An Entry from the Job Hunter's Journal

Getting the Offer is Job 1 when Interviewing


Previously, I have talked about the fact that when an individual interviews for a job, the purpose of the interview is to get the job.  Recently another of my candidates lost an excellent job that he fit perfectly because he was worried about the potential commute during the interview.  The company took his reticence during the interview as an indication that he really was not interested in the position or the company, when really he was worried about driving to work in heavy traffic.  When told that he was not getting a job offer he was very disappointed because he had decided he really wanted the job.  When asked why he acted so cool during the interview process he explained that he was worried about the potential commute.  He asked to have the company reconsider him for the position but the opportunity was lost and the ironic thing is that he was probably the best candidate I could have placed with the company.

Unfortunately, the traffic he saw was from the airport to the plant site and the company was located in a suburb and had he driven a few miles west he would have found that he could have lived virtually in the country.   The moral of this story is during the interview, concentrate on the interview process and getting the offer.  The details can be worked out later and if the concern is real and cannot be eliminated, the offer can be rejected.