4 candidates, 1 role, smashed the interviews.. chances of success?

[anyonegotacrystalball4]

I know this is a really difficult question to answer but it's very stuck in my head!

I'm applying for my dream job and have had two very promising interviews, nailed the task set for me and had very good feedback on what a strong candidate I am.

There are three other candidates in the pool and I don't know anything about them. What would you say are the chances of success in this scenario if all members of the interview panel loved your CV and performance in interview.

Is it likely this could happen across the board, or is it a sign you're a strong contender?

My stomach is in knots waiting for the outcome, so please humour me with what your view is on this one!

25%…..

Depends on lots of things.

Are you external or internal?
Are they internal candidates?
How many years of experience do you/they have?
What is the team fit/dynamic?
What relevant system experience do you have?

Sometimes it's not just about whether the candidates smashed it.

It's about whether they are a good fit in the business culture and the team.

But also what's the gap in the current team and does any of those candidates fill it.

Good luck OP!!

All external. Not a clue what experience they have but I have solid experience and demonstrated this to them which they then iterated back to me.

Also built a good connection with the panel. They were smiling and laughing throughout and at the end.

But yes, I guess they could be giving just as complimentary feedback to all candidates. The thought of 25% success after such a stellar performance is a bit depressing though!

We don't really need to know anything about other candidates, if every single one of them made it to the interview, your chances of getting a job would be 1 in 4.

25pc , surely hope you don't need Maths !

Well no I'm not asking what the success is prior to the interview. I'm asking that IF both the task and interview went as well as it could, whether those stats would likely change. I'm not thick!

I’d say 50:50. Either you have it or you don’t. Maybe not statistically sound logic but it sounds better. Anyhow, until you know it’s more like Schrödinger’s job and both yours and not yours till you know for sure. Good luck and do keep us updated!

Honestly it's just 1 in 4.
You have no idea who or how other candidates have done or of their feedback.
I wish you luck though

I’d say your biggest risk here is arrogance. If you came across in the interview the way you’re coming across here, and these people have an eye for it, you may not get through.

Interviewed someone a few weeks back who was absolutely full of confidence (which was actually arrogance) and I’ve no doubt he thought he’d smashed that interview. Buzz words left right and centre, reiterating the interview competency framework back at us, never shut up. But it was all BS with no substance and we saw right through him.

Hopefully you’re not the same as him, and your skills and experience are genuine, but a bit of humility wouldn’t go amiss.

Yeah this is kind of what I'm thinking. Thank you for the much less catty response 😊 I think I'll tell myself this to keep my spirits up! It's not that I need the job, but I really really WANT this!

Absolutely not. I'm the least arrogant person and do nothing but doubt myself. These are the comments that the interviewers made, hence what I'm repeating here. But as I'm actually so full of self doubt, this is why I'm asking the question.

Why are women so mean on this forum? At no point have I said I think I'm gods gift or better than anyone else. Just to make that very clear. Actually I'm full of anxiety and low self esteem, and came here for support. I thought women were meant to lift each other up, not tear each other down. I think I'll bow out of this thread now. Wow.

Well no, it won't. The law of probability suggests that your chances are still 1 in 4.

I would say 25% chance the job is yours. If there is an internal candidate you would drop to 0%.

Was the task something that showed you got 100% correct like an online test or similar? Just wondering how you know you nailed it?

I recently interviewed 4 people for a role and to be honest they probably all walked away thinking they’d done really well as the panel was warm, friendly, smiling, nodding etc. In the end I ended up hiring 2 applicants as there was only 1 point between them & I was able to justify the extra person. But it could have just as easily have resulted in no successful applicant at all. You just never know.

Good luck, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! 🤞

I was under no idea that I had nailed it at all until I was explicitly told so at the end. I've been fretting about it so much that I was convinced I'd fail but had a little pep talk with myself prior. I don't want to add any further context and detail as I don't want to risk outing myself given some of the unpleasant responses here.

But thank you - I guess it makes sense to consider everyone else could do just as good or even better and keep my fingers crossed and be patient.

When do you find out? I’m invested now and want to know if you get it. Best of luck. Hold your head high that you did the absolute best you could.

Schrodinger's job offer.

But we can’t answer that because, like you, we don’t know the variables.

I once went for a job I had absolutely perfect experience for and did what I thought was a great interview. The feedback was exactly that - unfortunately, I was up against someone who had virtually identical experience, but specifically in the exact same sector (my experience was from a related industry). On any other day I’d have got it, but I couldn’t legislate for the competition - and neither can you.

Thank you for being so sweet 😊

It's completely impossible to say if you don't know anything about the other candidates.

You could be amazing but if there's an internal candidate they want to promote then you are still unlikely to get it. This is my experience of interviews anyway. Good luck.

This old chestnut again?

I smashed an interview last year, but was literally just pipped at the post by another candidate. If that person hadn’t had been interviewed I would have absolutely got the job. You really can’t expect people to be able to answer your question. I have also interviewed people who were extremely confident and mentioned all the things in the behaviours but with no context or showing an actual understanding that probably thought they smashed it but were so far off the mark.

Some people on here are very strange. You don't sound arrogant at all. It sounds as though you represented yourself really well. I really hope you get it.

That is the one thing I do know. It was an external only role. But maybe the best thing to do is not set my heart on it as it's less further to fall!