What Makes Candidates Fail an Interviewing Process? Top 3 Reasons Why People Fail

At Outreach, we are all about learning new things, learning from our experience and learning from other people’s experiences too. This is why I think sometimes, getting some insights in what is happening “behind the curtain” can be really valuable and can help someone see things from a different perspective, otherwise obscure to them. Today I choose to speak not about how people make it, and how happy everyone is when having a success story, but rather about what happens when things do not go as intended and what we can eventually do to improve that outcome when it comes to interviewing for the job we want.

I recently spoke with a candidate who asked this question: why had nobody else secured the job they were interviewing for? This question got me thinking. Sure, there are statistics and data we could analyze to answer this in a business-like manner. But I realized my candidate wasn’t looking for numbers, they wanted to understand why people fail and how they could learn from those failures to increase their own chances of success.

Reflecting on why candidates more often fail a recruitment process, for me, this comes down to three major reasons. These reasons are not specific to any given company, but they are a compilation based on my nearly two decades of recruitment experience and after having had thousands of interviews, in tech and non-tech, in corporations, medium-size and start-up companies, as well as recruitment agencies.

My top three reasons why people fail their recruitment processes in this order:

1. Motivation

2. Communication and Collaboration

3. Knowledge and Skills

Now let’s see more concretely what I mean by that:

Motivation

Despite what people normally think, once your CV passes the initial reviewing phase, and you make it to the interview stage, the primary reason candidates fail is NOT the lack of knowledge. The first and most critical factor is motivation. And what I mean by motivation is not the ability to come to the interview and recite the first 3 paragraphs of the company’s website describing what the company does, or even worse: trying to read it for the first time out loud from your screen (yes, it happens!)… No, no, no!

Although doing prior research on the company is important, this speaks for your genuine interest in the role and the company; you need to convey clearly why you want this job, how it aligns with your career aspirations eventually, and what drives you to want to be considered for the position.

An early-in-career candidate recently told me they did not want to work for companies “where the company expects you to impress them. They need to tell me why I should take their job”. Sure, that’s one way of looking at it and I agree that the companies need to know how to present their value add, but this attitude probably is not the most sought after in a recruitment process.

In the interviews I’ve conducted over the years, candidates who clearly articulate their motivation simply stand out. So, even when you are the only candidate qualified “on paper” at a given moment for a role (usually you don’t know that), this factor alone will not guarantee you any success if you can’t articulate your motivation. You may still get declined from the process. Most companies prefer to wait a little while longer to find “the right fit”, than to make an offer to a person who does not want to be there. Knowing how to express why you want to have that role shows that you have not only done your homework, but also you have a clear vision of how you can contribute to the company’s success and how the role fits into your personal career journey.

Communication and Collaboration

Managing communication well means the ability to express your thoughts clearly, concisely and confidently.

This implies more than just answering questions; it’s about creating a dialogue with your interviewers. It presumes active listening, responding appropriately, and asking the right questions in return, tailored according to the functions and roles different interviewers represent. You should not ask a Senior Director if there are many types of coffee served in the office, and you should try to stay away from overly-generic questions such as “describe how a working day looks like in your company”. On the other hand, if you do not have any questions ready and you dismiss the chance by saying “I’ve already asked some of your colleagues who interviewed me before”, that also connects to the first reason stated on why people fail.

By asking well-thought questions, you use a great opportunity to show you’ve done your research and you have some level of business acumen to understand what may lay behind a job title.

Being able to demonstrate through examples from your past experience how you overcame obstacles within a team, how you work or learn with others can’t be understated. Trying to prove that you are the only “smart one” in the room, contradicting your interviewers in every suggestion made or going against them on purpose just to prove a point may lead to a downfall just as well. And it is not about agreeing with your interviewers at all costs, but demonstrating your active listening skills and the ability to collaborate and cooperate even when sometimes the conditions are not ideal. I have not yet seen a team or a hiring process where communication and the ability to work and collaborate within a company were not high on the agenda.

Knowledge and Skills

Knowledge and skills are, of course, important. However, by the time candidates reach the interview stage where the knowledge and skills are assessed, it’s generally understood they have them, at least in some significant proportion. The interview processes often focus on assessing if the candidates can apply their skills and acquired experience effectively and how they approach problem-solving.

But remember, technical proficiency alone won’t secure the job if the motivation and communication skills are lacking. In fact, you may not even reach this step and the process may be stopped in its earlier stages because of reason 1 and 2.

In conclusion, if you want to succeed in your next interview process, focus on speaking about your motivation (no big words, be genuine and sincere!), practice the way in which you want to convey your message, and be ready to demonstrate your ability to collaborate and prove your knowledge and skills effectively. By addressing these three key areas, you’ll have higher chances of making it through the process and receiving an offer.