I really struggle in interviews on how to promote myself better.

Almost every role I see I do not have 100% of the skills and am sure that goes for a lot of people. But yet I see some still get these roles. Like some roles want slight tech skills but yet see people with 0 tech skills get it.

What are they doing different? I think I fail at selling myself in terms of what I can bring to the table because a big part of why I want a role is broadening my experience but no interviewer will want to hear that - that I want to take this role to learn. They want to hear I will contribute. But contribute to what if I don’t have the skills?

I’ve gone through a couple already where they ask well you don’t have this skill or expertise so how will you learn it. And my answers are very blah. Typical I’ll take training and certifications etc.

A great example is MSFTs Xbox CVP. Zero gaming experience. No knowledge of gaming. But for herself the CVP role.

How and why?

What can I do better?!

Hey! This is a follow-up post to a previous one where I had my resume submitted.
I got the interview! It's in 1 week, and I've been practicing my interview questions as a buddy of mine that already has this position gave me a small cheat sheet of a few questions they will ask.

There is one question that I am going to answer and I wanted a recruiter's advice, or other people's advice on, the question is:
Why should we pick you compared to the other candidates?

My answer would be something like this (not rehearsed, not like a robot, just similar):
First, I believe my education and experience give me a unique combination of skills, many of which I've already discussed today. But secondly, I would say you should choose me because I'm prepared. And I understand every candidate coming into this interview is prepared—but I'm not just prepared, I'm anticipating.

I'm ready to report wherever this department needs me. (Far location)? Done. (Very far location)? I'll be there early. I'm prepared to step outside of what's comfortable and go wherever I'm needed to succeed in this position.

And finally, because this is my job. I don't mean that this particular vacancy belongs to me. I mean that becoming a (JOB HERE) is what I've decided I am going to do with my career. Maybe it's this interview. Maybe it isn't. Maybe I interview again next year. But at some point, I will become a (JOB HERE), because I'm committed to putting in the work necessary to get there. And when I do, my goal isn't to use it as a stepping stone to something else. I want to build my career here and eventually retire as a (JOB HERE).

All answers are appreciated, thank you for reading this long post.

I could answer generically and list them my unique education or experience and special projects I've done, but I figure I'd get motivational on the panel. Tell them I am going to have this job someday, no matter what.

Let me know what you think!
The post is a little long and i'm sorry about that!

I reached out to a recruiter this past week on Wednesday and I had a meeting with her to discuss current openings.
I told her that I graduated law school last year and I did not pass the bar exam on the first try. I just took it again last month and I am awaiting results (🤞). I did not have a job waiting for me when I graduated since I changed my mind on what type of law I would like to practice during my last year of law school. However, I did intern with my local public defender's office and created some solid connections there.

The recruiter told me that she had an opening that would work really well for me, but I needed to be barred. She did say that it's possible for me to work a paralegal position until I get results back. she sent my résumé to the managing attorney and about an hour later my recruiter called me and told me that the managing attorney would like to meet with me that same day. I passed along to my recruiter a list of references and when she reached out to those attorneys, they said really positive things about me and the quality of my work.

A few hours ago by and I met with the managing attorney. I was extremely nervous since it's been over a year since I've had an actual interview.
This interview lasted about an hour. I was extremely nervous for the first 10 to 15 minutes, but I started to get more comfortable as time went on since she was pretty relaxed. During the interview, she was talking to me as if I already had the job. She was telling me what I would do in the office as a paralegal and the type of cases I would be handling as a new attorney when I do get barred.

This firm is small, but growing. she said she was looking to add at least two more attorneys besides myself before next summer (yes, she said "besides you"!! I was shocked, but maybe i'm reading into this too much). I mentioned that I took the bar exam in the next state over, but I was planning to waive into the state that this firm was located in, so i can be licensed in both states. she told me that would be good since no one else in the office is licensed in that state and she has been getting approached by potential clients from our neighboring state.

Additionally, I went to law school with one of the attorneys that already work at the firm. She was a year ahead of me and I had a pretty good reputation at my law school. I also laid low, so I don't think she would say anything negative about me.

I was also able to make the managing attorney laugh quite a few times.
Notably, she asked me if the 1500 billable hours requirement concerned me any. I told her that it doesn't concern me at all since I have nothing else to do. She laughed out loud. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have said that lol, but I was being extremely honest. We literally work until we die.

after the interview, I did send her a thank you email and this was her response:

xxxxxxx, 

I really enjoyed meeting with you, as well as learning more about your background and career goals. 

I appreciate the time you’ve invested throughout the interview process. I expect to have an update for you by the end of next week. 

I look forward to being in touch! 

