Tuesday, August 6 - "The Interviewer Didn't Like Me"

Good morning!

Here’s what’s on the JD today:

1. An international consulting (wait what?) firm is actually hiring.

2. Olivia asks, “I had an interview recently and was completely prepared but the interviewer didn’t like me. What am I supposed to do?”

IN HIRING

Alix Partners

• Wait a consulting firm is hiring. Well, yes and no. The company is quite picky but for those that work there, they are promised riches and amazing career progression.

• Currently, there are a number of jobs worth checking out, especially in Western Europe, the UK, and USA.

• Here are a few of the most interesting roles available

  • Sector Researcher, Private Equity - Click here for full details

  • EMEA Marketing Ops - Click here for full details

  • Financial Data Analyst - Click here for full details

Click here for the company’s career page

TODAY’S QUESTION

Olivia asks, “I had an interview recently and was completely prepared but the interviewer didn’t like me. What am I supposed to do?”

Recommendation: First off, that sucks. Sometimes the person sees your face and just doesn’t like what they see (for some of us this happens more than for others). Here’s what I recommend::

• The general idea of interviewing is good: ask questions and try to understand a persons qualifications and motivations. That doesn’t mean the system is perfect and biases/moments like this are a great example of how.

• Best case scenario, you set yourself up to see interviewing as a skill that can be developed and each interview as an opportunity to grow in that skill. As an interview is going on, you find that something clearly isn’t right, catch that the person isn’t matching your energy for whatever reason and try to course correct.

  • The best way to course correct that I’ve seen is to find something in common. Ask them lots of questions, which in an interview can be difficult. I recommend turning the question back on them if it makes sense (for example, “I’d love to hear why you decided to apply to the company…). It’s still tricky to get them talking but it has a non-zero chance of helping the situation improve.

• Finally, use one of the many interview communities that exist on the internet to vent and chat with others. Here are two I have heard good things from:

  • Recruiting Hell

  • The community of communities

Conclusion:

This is a pain in the butt, especially when interviews are hard to come by. Try your best to correct the situation but also know that we’ve all been there and venting is a good way to move on.

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