What Employers Don’t Tell You; Why You Failed Your Job Interview

By Florence Mukunya

How annoying is it when no one bothers to tell you why you failed in your job interview?

You have always been advice that it’s OK to do a follow up on your job interview right? But how does it feel to be told you did not make it without much explanation on what you did wrong?

Well, if this has happened to you, do not lose hope, the only reason employers do not call each individual to explain why they did not get the job is time, this is considering the huge number of candidates they get to interview.

Highly Recommended: Interview Tips: 4 Surprising Reasons You Failed & What to Do

5 reasons why you failed your job interview?

1. Forgetting to carry the documents your interviewer asked for

The first thing an interviewer will ask for after ushering you in their office is the documents they asked you to carry along. Some of these documents could include your recent CV, your pay-slip and your academic certificates.
Remember recruiters are looking for people who can follow simple instructions among other things, so failure to bring those documents shows that you are a candidate who cannot follow instructions and you also put the interviewer in a tough position of having to look for those documents so as to interview you.

2. Being unprepared for standard job interview question

When attending an interview there are simple common questions you should be prepared for from the interviewer.

Answers to questions like ‘Tell me a little about yourself’, ‘Why Should We Hire You?’, ‘What is one of your greatest achievements?’, ‘How would your former boss and co-workers describe you?’ Should be at your finger tips.

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.

3. The other reason why you failed your job interview is failing to do your home work

When invited for an interview, the first thing you do is researching about the company. You do not want to be caught unawares when the interviewer asks what you know about the company you are interviewing for.

Researching about the company is the only way you get to know what the company does, it’s also helps you in shaping your answers to fit the needs of the company.

Muthoni Ndegwa, a Recruitment Manager at Corporate Staffing Services says that, 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. Bad mouthing your employer

Whatever it is you are running from in your current place of work, this is not time and place to address it. Employers are keen on how you perceive them. So for example when asked why do you want to leave your current company, do not start by revealing the company’s internal secrets like saying the manager is stealing money and that you do not want to be associated with that.

Muthoni says that, there are some petty reasons that employers also don’t want to hear about, a reason like my employer doesn’t provide lunch and tea should not come up in any interview.

5. Lastly on why you failed your job interview-Dressing inappropriately

“First impression counts,” says Melody Mwendwa an Interview Preparation Coach at Corporate Staffing Services.

She say 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.

From the above reasons on why you failed your job interview, it easy to see that all the reasons circle around job seekers not doing prior preparations when invited for an interview. You can share with us and enlighten other job seekers on what other preparations you do when invited for a job interview to make sure you get the job.

The writer is a Communications Officer at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading Recruitment firm that offers CV Writing, Job Placement & Career Advice. Email florence@corporatestaffing.co.ke

10 Comments

  1. Thank you for educating me , i can clearly say i have learnt a lot, am looking forward to learning more. A quick question is black and grey the only appropriate color to wear during a n interview ?GOD BLESS YOU

  2. Thank you for taking the time to share all of that great information on possible reasons why one fail a job interview. It’s so enlightening , encouraging and advice have been extremely helpful.

  3. This is very educative and also enlightening.
    One thing I would seek to know is how to research on a company which one got to hear about for the first time or from the internet, with only one day remaining to the interview.

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