly go well, rapport is established and the hiring authority is talking about the candidate as if she already has the position. Only to be followed by the candidate receiving a rejection letter or is released from the process by his recruiter. How could that even happen? There are myriad reasons behind these situations but here are the five common reasons why a candidate may not have been selected despite a perceived good interview.

1.     There is only one open position with multiple qualified candidates.

This is pretty straightforward and most common. Companies looking to hire executives seldom interview just one person. As a recruiter my goal is to provide my clients multiple qualified candidates with differing baskets of skills. Each person is qualified in his own right but with slight degrees of difference. Employers will select a candidate based on the perceived preferential mix of technical ability, personality, certifications and previous experience. Elimination of candidates is a natural part of the process whether using recruiters or managing the process internally.

2.     Basic Interview Manners & Etiquette

As the old saying goes “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”. It won’t matter how well a candidate can answer interview questions if the basics of rapport building through proper etiquette are ignored. This is important at all levels. Surprisingly some pretty common mistakes are:

• Arriving to the interview late
• Rudeness or arrogance to the receptionist or admin who is greeting
• Texting or emailing in the lobby while waiting – worse yet – during the interview
• Chewing gum, eating mints during interview
• Too casually dressed

While some may not think these are a big deal each one of these speak to a potential lack of respect for the interview process and the interviewer. There have been a number of CPAs and CFO candidates who dismiss common courtesy in the interview process at their own peril.

3.     Social Media and Online Presence

Social media is everywhere and it is fair game. CPA firms & their clients, VC & PE firms & their portfolio companies all around the world create online public personalities on their websites, through blogs, Glassdoor, Facebook, LinkedIn and other means. Conversely candidates should be prepared to be evaluated through their social media postings. Postings that can be viewed as extreme, controversial or insulting will only serve to question a candidate’s judgement and his ability to work well as a member of a diverse team. Throughout all my years of recruiting I’ve never seen someone hired as a result of extreme (left or right) social media posts but I have seen candidates eliminated because of poor judgement in posting certain photographs, extreme rants or tirades.

4.     Canned interview answers

Hundreds if not thousands of books have been written on the topic of interview preparation. It is expected for a candidate to consider potential questions and answers in preparation for the interview, but too much preparation can prove to be detrimental. Try to avoid figuring out the “correct answer” to standard questions ahead of time as this can lead to the risk of sounding too scripted and unnatural reciting prepared answers. At worst this could even suggest a lack of creativity, problem-solving and aptitude for deriving answers from personal experiences. To be sure it is important to prepare for potential interview questions but a candidate must also let her natural personality shine during the interview by giving answers from personal experience and perspective.

5.     Lots of talking but no communication

This can go so many different ways from talking too much or talking too little or talking but not communicating. It is easy to feel like an interview went well from a candidate’s perspective if he was able to answer the interviewer’s questions.  But was the candidate really addressing the interviewer’s question? Very frequently conversations diverge down “rabbit trails” which can be interesting but nonproductive. Ensure communication by interacting, asking for clarity and or suggesting specific examples.

Interviewing is a process where employers select candidates and candidates select employers so narrowing the field is an inherent part of the game. Employers will be looking for reasons to eliminate candidates at every step in the process. Adhere to the basic rules of professional interpersonal interactions. Remember that any interview is simply a formal business meeting. Rapport must be established, and communication effective. While it can be disappointing to not be selected despite a good interview, a quick post mortem can usually uncover where the process went sideways.

For further discussion or if you would like help in assessing your interview performance please do drop us an email, call or LinkedIn message. We would be happy to help.