13 reasons why best candidates in interviews sometimes don’t land the job (II)
with
Moruf Kolawole Nasir
(Experienced HR professional)
nmkolawole@gmail.com; jarushub@gmail.com
{Editor’s note: This should have been published yesterday but delayed due to some editorial engagement}
Hi fellas! The next week of last Friday is today, so let’s take the remaining points of the write up. Here we go…
7. COMPETING WITH SPECIAL CANDIDATES: Special candidates in this context refer to the candidates of the MD, Chairman, Minister, Etc. There is no point writing long grammar here, even if you come out best in all the assessment and during the interview, you should know what the outcome will be. So learn not heap the blame on yourself all the time, pick yourself up and continue with life. I remember a scenario where I had to dig my inbox to fish out an applicant’s application (even though her application came in late) because she was a ‘special’ applicant. Mind you, this should not in any way be interpreted to mean that you must know someone before you can get a good job. One of Jarushub articles addresses this explicitly read “must you know someone before you get a good job in Nigeria.”
8. YOUR RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION: This is one of the painful discriminations that take place during employment which the applicant cannot do anything about. I once presented a candidate to an employer as the best among the lots interviewed and he was rejected because of his religious doctrine. Many applicants have been deprived of jobs on this ground. I have heard many job seekers complained about this, even some of my friends have been discriminated on this ground but there is really nothing we can do in a lawless clime like ours. In develop societies there are legislation against such discriminations but here in Nigeria it is a different ball game. You just have to forget them and move on. It is the religious fanatics among employers that are guilty of this act.
9. YOUR EMPLOYER FEELS INTIMIDATED BY YOUR PROWESS: Some employer/superiors have phobia for hiring someone they feel knows more than they do. You are feeling high for dazing them at interview, whereas your employer is thinking of how he will manage a subordinate that knows more than him, sorry pal! You’ve missed it. It is absolutely not your fault, but of the complex- engulfed hirer/superior. I know of an employer who will never employ anybody she cannot ‘intimidate’. The moment she sense some element of superiority in the candidate the candidate is a no no for her. If some hiring manager felt threatened by your sparkling skills and spot-on experience, they may feel uncomfortable bringing you in, they will rather go for someone they will have dominance over.
10. YOU ARE OVER-QUALIFIED: Even if you are the best candidate during the interview, the moment you are discovered to be overqualified, many experienced HR professionals will not hire you. Suffice it to say that this ought to have been discovered before you get the invitation for interview. If however you were shortlisted for interview, at the point the discovery is made, that is the point you exit the ‘race’. You ask why? I will answer that in my subsequent article.
11. YOU CANNOT FIT INTO THE ORGANISATION’S CULTURE: This, and of course most of the above, happen mostly in small companies/businesses. You will hardly see someone who can’t fit into the organizational culture of a well structured firm. Unfortunately it is the small firms that hire most. It is in the Okoro& Sons Companies that we have some funny practices (culture), and if during interview, they discover you will have issues working with them, irrespective of how good you are at the interview, they will not take the risk of hiring you. That is not to say everybody can fit into the culture of big and structured firms, no company compromises that. Irrespective of your performance, ones that “?” is there, forget the job. Unfortunately, you can’t know this, only the panelist will discover this.
12. YOU REFERENCES PROVIDE NOT-SO-PLEASANT INSIGHT ABOUT YOU: Do not underestimate the value of a strong work reference. If you come close on every job, but don’t wind up with an offer, rethink your references. Many job seekers put peoples’ contact on their CV or give out peoples’ contacts as their references while completing forms without informing the persons. In some cases, the said references may not give strong recommendation of the candidate, especially when they have not been pre-informed of the candidate’s intention to use them as references. This can also cause you the job, irrespective of your performance at the interview.
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13. YOU WERE TOO AGGRESSIVE WHEN FOLLOWING UP: Follow up after interview is good but when it is done in excess and aggressively it becomes an issue. Aggressive follow up can put off the hiring manger. If before you get the job you are already giving him/her issue, what then will become of him/her if he/she eventually hires you? This can actually put many people off.
Finally, remember all of these are by no means cast on stone, they are some of the strong reasons why applicant may still not get a job irrespective of how well they perform in interviews. this should not in any way discourage you from reviewing your performance after every interview and strive to do better in the next.
Always remember “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn”.
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