To cancel job interview?

[quiettimes]

I had a job interview 3 weeks ago and thought it went well…found out I was unsuccessful today and it’s thrown me off. I actually have another job interview tomorrow- it’s the same team, different role. I now feel like cancelling in case I run into the same panel members and just embarrass myself. The timing couldn’t be worse. I get really nervous beforehand and obviously said “too much” and didn’t give enough substance in my brain fog.

this is the interview feedback, it wasn’t even a near miss, they gave me a low score for 3 out of 8 questions!

“showed lots of potential and clearly understands the criteria for each behaviour- often using buzzwords throughout answers. The panel felt that at times the answers lacked structure although all answers were spoken at a good pace and care was taken to listen to the question. For future interviews the candidate may benefit from focussing more on the initiative and the actions took as opposed to the processes that were followed and clarify in each example exactly what the task was.
The questions were answered well although at times a little longer than needed.”

you should go for it! The worst that can happen is that you receive more advice. It sounds like a great team if they took the time to write you the advice.

Take on board their feedback and give it your best shot. I am an employer and the best thing someone can do is to email me right after with anything they felt they missed out in the interview. If you feel you have more to add theres always this option.

Goodluck!

Just take the feedback and give it a shot. Even if you are unsuccessful a second time at least you would have tried.

She it as a challenge to overcome. It’s very brave to go back for another shot.

This is useful feedback- go for it! My advice would be to pay attention to this feedback and really focus on the task, what you did, how you did it and the result and not on the process surrounding this. Its a common thing people do in interviews, try not to be disheartened - this isn't bad feedback at all. "Showed lots of potential " is super positive and to me reads like you need to refine and practice a bit.

Go for it and good luck!

Don't be put off. We recently interviewed 3 people and they were all really good and any of them could have got to job. There were only really minor differences.

I just feel full of butterflies and can’t sleep. What do you think it means to focus on actions vs processes? I remember saying I followed hr guidance with performance management for example

Actions vs processes is: tighten it up, keep it broader and more concise, don’t go into detail about how you did things.

I think this is amazing that they sent you this feedback, and remember, it’s for growth- it’s not a judgement of you as a person - it has nothing to do with your value at ALL.

it could be exciting, if you reframe it for yourself that it’s like a game, you get to try again for practice.

just have fun with it- rather than skip it, see it as a practice tool just for you, for your learning and growth.

You can do it !

That’s not bad feedback at all.

Here’s what read from it. You listened and understood the questions…instead of getting into unnecessary process details talk about what you did. It’s a hard balance to get right.

It’s hard to describe but imagine they are already vaguely aware of the details where you work so you can spend less time on that and more time on what you achieved. If you have to throw in information to give context, do it sparingly.

I’m trying to think of an example that makes sense…here goes…
You’re a cake decorator…

Question- tell me about a time you fixed a problem

Not great Answer: The front counter people would take the orders for specialty cakes and write it down in a big notebook we kept on the counter. You were at the mercy of that person to capture relevant details and include them in what was written up. They never really understood that green icing doesn’t work on chocolate cake but the red icing which is normally ok was a bad batch that month, we had decided that only yellow icing was to go on the chocolate cakes until we’d used up the red on the vanilla cake. I made up an order sheet that walked them through all of the questions the should ask and I posted each week anything special they should know.

Better Answer: We found that having the front counter people take specialty cake orders wasn’t working for a variety of reasons. I created a form template to replace the notebook they were using, that walked them through the standard questions that decorators need to know. Such as allergies, special requirements, etc. I then posted a ‘things you need to know” bulletin that kept them up to date on the things they wouldn’t otherwise know about. I then was able to communicate to all the counter staff at the same time eliminating the word of mouth method. The last thing I suggested and developed was a rotating schedule for decorators to review the new orders daily and call customers if anything was unclear. After all of these were implemented our Ratings went up 2 points and our refunds went down 10%.

Good Luck!

I think it means saying what YOU actually did and what impact that had…rather than talking about following guidance or what the process for that job is.

I guess I’d you had one interview you’ll know the type of questions they might ask. Might be worth writing some answers and practicing them.

Thanks. Is the initiative more about the reasons why I did things?

Use STAR in your answers-

Situation
Task
Action (that you took)
Result

It helps gives structure which is what I think they're alluding to, just make sure your example relates back to the behaviour scoring criteria.

It's about you initiating things as well. You saw the problem, you came up with a plan, you highlighted it to your line manager with a suggested solution that they endorsed.

So you focus on what you did - but also how you spot problems and identify potential solutions.

That can be part of it.

The typical mistake I see in interviews is that people want to tell me what the team they were on did.

Their answers are “we did” “we achieved“ “the team found”. I’m not interviewing the team so I want to know what you did. If you were part of a team working on a project, tell me about what you personally did and what your results were.

I was on a team that was tasked to improve our paper clip sorting output. I noticed that we were spending a lot of time removing binder clips. So I put a box out for people to presort between binder clips and paper clips. Doing this reduced the number of binder clips to be removed by 50%. I also supported the team by taking pictures of the two items that the team used in training.

The feedback you’ve got is even more reason to go for it, OP! Practice makes perfect, and interviewing for jobs for the majority of the workforce is a numbers game.

Don’t be disheartened you didn’t get the last job, don’t be disheartened if you don’t get the next. Just keep going for the experience and you’ll find something that’s right for you!

I agree with others suggestions of the STAR method. Prior to my own recent interview, I thought back on key tasks / achievements / challenges I had at work over the last few years and wrote them up using the STAR headings. It was so useful and also meant when I came to answering questions, my responses were short and to the point because of pre-planned answers!

Good luck 😊

Use STAR!! game changer. As you're answering think 'right that answers what task it was, that answers what actions I had taken' etc. The longest part of your answer should be action and result - with situation and task a very brief overview.

I think that the fat that they bothered to give you such useful feedback means that they liked you.

Thank you all. It’s done now. This interview felt brutal - they really grilled me. Think 3 follow up questions per response. We’ll see what happens but I think I’m not too fussed whether I get it or not!

Even if you aren’t successful you should still be proud of yourself. Very brave to give it another go, take feedback and put yourself out there. Many wouldn’t have even gone for the interview!!

Follow up questions are because the panel wants you to succeed! They were trying to steer you in the right direction and help you tell them what they wanted to hear. Take follow up questions as a good sign - they want you to do well.

I do interviews for fun now. I love my job but I interview regularly because I can! And maybe I'll find a better offer or a promotion that I'll enjoy as much.

If you can learn to enjoy them it's a winner.

I used to enjoy interviews but find them tricky now!

I got the feedback from interview 1 with too short notice to properly implement today. I tried to say less about the situation/context with more focus on what I did. Most of the follow up questions were about the context though, the lead panelist borderline said my examples didn’t make sense😅I think she was okay after my explanations but mixed bag overall.

Update - passed the interview! Thank you all so much x

Does that mean you got the job? Either way well done!

I interview loads of different roles.
To me this means expand on the job examples you give. So if you type minutes for different types of meeting, perhaps (within context of question) say you're very experienced in taking minutes and have designed your methodology to ensure you get all info and actions required.
It's kind of depth and breadth of what you do (as opposed to just breadth only)
Good luck!

Just seen the update!! (Sorry my phone doesn't update threads sometimes - must update lol)!
CONGRATULATIONS!! 🥳🍾🥂

That's great. Well done

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