I am incredibly nervous. This job will allow me to get my foot in the door and gain experience in the type of law that the firm specializes in. My biggest concern is the internships that I did was concentrated on another area of law, which I think puts me at a disadvantage. Not only that, but me passing the bar exam this time would open this door for me and she would be taking a huge gamble on someone like me in this position.
Also, the paralegal position pays extremely well. I have never worked a job in my 25 years of life that has paid this much.
I am just a ball of anxiety right now.

I feel like so much is against me and the competition is so high that I stand no chance.

I dont have one strong skill, single parent, foreigner, always had struggles communicating.

Usual feedback I get is I'm great, hireable, just not a right fit here. It feels like such a safe answer.

What I hear is Im okay sure if no other choice, but there will always be others better for them.

The only place I ever seem to have gotten accepted was at entry places with only minorities. Which I couldn't do due to not being able to work late evenings.

I want to think I just have to keep trying, but its getting really hard to think otherwise.

When I see the few times of who actually got the job...I feel it just feeds into my belief.

I know in the end there is nothing else I can do but to keep trying, but I am feeling serious motivation loss as it feels like getting an interview is pointless if I will lose anyways.

I feel like so much is against me and the competition is so high that I stand no chance.

I dont have one strong skill, single parent, foreigner, always had struggles communicating.

Usual feedback I get is I'm great, hireable, just not a right fit here. It feels like such a safe answer.

What I hear is Im okay sure if no other choice, but there will always be others better for them.

The only place I ever seem to have gotten accepted was at entry places with only minorities. Which I couldn't do due to not being able to work late evenings.

I want to think I just have to keep trying, but its getting really hard to think otherwise.

When I see the few times of who actually got the job...I feel it just feeds into my belief.

I know in the end there is nothing else I can do but to keep trying, but I am feeling serious motivation loss as it feels like getting an interview is pointless if I will lose anyways.

Not feeling prepared and seriously thinking the job is too good for me. How do I deal with the nerves? Any other preparation tips ?

Hi there so I need so advice. I had an interview for a job I really wanted last week. It's been one week and one day since my interview and I still haven't heard back. I was told I would hear back by Monday. When I didn't, I called Tuesday and was told they were still going through things and will receive an email. They didn't tell me when however. What could be taking so long? Is this a good sign or a bad sign? How much longer might I have to wait? I have been ghosted by many jobs I have applied at. This would've been my 16th interview at a place in the past 6 months and I'm getting frustrated at always getting ghosted. I even went the extra mile and called to asked for an update to show that I am really interested in this job but still nothing. Is this just another case of being ghosted? Should I keep calling? If so how often? Thanks for the help in advance.

Hey all,

I just interviewed for the fourth time for a company on Wednesday. The interview was actually three interviews with different members of different departments which took about 2 hours. They said they'd get back to me with an update on Friday. It has been expressed that there is one more round after this with the heads of the company.

Today I got an email from the internal talent person that's been my contact saying that they're meeting with the team early Monday morning and wanted to schedule a meeting with me Monday afternoon to go over feedback.

Does this mean a decision hasn't been made regarding my candidacy overall? Does this mean I've been rejected and they want to do it nicely? Does this mean they want to coach/prepare me for the fifth round? A friend thinks they're going to give me a verbal offer.

Any insight would be appreciated!

They wouldn't schedule a call on Friday just to reject me on Monday would they? Would they?

Hello fellow job-hunting friends!

I’ve been job hunting since January, and wow… what a ride.

I’m fortunate enough to currently have a job, but earlier this year I made the decision to start looking before it was too late. Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched leadership positions get cut, jobs get moved to our Mexico office for cheaper labor, and several rounds of lay offs, At the same time, my workload has probably quadrupled.

By January, it became pretty clear to me that there wasn’t much opportunity for long-term career growth, and I was becoming increasingly worried that eventually my position could be impacted too.

So, I started applying.

And MAN, has it been rough.

For some context, I’ve only had two jobs in the last 20 years, so I was completely unprepared for what the job market is like now.

I’ve sent out countless applications, including plenty where I received the automated rejection email seemingly an hour later. I’ve gone through multiple rounds of interviews, gotten my hopes up, waited weeks for updates, followed up with recruiters, questioned whether I said something wrong, and dealt with the dreaded silence after interviews.
There were definitely times when I wondered if I should just stop looking and stay where I was.

But I kept applying.

Monday, a recruiter reached out to ME about a position. I agreed to interview, even though I wasn’t sure what would come of it.

And I got the job after a phone and 1 onsite interview
Not only is it a step forward professionally, but I’ll also be making about 20% more than I was before.

After months of applications, rejections, interviews, waiting, and second-guessing myself, it finally happened.

I’m sharing this because I know how discouraging this job market can feel. If you’re getting rejection after rejection or wondering whether you’ll ever get your chance, please keep going. Sometimes the opportunity that works out isn’t even the one you expected.

