Why Your Interviews Are Not Turning Into Job Offers

They chose you. Out of hundreds of applicants you're the one they wanted to interview.

So you show up and give it your all. You think it went well and for the next few days you stare at your phone to see if you made it to the next round or if you got the position.

And then it arrives. A short, blunt email thanking you for your time and letting you know you just didn't quite make the cut.

So what went wrong?

First and foremost, we always recommend replying to that email and asking for feedback and here's an article that shows you how. But sometimes that feedback isn't helpful or doesn't come at all.

Here are some of the likely reasons you didn't make the cut and what you can do next time to make sure that you do.

Your Answers Aren't Highly Relevant to the Role

Your answers to interview questions should NOT be the same for different companies. It's easy to start sounding like every other applicant out there, but you have the cheat sheet to the test: the job description!

Tailor your answers to clearly show that you're not just a good fit for any marketing role, but a perfect fit for this specific role.

Action Tip: Read and reread the job description and answer the interview questions in a way that makes you the best possible fit for the role.

You're not following up

Take initiative and always follow-up. This isn't dating and unlike double-texing, double-emailing is allowed and encouraged.

You may feel like you're being "pushy" but in our book that's called ambitious and companies will respect you for it.

Action Tip: Show them you really want the job by sending a thank you email within 24 hours of the interview and a follow up with 7 days if you haven't heard back from them.

You're not answering questions confidently

How you answer the questions is just as important as what you say.

If you don't answer interview questions confidently and like you're 100% certain that you're a perfect fit for the role, how do you expect the interviewer to believe that too?

As women, we're more likely to feel the need to over explain ourselves and that can cause us to ramble a bit or get off point. Keep that in mind when answering questions and keep them short and to the point. Be confident in who you are and what you're capable of.

Action Tip: Speak with enthusiasm and confidence!

Your Assignment Didn't Stand Out

Most companies will assign an assignment as part of the interview process. If you get one, that's a really good sign!

They want to see how you would do on the job and this is the perfect opportunity to showcase your talent!

Don't rush this process, but also don't spend too much time on this. If they don't tell you how many hours the assignment should take to complete, do not take more than 3 hours to complete it. It's not worth your time!

You may think that you're going above and beyond and will be rewarded for doing so, but it ends up just making the result long, clunky, and that you maybe tried a little too hard.

Action Tip: Get feedback from friends and connections before submitting an assignment.

Someone Else Was a Better Fit

Unfortunately, sometimes even when you've done everything right, it's still not enough. And that's OKAY!

You never know if they just decided to hire the boss's, sister's, boyfriend's, nephew or if the other person up for the job had more experience and was willing to take the job for less pay. It's out of your control and the best thing you can do is not take it personally.

Each missed opportunity is a learning experience. What's for you won't pass you and the harder you work, the sooner the right opportunity will find you. Stay motivated and keep moving forward!