The above questions alone may not give you the depth of information you need in some areas. Some of the employer's responses may in fact be purposefully vague. Some employers may even give you the impression that they are annoyed with your questions. As we know attitudes belong to those who display them.
They are not a reflection of you, your worth as an individual, or your right to ask questions. Remain tactful, however. In some situations, even a reluctant employer has been known to give up information a candidate requested when it was asked for with the right attitude and followed with a reasonable explanation of how the information would help both parties arrive at the right decision.
If You Are Turned Down
If you are told you did not get the job, be careful not to blurt out, ''Why not?" Questions that begin with the word ''why” have overtones that would not serve you well here. The fact that an employer may decide not to hire you should not be construed as a judgment about you. If you do want to find out why, and feel poised enough to do so, you might try phrasing your question along these lines:
"I appreciate your telling me that, Fred. So I can benefit from the time you spent with me, would you mind sharing the thoughts you had in making your decision?"The question could catch Fred off guard, so he might stall by saying,
"What did you have in mind?" Should that happen, be prepared to follow up with something such as: “Perhaps you could tell me what you found to be the pros and cons of our meeting."A long silence could follow. If you avoid all temptation to fill the gap and let the interviewer speak next, you will be more likely to gain useful information. The chances are still not very good that he will level with you, but it's worth a try. He may tell you that other candidates happened to fit the company's needs better or even that the search has been “put on hold for the time being."
If he does volunteer anything more specific, he may confine his comments to the need for credentials that you either don't have or lack in depth. Most interviewers will try to get off the hook as graciously as possible and thus may not want to risk discussing anything more specific, out of concern that it might be misinterpreted or elicit a rebuttal. If Fred does elect to give you some in-depth reasons why you were not selected, listen and be both grateful and gracious. His comments merely reflect personal needs and biases, and he is doing the best job possible in making a difficult decision. To try to refute what he tells you would be a mistake.
Arguing or offering counterpoints will not change the decision. Your only goal here should be to learn something and to leave the interviewer feeling good about knowing you. Again, it's a small world out there, and one never knows who might be interviewing whom in the future. Just close the conversation gracefully and continue to pursue your other leads.
How Interviewers Evaluate
Not all interviewers use formal rating scales to record their impressions of candidates. In fact, most may not. I am not familiar with any studies on the subject, but I would be surprised to learn that very many interviewers do much more than come up with decisions based on their feelings or the influence of others (their bosses, secretaries, and even outsiders) in making hiring decisions. Nonetheless, it might be useful to know some of the criteria they might use to evaluate candidates.
Of course, the initial impression you make is paramount. You will also be judged by the way you present yourself—your demeanor, attire, and grooming. How you handle the opening conversation is also important. An interviewer will, when recording initial reactions to you, consider the way you express yourself. Attitude is everything.
An interviewer will want to consider your long-term potential with the organization in terms of both your skills and your management style. How your personality might fit in will be another important factor.
Some of the characteristics that might be considered are whether you are a dominant or passive type, quiet or outgoing, positive or negative, people-oriented or a loner. The interviewer may also be thinking about whether you are confident or insecure, affable or overbearing, mature or immature.
She will certainly consider how she would feel if you worked for her day in and day out. In addition, she will match you up to other candidates in her mind, and possibly even to people who would be your peers on the job.
Note that little has been said about your credentials, and that's why the emphasis in any job search should not be on the resume. What you put on paper must be right and it must reflect your skills, experience, and credentials, but its job is just to get you in the running. After that, everything is up to you.
