# I failed at a job interview



## QuietLabrador19 (Apr 13, 2016)

It was one of those video interviews where you have to record answers to questions. It wasn't that my answers were terrible, but that I didn't answer the questions at all, they only let you record an answer for each question once and the first two attempts I panicked and clicked off my browser and could no longer record an answer to those questions so I figured there was no point in continuing. It was the most stressful thing I've done for a while, I spent hours trying to calm myself down enough to answer the questions and getting motivated by reminding myself that this one job interview isn't as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be, but when I tried to actually do the interview I lost all focus and panicked. Hopefully the experience will help me prepare for other job interviews but I'm still annoyed with myself for not being able to control my anxiety.


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## reliefseeker (Jul 21, 2010)

You are not alone, i have crucial interviews many times and failed every single one of them, and the reason for it is either there are candidates who have better interview skills and more qualified than me or my anxiety screwed me up turning them off..i can understand your disappointment.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I've heard of Skype interviews and but never video interviews. I've had zillions of telephone screenings. Ugh.


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## Twilightforce (Aug 7, 2016)

I've gone through dozens of awkward interview and didnt get the job.


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## atleasttherescoffee (Jul 18, 2017)

God, I just made an account on here for that reason. I just had one today and I'm going to cringe at the memory forever.


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## Hussle (Mar 5, 2014)

I bombed a Chipotle interview. We were huddled in groups and I volunteered to go first but I was up and finished the interview so quick. I didn't really research anything and kind of just winged it. It was very embarrassing. Please point and laugh at me. It's is experience though lol.

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## wojiaoaidan (Jul 24, 2017)

I had my first interview ever in a random building on campus my freshman year (before classes started, so I was unfamiliar with everything). They were student supervisors, not really adult-y adults, but that didn't make it any less scary. I had to sit in a desk in the middle of a small room while they sat against the wall facing me. There were three of them.

Every time I had to answer a question I would lean forward while speaking, and when I was done I would try to fix my posture but it would happen again. I'm a very smiley person but I couldn't smile then for fear that my mouth would twitch (I know from recording myself that it already goes a little sideways when I'm choosing my words carefully). I started to answer a question, but got mixed up and ended up saying "never mind" and cursed myself for it. When I got up I battled with putting my purse back on before I could give them handshakes.

I thought I did horribly and avoided calling my mom about it until I got home because I didn't want to cry in public. Turned out that I had gotten the job, and much later when I asked one of the supervisors (who was kinda strict) if he remembered interviewing me, he said he didn't but was surprised I thought I had done poorly. I guess if he didn't remember it must not have been that bad in their eyes.

Thinking back on it, I think I've learned a bit from the interview. The one part I was remotely relaxed during it was when I was talking about my strengths, and I mentioned the "never say can't" necklace I was wearing, which was given to me by my colorguard coach. I think I smiled then, because it was something I was really confident about and a good memory for me. So find an experience that excites and encourages you, or something you like talking about that can help you showcase your skills.

I haven't taken my own advice on this next one, but you could also try to apply to as many places as you can, especially if you don't want to work there. Why put yourself through the torture of unnecessary interviews, you ask? Because if you do it often enough you'll feel more prepared for the questions they ask and will be better able to deal with your anxiety should it arise during an interview. The right answer is still the right answer, even if you're shaking a little while saying it. I have trouble recalling most of the questions that were asked during that interview because I blacked out to anything other than how I was presenting myself and the way my mouth was moving and where my feet were under the desk. The only reason I could answer the questions was because I had overly prepared with my sister, who was already working there and had gone through the same process. So I ejected them from my memory as I screamed in my mind throughout the entire thing.

Always keep in mind that when you go in to an interview, you _already don't have the job_. You have nothing to lose, and if you don't get the job, you don't ever have to see that person again. Of course, if you feel like you made a fool of yourself but you still got the job (like I did), just remember that interviewers understand that interviews can be intense for some people, and since you got the job, they probably don't think you did as poorly as you do.

