Acing the first interview is no guarantee that the position is yours, there are reasons why you might not be getting a second interview.
Job searching is full of all kinds of frustrations!
Perhaps the most challenging issue, however, is getting stuck at the same point in the interview process.
Here are some reasons why you might not be getting a second interview.
• You didn’t follow directions.
At all points during the interview process, it’s important to follow directions. Send the requested materials, (e.g., resume, cover letter, portfolio, etc.) and use the specified file formats.
Once you’ve interviewed, be sure to follow the hiring manager’s lead when following up.
• Your social media is too revealing
Recently, some employers decided not to hire a candidate based on online activities.
If your social media contains material that employers find objectionable, like certain types of Party pictures or political opinions, you might be hurting yourself in the job search.
It is best to lock down your profiles so that only work-appropriate material is visible to hiring managers but don’t delete your accounts.
• You didn’t have the type of experience the hiring manager is looking for.
The goal of the first interview is to check the depth of your industry knowledge and skill levels as it relates to the work the employer needs you to do and this varies for each company.
While you might have all the requirements listed in the job description, you may not have the right amount of experience in a certain area. It’s not that you couldn’t do the job, it’s that another candidate had the right combination to get up to speed and produce results faster.
• One of your references isn’t on your side
Make sure you’re asking for references from people who are familiar with what you do and the job position you are seeking for. Make sure they are people, who will definitely have favourable things to say about you.
Always ask potential references if they’re willing and able to attest to your good qualities before you pass along their information. Also, review the job details with them so that they’ll know what the hiring manager wants to hear.
There are several ways to blow an interview, and while you can make up for some of them in your follow-up, sometimes you just can’t recover.
When that happens, learn from your mistakes and do better next time. And don’t beat yourself up—bad interviews happen to the best of people.
