Learning From Rejection in an Interview

    LONDON, ENGLAND, August 23, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The feedback I least like giving to a candidate is 'Sorry chum, you came second'. So much preparation. So much emotional engagement. All to fall at the final hurdle.

For every successful candidate popping the champagne corks, there is consequently a runner up going away to lick their wounds. This is just a fact of life, and most senior IT professionals, no matter how brilliant, will experience being second best at some point in their careers. How often they hear they have been pipped at the post depends on how they react to failure.

It amazes me how seldom unsuccessful candidates ask for constructive feedback, and not just the 'there was a fag paper between you' type offered by lazy recruiters. How are you going to perform better next time if you don't know what went wrong this time? Ask for feedback. Listen to it. Decide how to go forward.

You can always learn from feedback. Even if the interviewer tells you, 'Dilbert had better EPOS / sector / .NET / international experience than you', don't take this at face value. There was a reason why you made it to the final two, so what you are actually being told is that Dilbert's experience implementing EPOS systems round a chain of petrol stations in Latvia was of more value to them than your perceived skills. You didn't sell yourself effectively enough. If you walk away with a shrug of the shoulders you're learning nothing, and you'll fail again.

The next bit seems obvious, but bitter experience tells me it isn't. I was speaking to a CIO a few days ago and was telling him that his formal presentation had let him down; it was garbled, with typos in his PowerPoint slides. The response? 'Oh I always get told that'. I find a few deep breathing techniques help at these times and I managed to curb my strong desire to hurl my phone across the room. Not only will this candidate's inability to act on feedback hamper his chances of securing new employment, it also might explain why he is looking, as his lack of slickness and inability to act on feedback is blocking further progression.

So ask for feedback and act upon it. However, it is sometimes important to then be able to move on. All candidates will have certain flaws and hence beating yourself up over yours might not be productive. If you can fix the problem simply, by proofing your slides (!), then great, but other weaknesses are harder to fix. Assuming that the feedback is justified you should engage with your recruitment consultant about how to improve, and if they cannot or will not help, work with a different agency as the one you are with doesn't deserve you!

One last thing to say about the process of asking for feedback - sometimes it can turn No.2 into No.1. We recently completed an assignment where the 'alternate' candidate sought detailed feedback after learning he was running second. Undeterred, he took the time to send through an email explaining his commitment to develop his areas of 'weakness' and reemphasising his strengths. Well timed. The client was at the process of (unsuccessfully) negotiating with the first choice candidate and decided to offer the number two.

So next time you're told that you have just missed out, ask questions, listen and learn. Winning is a habit, but so is losing.

Stephen Rutherford is Managing Director of Michael Page Technology.

You can contact Michael Page personally at [email protected].

Website: http://www.michaelpage.co.uk

# # #