I hope this helps someone else, but if not that's okay because at least I'm helping myself by writing this lol...
I have an interview on Wednesday for a restaurant I love, which will be my second interview ever.


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## BrokeTech (Jun 1, 2017)

I spent all this time learning how to code, and I finally started getting job interviews for those positions, i.e. web developer, and I just completely fvcked two of them up to the point where I quit even trying for those jobs. One of those jobs, I think I absolutely would have gotten had I not screwed the interview up because it was not really hard technical questions--they understood there would be mentoring involved--and the people from the company I'd be placed at had already looked at some of my code and were impressed at what I did as a beginner. 

I get through interviews in part by understanding most interviewers ask the same types of questions all the time, so just knowing how to answer the questions I'm going to get helps me do well and I almost always get jobs once I interview...except this dude threw big-time curveballs and I just panicked. He even told me at the end that I interview well. But my work history is screwed up because I quit jobs all the time. I have it camouflaged on my resume, and most employers either don't notice or don't care...but he could tell I had camouflaged it, and then I was asked all these questions about where I've worked, why I leave jobs all the time, etc, and you know there's no right answer for "why do you leave jobs all the time." I felt horrible after that interview.

The other interview was way too technical, and I really just wanted to say, "We all know there's no point in continuing this" at some point and excuse myself. I was thoroughly embarrassed after that one and quit applying for developer jobs. I do a tiny bit of coding where I work now, though, so my studies didn't completely go to waste.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

BrokeTech said:


> I spent all this time learning how to code, and I finally started getting job interviews for those positions, i.e. web developer, and I just completely fvcked two of them up to the point where I quit even trying for those jobs. One of those jobs, I think I absolutely would have gotten had I not screwed the interview up because it was not really hard technical questions--they understood there would be mentoring involved--and the people from the company I'd be placed at had already looked at some of my code and were impressed at what I did as a beginner.
> 
> I get through interviews in part by understanding most interviewers ask the same types of questions all the time, so just knowing how to answer the questions I'm going to get helps me do well and I almost always get jobs once I interview...except this dude threw big-time curveballs and I just panicked. He even told me at the end that I interview well. But my work history is screwed up because I quit jobs all the time. I have it camouflaged on my resume, and most employers either don't notice or don't care...but he could tell I had camouflaged it, and then I was asked all these questions about where I've worked, why I leave jobs all the time, etc, and you know there's no right answer for "why do you leave jobs all the time." I felt horrible after that interview.
> 
> The other interview was way too technical, and I really just wanted to say, "We all know there's no point in continuing this" at some point and excuse myself. I was thoroughly embarrassed after that one and quit applying for developer jobs. I do a tiny bit of coding where I work now, though, so my studies didn't completely go to waste.


What kind of work are you doing now?


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## ShiftyShifty (Feb 26, 2017)

I can understand your frustration, @QuietLabrador19, that's a very unusual system and would make anyone nervous. @Hussle, It's important to treat interviews as learning opportunities. Think about what you can do now that will help you answer the questions next time. Interviewing skills can be developed by preparing and practicing answers to common questions. It's hard for me to think of relevant anecdotes when I'm asked a behavioral question, but if I write some good stories about school projects or old jobs and go over them beforehand, things go much smoother.


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## BrokeTech (Jun 1, 2017)

komorikun said:


> What kind of work are you doing now?


I'm a web content and marketing manager. So, it's related, I just don't have to code that much and was not asked about it during the interview. I just manage all the online stores for the business I work for, and they use eBay, Amazon and then some CMS that I had to learn in order to manage the main web site for their store.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I swear to god interviews are just personality contests. If the interviewer likes your personality for whatever stupid completely unrelated to the job reason, you get the job.


