By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
A coach I know asked for advice. Her client was frustrated. They’d gone through the interview process for 10+ opportunities.
Conversations about compensation and start dates have happened.
At times, she was told she was overqualified or too expensive.
At the 11th hour, a “perfect candidate” showed up (10+ times!), and the offer didn’t happen.
Recruiters have given my client positive feedback in extensive debriefs. They have not given them any actionable information.
So, let’s be detectives. Think about:
1. Your intuitive response about why offers haven’t happened, what comes to mind?
2. Hiring process steps after the final round of interviews. What could go wrong?
3. What could my client do to avoid this throughout the hiring process?
I don’t know her client but having worked in recruiting for as long as I did, filled as many positions as I helped filled, and coached even more through an interview lifecycle, I have a lot of experience that allows me to recognize a few possible explanations.
Too experienced and too expensive are the same answer.
Working with the assumption that this is a senior professional and not an individual contributor (they were), the disconnect between what leadership and staff thinks is needed is common. It’s why I believe interviews should start by asking about the role and what you can do to help, particularly if they’ve seen a job description.
HR people I’ve interviewed laugh when I say job descriptions are 80% accurate. “If we’re lucky” is the common lament.
I don’t know your client but too often people focus on demonstrating competence to the exclusion of all the other things people assess for–self-confidence, character, chemistry, charisma, that someone cares, that they can connect with the person, so they can trust them. All soft skills, but pivotal for leadership roles.
Sometimes a rough edge surfaces early in the process, but there is so much good that the person brings that they keep moving forward until someone speaks up. “We need IPO experience. She’s never taken a company public,” for example.
Your client needs to recognize where rough edges are occurring and address them proactively and not think they’ve gone away.
Depending upon her personality type, she may have trouble reading a room and speaking to her opponents during the interview. It requires someone willing to confront an opponent, which in leadership you have to do, and not just shuffling through the process, hoping things work out.
Time and again, I hear stories like hers. Everything is going well until it isn’t. S/he invests so much time, effort and heart, shared their hopes with others and left feeling crushed with the disappointment of not being chosen.
Too often, people treat final interviews as though they are certain of being hired.
In fact, they are usually among a few finalists. Even when they are the only person being interviewed on this round, they are still competing with the idea that there might be someone better out there to choose from and an employer restarting their search again.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2019, 2026
Job Hunting Can Feel Like a Roller Coaster
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38 Deadly Interview Mistakes to Avoid
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The Interview Mistake Too Many Executives Make (And How To Correct It)
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