“Have you used Minitab before?”, asked the interviewer.
My heart starts to race as I answer, “No”.
“Can you describe what a t-test is?”, asked the second person.
“No”, I admit.
“Have you taken a statistics course?”
I take a deep breath and explain, “No, a statistics course was not a required part of the curriculum for my degree”.
The interview begins to wrap up. I try to remain calm and ask questions at the end. However, I know I am not getting this internship. My stomach is in knots as I leave. I want to just sprint out of the building into my car.
I really wanted this Research and Development (R&D) engineering internship. At the time, I was a junior, majoring in mechanical engineering. The company I interviewed at designs women’s health products, specifically medical devices for treating breast cancer. Breast cancer is a cause that means a lot to me. I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to be able to work somewhere that I was also passionate about the products.
Unfortunately, that did not happen because the interview went horrible. I prepared for a while and put a lot of pressure on myself to get the interview. However, nothing I did could have prepared me because I did not have the credentials they were looking for.
5 Steps to Overcome a Bad Interview
I think I may have experienced the 5 stages of grief on my drive back to campus from the interview. Fortunately, I did not have time to dwell on the interview. I had to force myself to look forward because I had a second interview later that afternoon.
I know how frustrating and deflating it is to have an interview not go well, especially when you really wanted the job. Just know, you are not alone in this feeling! Here are five steps you can take to overcome a bad interview and bounce back to do well on the next one.
- Reflect on the interview
- Keep the experience in perspective
- Accept that it is not personal
- Put a plan together
- Practice
1. Reflect on the interview
Immediately after the interview write down all of the questions you were asked. Then, note the questions that you answered well and the ones you struggled on. Think about what went well and what could have gone better.
It is best to do this as soon as possible while the interview is still fresh in your mind. I usually did this as soon as I got in my car.
As you are reflecting on the interview, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Did anything surprise you?
- How did you feel during the interview? Were you comfortable or uncomfortable? Why?
- Do you think you showed the best version of you?
- Did you do all of the small things well such as dress appropriately, show up early, were you polite, did you ask good questions at the end?
- How were your interpersonal skills? You can find a list of interpersonal skills here
- Did the interview flow more like a conversation or was it one sided with them asking all of the questions?
After my bad interview, I did this reflection as soon as I got in the car. The challenging questions all revolved around statistics. This was clearly a knowledge gap for me.
Also, I realized that I wanted the internship so badly, that I was very nervous during the interview. I felt very uncomfortable and I was not relaxed. Therefore, my personality did not come through.
My soft skills that should’ve been on display such as my ability to communicate, enthusiasm, and motivation, did not come through. I documented all of my reflections and drove back to my dorm. On my ride back, I tried to keep everything in perspective, which is the next step.
2. Keep the experience in perspective
You might feel really disappointed after a bad interview, but know you are not alone. Everyone has gotten rejected or had a bad interview.
I know it is challenging, but try to keep everything in perspective by focusing on the positive. Know that you were better than many candidates that applied because you actually got the interview. According to Glass Door, only 2% of applicants will be called for an interview for the average job opening.
If you impressed the company enough to get the interview, that means you will impress another company as well. I know when one doesn’t go well, it can lead to thoughts of doubt that spiral out of control to- Will I ever get another interview? Yes, and next time you do, you will be ready to do great!
When I was playing softball, my dad would always tell me to have a “short term memory”. For your batting average, you are going to fail more times than succeed. A good batting average is .300, meaning you successfully got a hit 3 out of 10 times. So you failed to get a hit 7 times! Therefore, you cannot dwell on each at bat that you do not get a hit. You need to have a “short term memory” so you move on and focus on the next at bat.
This philosophy is one I applied to interviews. Try not to focus on the bad interviews. Instead, get excited by what you learned from the experience to prepare you for the next one.