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## BrokeTech (Jun 1, 2017)

komorikun said:


> I swear to god interviews are just personality contests. If the interviewer likes your personality for whatever stupid completely unrelated to the job reason, you get the job.


I know, that's why I put all the energy I can find into being something I'm not in interviews, and then when I get on the job I'm like, "fvck it, I don't have enough energy to fake like that every day." I'm always exhausted after interviews from all the phony-ness.


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## Hussle (Mar 5, 2014)

BrokeTech said:


> I spent all this time learning how to code, and I finally started getting job interviews for those positions, i.e. web developer, and I just completely fvcked two of them up to the point where I quit even trying for those jobs. One of those jobs, I think I absolutely would have gotten had I not screwed the interview up because it was not really hard technical questions--they understood there would be mentoring involved--and the people from the company I'd be placed at had already looked at some of my code and were impressed at what I did as a beginner.
> 
> I get through interviews in part by understanding most interviewers ask the same types of questions all the time, so just knowing how to answer the questions I'm going to get helps me do well and I almost always get jobs once I interview...except this dude threw big-time curveballs and I just panicked. He even told me at the end that I interview well. But my work history is screwed up because I quit jobs all the time. I have it camouflaged on my resume, and most employers either don't notice or don't care...but he could tell I had camouflaged it, and then I was asked all these questions about where I've worked, why I leave jobs all the time, etc, and you know there's no right answer for "why do you leave jobs all the time." I felt horrible after that interview.
> 
> The other interview was way too technical, and I really just wanted to say, "We all know there's no point in continuing this" at some point and excuse myself. I was thoroughly embarrassed after that one and quit applying for developer jobs. I do a tiny bit of coding where I work now, though, so my studies didn't completely go to waste.


How specific is the coding/programming questions like can you get by writing pseudo code as long as you understand the concepts they are trying to test you on? I mean I got a degree in computer engineering so we had to write lots of programs in C++,C#, etc and I also did some Web development and I did pretty well in my programming assignments but I guess what I'm trying to say is I've worked in so many programming languages how specific do they expect you to write your code? Could you give me an example of one type of question they gave you?

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## BackToThePast (Aug 31, 2012)

I feel that in some sense a recorded interview is tougher than a live one. When I had to go through one I didn't feel that sense of urgency I get during a live interview and I started focusing way too much on delivering the perfect answer in a perfect way. It felt less like a conversation and more like an actual test. It also doesn't help that because it's recorded, your footage will probably be analyzed with a higher degree of scrutiny.

It did end up helping me though. When I went back to view my answers, however goddamned painful it was to me, I was able to spot my conversational mannerisms/weaknesses, important details like eyes darting towards the bottom corner. I'll be mindful of what I need to do differently from now on. But yeah, I would take a live interview over a recorded one any day. One try and be done with it. What's important is that you have this experience you can look back on now and determine what you need to do differently.


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## BrokeTech (Jun 1, 2017)

Hussle said:


> How specific is the coding/programming questions like can you get by writing pseudo code as long as you understand the concepts they are trying to test you on? I mean I got a degree in computer engineering so we had to write lots of programs in C++,C#, etc and I also did some Web development and I did pretty well in my programming assignments but I guess what I'm trying to say is I've worked in so many programming languages how specific do they expect you to write your code? Could you give me an example of one type of question they gave you?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


Every single interview I've done for programming jobs has been different from each other, and most of them there were no "whiteboard"-type challenges. The only one where I had to do a coding challenge was a take-home coding challenge after being taught something new. It was basically something like create a form where someone can enter in numbers, submit the form over a server, be taken to another page that shows the result of those numbers multiplied and include validation (i.e. make sure they enter something in the boxes and that it's actual integers). That was fine.

