My Candid Advice On Why You Failed That Interview Even Before It Ended

By Lilian Wamaitha
Getting a call for an interview is exhilarating especially if you have been looking for a job for a long time. And even if you just applied for that one job and got shortlisted, it’s still exciting t0 know that there is a possibility of a new job.
But not every interview you have attended has turned into a job, now has it?
In one, you were less qualified than the other candidate and a majority of the other times you were not able to sell your skills in those 30 minutes or so.
I have worked in a recruitment company for a long time now and have learnt so much from the many recruiters who surround me and at the end of the day are on the other side of the table interviewing to fill up existing roles.
Here is why you’ve failed in interviews before;
1. Your body language ended up betraying you
Knowing all the answers to possible interview questions is not enough to pass an interview. It’s not also enough that you are qualified and everything you say reflects what is on your CV.
Your body language a.k.a what you don’t say, contributes also to the success of the interview.
So think back to your last job interview and consider those nonverbal cues.
Did your body language communicate disinterest or boredom?
Did you keep looking at your watch like you had somewhere else to be? Did you forget to make eye contact or did you play with your hair the whole time?
Potential employers and recruiters want to see a confident person who is interested in the role and determined to get it. Make sure your body language does not ruin this for you.
2. The way you entered and introduced yourself to the interviewer
One of the most important moments in any interview is the way you introduce yourself to the interviewer.
For most hiring managers, they will make a decision on whether you are suitable for the role in the way you introduce yourself.
And one of the mistakes candidates make is sit before they are even offered a seat.
You are in that person’s territory and so they run the show, hence the reason why you should remember your manners.
Standing by the chair and waiting to be offered the seat is the polite thing to do.
3. You never did your homework
When I went for my first interview after campus, I remember being asked at the end of the interview if I had any questions for the interviewer and immediately asked “tell me about what your company deals with?”
Of course I was just a fresh graduate with no idea how the corporate world works or how to pass an interview and I thought that by asking that question, I would impress the interviewer because it would show how curious I was and interested to work for them.
Needless to say, I never got the job.
When invited for an interview, the first thing you do is research about the company so that you don’t ask such a question like I did.
You do not want to be caught unawares when the interviewer asks what you know about the company.
Researching about the company is the only way you get to know what the company does and also helps you in shaping your answers to fit the needs of the company.
To impress an employer you need to showcase that you are interested in working for the company and this can only be done if you actually did your homework on who the employer is and what the company does.
4. You never dressed for the job
“First impression counts,” says Esther Kamau an interview preparation coach at Corporate Staffing Services.
She says that even when candidates are attending her own interview preparation sessions she can tell who took time to prepare for it and who got out in hurry by just looking at how they are dressed.
“When attending an interview, take time to go through your wardrobe, choose a dress that fits well (not to revealing or too loose). You do not want to give an interviewer the impression that the interview was the last thing you thought about,” she says.
5. Lastly, you were unprepared for even the most basic interview questions
The most difficult questions in an interview are the most basic – the ones we take for granted and never prepare for in depth.
And only when you are hit with the usual ‘Tell me a little about yourself’ or ‘why should we hire you?’ do you wish you had prepared well.
If you cannot tell an interviewer anything interesting about yourself and why he/she should hire you then your goose is cooked as far as getting the job is concerned.
Just because you got shortlisted for the job, doesn’t mean that you already got it. You still have an interview to prepare for and most recruiters will admit that this is where the rubber meets the road. Preparing for an interview should carry the same weight as when you are applying for the job.
For preparation for your next interview, get in touch with our experienced interview coach through her email esther@corporatestaffing.co.ke to book a session today.