3. Accept that it is not personal
Getting rejected after an interview is not a measure of your professional worth, so try not to take it personally. Often, a company is looking for someone that is the right “fit”. You could have amazing credentials and something out of your control prevented you from getting the job. Therefore, do not dwell on it. You cannot change the past, you can only use it to create your future.
So you were not a good fit for the company where you interviewed. Well if that is the case maybe you would not have been happy there anyway. A job is like a relationship. Both parties have to be mutually invested in the other. It should not be one sided. You want a company that is as excited about you as you are about them.
I had to acknowledge that the hiring managers needed someone that had a statistics background and already knew the software they used. Even though I had a lot to offer them, I was not a good fit because I did not have these credentials.
I was fortunate that it was that straight forward. Sometimes you may have an interview that goes great and you still do not get a job. Then, you just have to admit this job was not for you and you will find something better.
4. Put a plan together
Go back to your notes that you took down during the reflection step and review them. Start to put a plan together for how you can fix the issues you experienced on the interview to prevent them from happening again.
Were there questions you struggled with or were unprepared for?
Put a plan together for how you will find the answers to these questions. Maybe it was an equation you did not know or a skill you currently do not have. See if you can use any of your courses to get this information. Maybe you can reach out to a professor doing research and work with them to fill this gap.
It may take time to fully address the challenging questions. You may not have the knowledge gap filled before your next interview and that is okay. If you are asked the same question again before you have fully addressed the issue, you can still be prepared. This time, acknowledge the importance of the skill they are asking about and let them know your plan.
Were you nervous on the interview?
Next time, try to smile more. I know this sounds cliche, but there is science to back this up.
According to Psychology Today, smiling helps fight off stress by activating the release of neuropeptides. The neuropeptides that are released are the ones that make you feel good including, dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. In addition to relaxing you, these neurotransmitters can also lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
5. Practice
Interviewing is a skill and takes practice. They can be nerve-wracking. The more you practice, the easier they will become and the less nervous you will feel.
Most colleges have a Center for Career Development, which is an office dedicated to helping you obtain a career. Sometimes they offer mock interviews. If they do, this is a great place to start. During these mock interviews, the career counselor will interview you and then give you feedback.
Another way to be proactive is to research interview questions. Form answers to these questions ahead of time so you are better prepared to answer them on your next interview.
It also helps to go in with a list of questions for the company. Don’t use these questions only at the end when they give you the opportunity to ask questions. Try to work them into the actual interview. This will help in multiple ways:
- It will make the time spent feel less like an interview and more conversational, which is good.
- It’ll show the company how interested you are in them by asking intelligent follow up questions.
- This will take some pressure off of you. You have some time to breath while they are answering instead of just being peppered with questions.
Putting the steps into practice
I had another interview that afternoon, after the rough morning. There was no time to dwell on the past. I had to focus on the task at hand and doing my best.
After some reflection in the car, I focused on how lucky I was to have another opportunity with another company so soon. This was another medical device company and the position was for a R&D engineering internship.
I knew my knowledge gap was statistics so instead of being ashamed of it, I used it to my advantage in the next interview. Since I knew how much the other company stressed this, it must be important to all companies. I asked questions on my next interview about statistics. How they used statistics and what software they use. The interviewer explained how important stats were and he was impressed I was asking about it.
I forced myself to smile. This helped all of my soft skills come through that did not shine through in the morning. Also, this relaxed me and made me much more confident during the interview.
Guess what? I ended up getting the internship. So my experience went from humiliation to elation. Little did I know at the time that this internship would turn into my first full time job!
Even though I thought the first company I interviewed at was my dream job, it turned out it was not. It was not meant for me to get that job. The second company was a much better fit and it led to my first job. This is more than I could have ever expected at that time.
Look ahead to your next opportunity
So next time you have a bad interview, know that it is not final. Think of it as one of many steps to achieving your dream job. Remember, we all go through this. Michael Jordan said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
There will be other interviews and just focus on doing your best on the next one. Use these steps to help you get the next job. Good luck!
Did these steps help you overcome a bad interview? Let me know in the comments below!