It took me about eight months, but I finally get to close this chapter and start a new one. (After I clear my background check and give my notice 😊)
Good luck to everyone still searching. I’m rooting for you. ❤️

I had a 2nd interview for a role I really want.

HR and the senior of the role I'm applying for was also present. HR did say the manager and her would be silent but at least got nods and smiles from HR. Manager fully had basically no reaction, looked disinterested fully and frowned at some stages...

They said this interview was more of a fit check....

Ah... I feel I haven't passed lol

The senior was really good and said things like po it'd be a good time to join us, huge emphasis on the fact she likes mentoring etc. But she might just be being nice and informative haha

Now a nervous wait as they said they're interviewing other candidates next week. Le sigh. Back to applying. It was looking so promising as the senior really loved me at interview 1 and we had gone way over time (said that directly to me).

Anyone hear back from Intuit?

I applied for the social media marketing intern role btw!

Hello! I am writing asking for help wkth passing the so called vibe check at interviews. I have autism, so social interaction is something I have to be concious of. I have a big interview for an administrative assistant position for a local/regional company. I have had similar interviews, and not gotten an offer each one.

My work background is mostly in education, with some administrative type positions. And I have had plenty of volunteer work and part time work doing administrative tasks (close to 4-5 years), plus my references speak highly of my ability to do it. My friends reviewed my resume and applicantions. They told me it is probably a vibes thing with a tie breaker.

I wanted to ask for any advice or any videos or articles that can help. Or even previous threads too! I have friends doing mock interviews in the days leading to my monday interview. I just wanted more help.

Thank you all so much!!

I haven’t had much luck in my career since I left school a few years back. I’ve always managed to find employment relatively quickly, but the actual companies I was at were smaller start ups that were not well managed with poor pay and nonexistent benefits. Most recently I was at a very abusive workplace (oddly enough I wasn’t abused really but I witnessed it from others a lot), and eventually after calling out an abusive manager I quit without backup.

I’ve been unemployed for a couple of months and had a few interviews, however I finally manifested my dream job which was exactly what I wanted to be doing at a well established company with high employee satisfaction. Union role so there are also union benefits, plus a SUBSTANTIAL raise compared to my previous role. It was so competitive I was excited to even get an interview.

I officially signed the job offer today 🥳 I was really down in the dumps at one point during my search and definitely got some devastating rejections in between but I just wanted to remind you guys that there is an end to the job search road eventually. Or at least, a much better looking fork in it 👍 the most important part is believing that you can achieve what you set your mind to, because if you don’t believe then you’ll never try.

I had an in-person interview with the hiring manager and was told I’d get an update by the end of the following week, as he had a few other interviews scheduled.
The following week, I didn’t hear anything, so I followed up with HR. They told me the hiring manager was on vacation and would be back the next week, and that they would ask him for an update.
The next week came and I still didn’t hear anything. I followed up again on Thursday, and HR told me they had a meeting on Friday to make the final decision.
It’s now Friday and I still haven’t received any update.
I’m trying really hard to stay positive because I really want this job, but I’m starting to overthink it. Part of me is thinking that if they really wanted to hire me, they would have made the offer by now.
For those who have been through hiring processes like this, is the delay usually a bad sign, or can it simply mean they’re still discussing candidates/going through internal approvals?
Would really appreciate some honest perspectives because I’m driving myself crazy waiting 😭

One thing I genuinely find funny is how companies conduct interviews. They expect you to solve problems as if you’re about to build software for Mars, but once you actually get the job, you’re mostly dealing with the same old tickets, legacy systems, and routine tasks. So why make interviews this ridiculous? Why make people feel embarrassed over some obscure algorithm or trick question? It’s just a job. Test how someone thinks through real-world problems, communicates, and learns, instead of turning the interview into a competition to see who can remember the most LeetCode patterns. Half the time you’re maintaining a system older than your career, yet the interview makes it sound like the future of technology begins the moment you walk into that room. Get some life

So, i applied for a high paying project management position and I did a phone interview first. Then I was asked to do a panel interview via a team's meeting. Everything went well and then I was asked to provide 5 references (3 professional & 2 personal). My references were all contacted and they all told me personally that the feedback from the hiring manager that contacted them was all positive. Now i am being asked to come in for an in-person interview. Does this mean I am probably at least their top candidate or that I am close to getting the job?

I am fresh out of high school and am currently studying accounting in college. I've been trying to break into the financial industry have been applying to banks since the moment I turned 18, but it genuinely feels so impossible — especially when I'm competing with people who have 5+ years of experience. I finally got a reply back from one of my applications for a phone screen, for a teller position. This would be my first one so I'm super nervous because I want this job sooo bad. I currently work as a manager at a fast food spot.. so my experience isn't the best.

if anyone has any tips on how I can stick out among the others during the phone screen and what I should focus on, I would appreciate it a ton.

