Sad that I didn’t get the job

[Olindia]

Not really sure what advice I want really…
I am quite late to having a career, always worked in a nice profession but decided to retrain, I went to uni etc late 30s. I now have a nice but low level role in a large government setting. I applied for another role but was unsuccessful, I had received quite a lot of guidance and advice from others and met the person interviewing for an informal chat prior to interview. I just feel embarrassed and sad that I didn’t get it, and not sure how to move forward (I’m probably being silly and need to be a bit more resilient) but do I just apply if the job comes up again?

Can you ask for some feedback? You might not have done anything wrong, someone else might have just scored higher.

We had a job vacancy come up at my workplace. We had 62 applicants.

I would just think that someone better was in the interview list - boss interviewed 9. Eight of those nine people probably felt as you do... but really they were 8 of the best out of 62.

Just because they came up against an exceptional candidate this time, does not mean they wouldn't be top of the heap next time. So yes, reapply if it comes up again.

Thank you, yes I think I will do this, should I go directly to the person who interviewed me? Or request it in a more official way? As it was a different department I was classed as an external applicant and it had been advertised internally so I’m hoping it was something as simple as that but I just feel like I was given advice etc and still didn’t manage to give a good interview (I have a good degree).

Thank you Beyond, that has really helped actually, I have no idea how many others applied. That really puts it in perspective.

But you may have given a good interview. I think the issue here is you’re failing to take into account there were other applicants and you were not entitled to the job, which it does feel like that’s what you think, you were entitled and must have done something wrong to not get it. Someone else was more suited, it’s as simple as this.

Thank you, sorry I’m not meaning to come across that way, I think it was more that people had taken the time to help me and I feel like I’ve let them down and wasted their time. Even as I write this I’m aware it sounds ridiculous but it’s just how I can put it into words. But I’m glad I’ve posted this as you have all put it into perspective for me.

Having a degree is not enough - you have to demonstrate that you have the skills and experience to do the job. You got to the interview stage which is great. From a recent job advert I had 26 applicants and only two demonstrated, on paper, that they meet the criteria required for the role and were invited to interview.
Lots of organisations now are moving towards strength based assessments. Make sure you read up on this. Structure your answers, "I did ... ", give examples, what was the outcome and what might you have done differently next time in the same scenario. Good luck for next time.

If you have the contact details of the interviewer then absolutely get in touch with them to ask for more feedback, especially if you're in Civil Service as you're kinda internal already.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Did you get any scores back on behaviours? That may also help you to hone in on areas for improvement.
Ultimately though as a PP said it's a competitive market out there, every job we post is getting 50+ applications

I work in a government setting. Interviews and selection processes are very standardised to make the process fair and transparent - but conversely there’s a real nack to getting it right, both in terms of the information you provide and how you structure your responses. It’s unlike interviews outside gov, and learning how to do it can take a while - especially if you’ve had a career/jobs outside gov. I got a lot of support from colleagues when applying for roles :it’s much more normal to do that within gov that outside imo; and indeed as someone who is now a mentor, I’d actively expect to do that for mentees and other colleagues. Also bear in mind that gov tends to be pretty rigorous about not interviewing if people don’t hit enough standards - so you have done really well to get to interview. Your colleagues will I’m sure only have offered to help if they thought you were ready but needed that support. Definitely get feedback; review with supportive colleagues and try again!

Is this civil service? If so what were your scores? It's pretty easy to work out if it's that you didn't pass the interview or if you did well but someone else did better on the day.

Thank you all, this has been really informative and helpful. I’m lucky as I really enjoy the job I do so will wait for the next opportunity.

I haven’t had the scores, how would I find them?

Please do not be discouraged. It’s very likely that someone with more experience got the job, rather than you not being good enough. I recently got a job over an internal candidate. I’m now working with the internal candidate and she really is excellent, I’m sure she’d have done a great job. But she had 4 years experience and I have 18. I’ve also being doing the same roll successfully for 11 years part-time. So I was making a sideways step to go back full-time. So I got the job ahead of her, but she really is fantastic and I’m sure she’ll secure a more senior position in the future.

It sounds like civil service? Was it on CSJ? If so your feedback and scoring should be published on there, that'll give you an idea of where you came, did you get on the reserve list?