27 Feb 4 Reasons You Didn’t Land Your Dream Job
While you may be searching hard to find your dream job, rejection can be difficult to overcome. You may have thought you were the perfect candidate and the job was yours — only to find out otherwise. While there may be many reasons why you didn’t get the job — some more obvious than others — here are four reasons you didn’t land your dream job.
Your Qualifications Didn’t Match What The Company Was Looking For
While you may have incredible experience and a lot of confidence, many managers and recruiters have a specific person in mind. They want someone who has very specific qualifications and who requires less training than another individual. Look closely at the qualifications listed with the job posting and match them with your own experience and skills. Was it a close match or were there many required qualifications that you didn’t meet?
Your First Impression was Weak
When you are fighting for a new job position, you must make a strong first impression to those interviewing you. You must make them excited to continue on with the job interview, get-to-know-you, and make it difficult to forget about you. A few things you must do to create this strong first impression include:
- Dress professionally to your interview.
- Arrive on time. However, make sure you don’t arrive too early and you put those interviewing you in an awkward position.
- If you will be late, make sure to call ahead.
- Be polite and kind to everyone you meet in the building.
- Firmly shake hands and make eye contact with each person interviewing you.
You Appeared Too Confident
While you certainly want to appear confident and sure during the interview process, you also must be careful that you don’t take it too far. When you are too confident, you can appear cocky and arrogant. One of the characteristics many interviewers are looking for in the ideal candidate is someone who can get along with most individuals on the team and that will be a valuable asset to the company culture. When you give off a negative impression, you can be sure that your name went to the bottom of the “must-hire” pile.
You Were Not Prepared for the Interview
Once you have an interview scheduled, it is time for you to get to work. You need to spend time learning all you can about the company, its mission, goals, etc. From this research, you can gather questions to ask during the interview process. Your interviewers will be impressed with your knowledge and this is just one way to show your initiative, excitement, and work ethic. It is also wise to practice the entire job interview process. You may not find your dream job because someone else mastered this process and stood out among the sea of applicants.
While rejection certainly is a normal part of life, it can be difficult as you find your dream job. Just remember that the application and interview process are excellent learning tools and by being prepared and practicing, you’ll be able to conquer your next application process.
