You may have experienced a time in your career when you felt like you were exceptional in a job interview and at the end of the day you didn’t get the job. It does not mean that you are not qualified for the job, there are various reasons why you didn’t get the job. There a re many factors that are considered by employers during the recruitment process, many of which has nothing to do with you. In this article, we will be sharing easy ways on how to ask why you didn’t get the job.
How to ask why you didn’t get the job
You can follow the steps to professionally ask an employer why you didn’t get the job you applied for or any other job offer:
Think about the interview
After finding out that you did not get the job, start reflecting on how the interview was. Think about the below listed things:
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How you responded to the interviewer’s questions
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Your conduct throughout the interview
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Your connection with the interviewer
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Areas where you can improve on in the future
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Your level of preparation for the interview
Your willingness to improve on your interview skills is a great step in becoming a more qualified applicant. Try as much as possible to remember the questions you were asked and carefully write them down. This way you can easily and properly prepare your responses for other interviews, because most employers in the same field typically ask similar questions during interviews. You can also work on becoming more qualified for the position, if you are already good with interviews.
Send a follow-up email
It can be such a difficult task to write a professional email after knowing you did not get the job, but this is an important aspect of growing your career. This helps you make and maintain a good impression on employers. The company may have more job opportunities for you in the future, so it is important to remain polite.
Ask for feedback
As stated in the previous point, it is important you remain polite. When you send the follow-up email, ask if they would be willing to provide you with a feedback. You can also use this means to politely ask why you didn’t get the job. Asking these questions can go a long way in helping you learn ways in which you can improve for the future.
You may think that your interview was perfect when in reality it wasn’t, getting a feedback will help you better judge your performance and also help improve your chances of getting the job of your dream.
Reply the feedback
It is believed that you will get a feedback, after carefully reading the feedback, take time (about a week)to think about it and send a response to them as it is the professional thing to do. In your reply email, show your appreciation for the feedback. If you would also want a chance to work for them in the future, this would be a good time to state it and your willingness to improve in all areas beneficial to the job.
Sample/Template of a follow-up email
You can use this sample email as a guide when asking an employer why you didn’t get the job:
Dear Sir/Ma,
Thank you for considering me for the customer relations officer position. I am grateful that you took out time to learn about me and what I had to offer. However, I was willing to give my all if I got the chance, thanks for sharing your decision with me.
I know that you are quite experienced in the hiring process, I would humbly ask if you could tell me why I did not get the job. I would greatly appreciate some feedback to learn the areas I can improve upon. This job is my passion, so I really want to do all I can to improve my opportunities in this career.
I am willing to discuss this feedback on the phone or via an email response.
Thank you for your consideration,
Paul Samson
Sample/Template of a response email
When you get a feedback from the employer stating why you did not get the job among other things, you can use this sample response email as a guide to write your response:
Hello Sir/Ma,
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback you gave to me. I have reflected on all you said, and I look forward to applying this feedback and improve. I will make an honest effort to prepare my responses and build my confidence for the future.
I am grateful for your help in making me improve as a candidate. If there are any customer relations officer positions at your agency in the future, I would really love to apply.
Thank you again,
Paul