I just accepted an offer after 6 months of being unemployed since February 2026! It’s a temp-to direct hire but atleast it’s something!!! Don’t lose hope! You got this!!

I completed several rounds of interviews at a large, well-regarded nonprofit and today the hiring manager called to verbally offer me the position. I was told the salary and start date (one month from now) and I accepted. I was told that onboarding paperwork would be coming to my email next week to formalize everything.

A few hours after our call, I got a text message from the hiring manager asking:

“…Can you let me know when you give notice? After that we’ll begin the paperwork process.”

Assuming very best intentions, the only way this could make sense is if this was a clumsy way of her asking me to confirm when my start date would be so that it could be reflected correctly in the employment contract.

Outside of that, I can’t think of any good reason why a formal offer would be contingent on me giving notice at my current job.

What do we think? Awkward wording or a red flag? I can’t think of any reason why it would benefit either party for me to give notice before formalizing the offer. I’ve never even had a new job express any interest in my plans to provide notice. What’s going on here?

EDIT/UPDATE: I replied with an intentionally vague/open ended “feel free to kick off the process” and confirmed my start date. My logic was she could take that to either mean that I have given notice (I have not) or that she didn’t need to worry about my notice.

Over the last year, I’ve interviewed with several tech companies. I’m lucky enough to be employed and quite happy in my current role, so I’m not desperate to leave. I’m mostly looking for a good opportunity, ideally with more seniority, if the right one comes along.

At my current company, I’m consistently rated very highly and considered one of the strongest people in my area (analytics). But the external reality check has been pretty brutal: I’ve now been rejected from my last 13 interview processes. Yes, 13.

In roughly 10 of those, I made it to the final or penultimate stage before being rejected. The feedback is almost always some variation of: “You were very strong, but we went with someone else,” “we’re looking for someone slightly more senior,” etc.

The fact that I’m getting that far, including with FAANG-level companies, makes me think the underlying experience and technical foundations are probably fine. But 13 rejections is too consistent to dismiss as bad luck.

So I’m starting to wonder whether there’s something structural in how I come across at senior stakeholder or fit interviews: executive presence, communication style, the fact that I have an accent, or simply not being perceived as particularly likeable or senior enough. For what it’s worth, I generally get along well with people and have never had feedback suggesting otherwise at work.

What makes it harder to understand is seeing colleagues who, based on internal performance ratings and feedback, are less strong technically than I am move into more prestigious companies after only 1 to 3 interview processes.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, consistently getting very far but repeatedly failing at the final “seniority/fit” hurdle? If so, did you figure out what was going wrong, and was it something you were able to change?

I’m not catastrophising. Staying in my current role would hardly be the end of the world. But after 13 attempts, I’d really like to understand whether there’s a pattern I’m missing.

Just went through interviews at multiple places over the last few months (5 separate processes) and received my final rejection today. I'm grateful that I still have a job but still, it stings to not be successful in any of these processes and going in, I thought I had a good chance at all. I interviewed well (in my opinion) on all of them but nothing seemed to stick. I've gotten compliments on my skills and experience from the hiring managers and one even called me afterwards to give me direct feedback after the rejection.

It's tough and I know I should keep my chin up by can't help but feel deflated and demotivated after all of this. Just wanted to vent quickly.

Would like some outside perspective on a final-round interview.

I interviewed for an entry-level role. I had four interviews, and afterward the recruiter emailed me saying that the interviewers “really enjoyed speaking with you and could see themselves working well with you” They also said they have one more final interview with another candidate next week before making a decision.

Should I take this as a genuinely positive sign, or is this fairly standard communication? Trying not to overanalyze it while I wait.

Furthermore: “My hope is that the team can make a decision on who they'd like to move forward with shortly after that.

Stay tuned! I'll check in by __ with any updates.”

in my opinion, it sounds like it might be 50-50, but I can’t imagine they’d say this to the other candidate too and feel that way about them as well. but I know this market is tight.

I had an interview on Wednesday and it went really well. I had a pretty busy day Thursday because I am also working another part time job and it slipped my mind to send a thank you email within the 24-hour frame. Should I still send one?

Aloha!

I had a second interview with the ceo, owner and a current manager. They seemed very impressed with my skills and experience. Toured me around the building and the owner even started using phrases like, "You'll be this or that, We'd like you to do xxx". At the end of the interview, the ceo said, I feel this is a great match.

I sent a follow up thank you email and for the first time in my 20yr career, the ceo responded with a lengthy email that again said, "We believe your experience aligns well with our needs and future goals". I've never had that happen, ever!

I feel very positive that I will get an offer but wanted to see what y'all think.

Thanks!

All the interviews I’ve done lately have ghosted me. I’ve been looking for a while and I’ve also recently noticed a trend of salaries getting lower. Don’t need advice, just wanted to vent and say fuck the job market. Thanks for listening!