I've had two interviews where I was just basically asked academic questions like you'd get on a test in college, in my opinion--nothing that means you can't actually code--and the one I mentioned here was just question after question after question divided up by HTML (so, a bunch of HTML questions), CSS (bunch of those), and a whole bunch of questions per programming language, whether the language was listed on my resume or not (like, .NET is not on my resume, but I was asked all these questions related to it). Questions like "what is encapsulation?" and about JOIN in SQL (SQL also was not on my resume). They wanted verbal explanations of different terms in programming and how you do certain things in different languages.

I took a C++ class, and the prof had us do coding challenges like what he said employers give during interviews. FizzBuzz was one. Everyone always talks about white board challenges with developer jobs, but, man, going to one of those job interviews...you have no idea what to expect, really, because their interview styles are so much more diverse than people tell you. Which is not good at all if you experience anxiety.


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

Yup, I really hate video interviews. I had a video interview with one company where they contracted a company which specializes in interviews to conduct interviews for them. And these interviews are recorded so the company that I was interviewing for can examine the video later. 

It's hard enough to interview one on one with somebody, but it's a little embarrassing when you know other hiring managers are watching the video later on.


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## OutsideR1 (Mar 13, 2014)

Ive had a couple cringe video interviews too, with the timer and everything. But i've also had success with 2 where it led to an in-person interview. I dont even know why lol.


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## The Phantom Pain (Oct 6, 2010)

Too lazy/ busy to skim the thread to see if this has been suggested, but temp agencies have been a wonder for me. 

Some of them have an initial interview, but most of them will just place you right away based on your skill level. I don't know if it's different for the type of work you're pursuing. For instance, in office work, the supervisor might want to screen you first, but I guess it depends on where you're placed.

Overall, I strongly doubt I'd be working without temp services.


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## iamhappyandsocial (Aug 5, 2017)

It's all about your personality. They don't care about the right answer. They want to see if you are smiling, pleasant and social.


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## lostx00xsoul (Jan 12, 2012)

iamhappyandsocial said:


> It's all about your personality. They don't care about the right answer. They want to see if you are smiling, pleasant and social.


And that is where the problem lies for me. It's easy to do around small informal groups but when you're thrust in the spotlight suddenly it's that much harder.


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## Feduk (Dec 19, 2021)

It is normal to fail a job interview. The most important is not to give up. Next time you will already have more experience, and your job interview will be more successful. I also failed many job interviews, especially answering questions about myself and my plans. In my opinion, there are no correct answers to such questions. The employee needs to see how you are thinking by answering these questions. I found some tips on jobsandcareer.tips, so I had some idea how to answer, and around this idea, I was developing my answers.


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## stasikpasik (4 mo ago)

It seems to me that you should have just calmed down, rested, and then sat down and recorded this interview. I also always get nervous before an interview. Previously, for me, it was generally cathartic and a test. I told my friend about it, and he advised me on one site Investment Analyst interview questions, where I found a free guide. I studied it in detail, and after that, I successfully passed the interview and got my dream job. And I realized that the main rule is to relax and be sincere.


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## Futures (Aug 27, 2005)

Feduk said:


> It is normal to fail a job interview. The most important is not to give up. Next time you will already have more experience, and your job interview will be more successful.


Exactly. Everybody goes through failed interviews.

I remember one time a place called me and I had a panic attack and had to excuse myself mid-interview and put the phone down for a couple minutes.

Another time during a face-to-face interview where I scheduled to meet back-to-back with 5 people. Things didn't go well with the first 2 people and they made an excuse about the other 3 people getting "pulled into another meeting".

Another place was more blunt and cut the interview short and told me straight-out, that they didn't want to waste anymore of my time, since they could tell it wasn't going to be a good fit.


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## Jenna (Jul 14, 2018)

I had so many interviews that went wrong. My very first interview for a teacher job went horrible! It just takes practice to get good at them. I wrote interview questions on note cards and then practiced answering them on a video camera. I hate seeing myself on video, but it increased my confidence a bit for the interviews. 
Also, I've never had a video interview before but that just sounds extra nerve wracking.


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