How do I deal with the pain of an interview that went perfectly, and the job being taken away anyway?
Hi everyone. I posted a couple of weeks ago about a job interview I had with the company that laid me off. As a follow up to that post, the interview consisted of a manager, a senior software engineer, and a mid level software engineer. The senior and mid level devs played front end cop/back end cop with me, and then proceeded to ask behavioral questions towards the end. We all had a lot of fun, we laughed together sometimes, we kept smiling at one another, it was a really good interview. And I got every question thrown at me correct. I came up with a couple answers where I admit I had a textbook-esque response, but many more that was based on my experience. It was one of those interviews where you had a feeling that you just knew you got it.
Given the interview prep course here, I knew to tone down my expectations from an "I know darn well I got that" to "I think I got it". As the week progressed, I started to get a feeling that I didn't get it. Well, that feeling was right. And it wasn't anything to do with the interview itself. Apparently, there was gonna be a new manager for the role, and from what I was told, "the new manager is repurposing the requisition".
I can't believe it. I nailed the interview on the head, and I still got screwed out of the job. I left them on a high note, but I'm still so furious. Whatever happens, I know for a fact that I have it in me to crush an interview, but I don't deserve to still have to interview, and still be jobless: I feel entitled to the role! I proved that I deserve to work, both to myself AND them. The best I can hope for is the possibility they'll remember I'm a great candidate for a mid level role in the future, but that company is only going to be the place I fall back on if I don't have anything else in the future.
I don't think I have a proper word for the sheer frustration I feel. The same company that laid me off, played me AGAIN. I know not to trust this company, but I thought this would at least end in a job offer. Not that some random manager thought the role I applied to wasn't gonna be good for business.
How do I deal with this feeling?
Discussion
(3 comments)- 2a month agoEng @ Taro
Sorry for the frustration that you are feeling. There's a lot of luck at play when interviewing at companies: your focus might be shot because of a bad night of sleep, the interviewers could be dealing with an incident and be in a bad mood, or the company just decides that they are going to eliminate head count for the role.
You did everything right that was under your control, and that's all you can really ask for. These interviews hurt because there's not really a takeaway from them that you can apply to the next interview.
- 2a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
Being on the brink of receiving an offer and then not getting is incredibly frustrating. It sucks and I'm sorry you're dealing with it 😥
This is the harsh truth in hiring: False negatives are acceptable.
The main way to 'deal' with the feeling is to realize that landing a tech job is a complex process where anything can go wrong, including many parts that are not in your control.
- The economy tanks or there's some indicator causing people to freak out
- The person who conducted your interview had a bad day and decided you couldn't clear the bar
- The person who conducted your interview forgot to submit your interview feedback
- There's another candidate who was interviewed after you or had a better relationship with the interviewers
- The headcount was reallocated
- 1
a month agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroUgh, this is so terrible - Sorry to hear that. As my job searching course mentioned, this is what the tech interview space looks like. The most actionable thing you can do is to stop interacting with this company. It almost feels like they are messing with you for sport, and I've unfortunately come across hiring managers and interviewers who enjoy messing with candidates, abusing the power they have with a job opening.
I recommend going to the next job searchers coffee chat as well: Jobsearchers Coffee Chat
