Congratulations! You landed an interview undoubtedly as a result of doing several things in the best possible way:
1) You had a professional, sharp resume prepared that highlights not only your accomplishments, but also the unique skills and experiences that you will bring to your next employer.
2) You marketed your magnum opus (resume!). You sent it out to job openings advertised somewhere (the Internet, the newspaper, a flyer) as well as to companies you are interested in working for (even if they didn’t post an opening).
3) You handled the phone interview professionally enough that they invited you to come in for an in-person interview.
4) You showed up for the interview.
It’s been a week (or more) and you have not heard from them. Now what?
Two areas need to be addressed here – 1) the reasons why you may not be called back by this company – ever, and 2) What you can do now.
Reasons (you can do something about for the next time) why you won’t be called back – ever.
1) You showed up late for the interview.
2) You chewed gum during the interview.
3) Your handshake was limp and clammy.
4) They saw you sweat.
5) You were not prepared for the questions they were going to ask you.
6) You had stains on your clothes.
7) Your cell phone rang.
8) You answered it.
9) You didn’t look the interviewer in the eyes.
10) You didn’t sell yourself assertively enough!
11) You didn’t send a thank-you note.
Reasons (you have no control over) why you won’t be called back – ever.
1) From the interviewer’s judgmental perspective, you are too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too married, too single, too old, too young, too sharp, too smart, too dumb, too educated, too WHATEVER! You get the idea. You might have the perfect body, the perfect hair style for your features, the perfect resume, the perfect outfit, and the perfect answers to the questions asked of you – but that interviewer may be intimidated by you, jealous of you, threatened by you, or just not like you because you remind him of the guy who ran off with his wife. You will never find out the real reason(s) why the interviewer chose not to ever contact you again – and that’s ok. Move on. You don’t want to work for a company who has someone like that screening applicants anyway.
2) The company had no intention of hiring you or any other person they called in for an interview from the get-go. They are going to hire the receptionist’s sister. But to make that look “legit” they have to post the ad, call in applicants, and interview them – then they can hire the current worker’s relative without raising (too many) flags.
No matter how awful you think you did on the interview, learn from it so you don’t make the same mistakes again. You might make new mistakes, and that’s ok – but there is no excuse to make the same mistake twice.
What you can do now.
1) If you haven’t already done so, send a thank-you note via snail mail – not email.
2) Pray.
3) Let it go.
4) Pray. Whether you want to believe it or not, God has a plan for you. If you could just get out of the way and let Him drive, you’d see that awesome plan much sooner! (And what are examples of not letting Him drive…Calling the company you interviewed with every day to see if they hired anyone yet. Stopping up there to ask in person. Emailing them every day. Basically, stalking them. If you are meant to be at the company in that role, that’s where you will be. In the meantime, send your resume to other companies, get your clothes ready for the next interview, and start practicing your answers to the questions most HR people ask – What are your weaknesses? What are your strengths? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Why do you want to work for us? Why did you quit/get fired from your last job?)
