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Interviewer : Why do you need this job?
Me :
I was in the final stages of an interview with Microsoft two weeks ago, in partner marketing. Then the recruiter told me they were putting the hiring process on hold to assess the need for the role. Well, then we heard about Microsoft layoffs last week. Seems like most were in Xbox and Project Alpha but there’s not a lot of information out there. Should I hold out any hope that I’m going to get this job? Any insights on how much these layoffs have impacted the marketing org and/or new hiring?
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How's the NYC freelance field these days?
Retail, Social, Pharma. Fuck, Marry, Kill....
Any advice for your LAST day in office?
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you could have been 95% perfect and another candidate 99%. That’s happened and the feedback will “you weren’t the right fit”
sometimes there’s nothing wrong - you were great - the compliments were genuine - just someone else was a little bit better.
Consider the person interviewing you may not have 100% (or even a significant amount!) of the decision making power. Why assume they were lying?
Not assuming but their HR said that the person interviewing me did not feel I was the right fit. If they felt this way, how they acted didn’t align.
I frustratingly interview people I love all the time. Great background for my team. But they're perfect for roles I have filled. They have 9 out of 10 skills I need, while the people already on the team may only have 8 or 7.
But that 1 they're missing may be the 1 everyone else is, so I need someone less ideal overall but with that 1 skill. Someone with 5 out of 10.
Happens a lot. Great discussion. Really like the candidate. Have to pass. I'll often connect on LinkedIn for when a different position opens
Rising Star
That's cause their buddy hit them up for a gig, although you are more qualified and capable, you don't have the history of getting trashed in the late 90s snorting coke off a pool table.
😂😂😂
I’ve had this happen, it sucks. I had to present a case study to the person who would have been my boss and received nonstop compliments, that everything I had laid out was what they did in real life right, all the way down to specific college campuses I had recommended targeting. I left that interview feeling on top of the world and that I had the job, was beyond perplexed when the recruiter told me they felt my case study was flawed and some other bullshitty reasons - company reposted the job description legit the day after my interview, which really stung. As I chatted with more people I learned I wasn’t the only one this company did this to, seemed they had a really toxic environment and I dodged a bullet. Almost a year later and I’m at a new job that pays even more, so keep your chin up and keep hustling!
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Often, it’s who you know.
A good interviewer (who has the authority to make final hiring decisions) will not be making that decision during your actual interview. It gets in the way of paying close attention to what you’re saying and fully engaging in the discussion. They will make a decision later based on reflection, discussion with others, and considering you against other people who they interviewed before or afterward. So there’s no intentional “fakeness” in responding to you positively during the interview. They *should* be making you feel comfortable and like the conversation is going well... because it would be pretty awkward not to.
Respectfully, I disagree. I have been in interviews that haven’t gone well, and it’s obvious. The interviewer did not try to make me feel awkward, but it was clear that it wasn’t a fit. I don’t think an interviewer *should* make you feel comfortable, that’s not their job. Keep it 100. I’m not here to feel good, I’m here to hopefully land a job, and if it’s not a right fit keep it simple: thanks for your time and walking me through, we will be in touch. Simple. Don’t try to make me feel anything, cut the bullshit.
Any chance you would reach out the interviewer and ask?
I just had the same experience. Had the best interview I think I’ve ever had in my career last week. Vibing, have mutual friends, interviewer kept saying “fantastic” and “perfect” to all of my responses. Then I got the rejection email and fell into a funk. Starting to not trust my instincts
Ever been on an only OK date but you want to be polite and not make things awkward, plus who knows, maybe the chemistry will develop, so you lean in and try to engage, only to decline a 2nd date? Or conversely, been on the receiving end of someone who is declining a 2nd date when you thought it went really well?
As humans, we don’t always read interpersonal interactions perfectly and people can be deceptive for a number of different reasons. But it’s like dating, if the other person wasn’t feeling it, it probably wouldn’t be a good fit either way. Be with someone and work for a company that really wants YOU.
Rising Star
Yeah this date analogy is not it.