This question originally appeared on Quora: I keep failing in my interviews. What should I do? Answer by John L. Miller, Ph.D, software developer at Microsoft $MSFT, Amazon $AMZN, Google $GOOGL, and Oracle $ORCL for 25 years.
In an ideal world people would be hired based on whether or not they will do the job well. Unfortunately this is impossible to measure until the applicant actually does the job they’re hired for.
Employers do the next best thing. They interview people in a way that usually led them to hire good employees in the past. This approach ensures most potentially-bad employees are rejected. As a side effect, many potentially-good employees are turned away. Still, enough good employees are found for the employer’s needs, which is why the practice continues.
If you’ve got the technical skills to do a good job, you just need to work on your interview skills to help demonstrate that you’re not a potentially bad hire.
The most helpful single thing you can do is to practice being interviewed. Practice with friends, and practice by applying for jobs. Make notes of how you think you did in each interview. When practical (e.g. with friends), compare your notes with their perceptions. Use this to get a better idea of how you come across in the interview, and what you should work on.
And remember, not getting a job often means the employer couldn’t get enough information to verify you’re not a bad hire. So, conservatively, you’re not given the job. I’ve been turned away by companies in one interview only to come back and get the job. You will too.
Some specific things to do:
Good luck!
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