The One Where I Applied to My Dream Job, and Didn’t Get It

Last year, a twitter friend of mine posted that her company was hiring. The company worked on transit accessibility, and after reading the job description, I knew I could do the work. It felt like the perfect fit. And honestly, I sometimes check their “Work With Us” page to see if any other opportunities crop up because I love the work that the company is doing.

Ask for insider information, if you have an in

Anyway, I reached out to said twitter friend and said something along the lines of “OMG YOUR COMPANY IS DOING ALL THE BUS ROUTE THINGS! IS THERE AN IN?” Because, ya know, I have no chill.

If you want a job, having an in is super important, it doesn’t always mean you’re guaranteed the job. But it never hurts to ask. The friend gave me invaluable inside information about the company, who the hiring manager was, and answered general questions to help me prepare for my interview. She also rooted for me and commiserated with me when I didn’t get the job.

Put your best foot forward, straight off the bat

I also tailored my resume. And let me tell you, it was an arduous task. The simplest way to do this is to have a ready made resume that lists all of your experience, and then pull out the ones that fit the job best.

I even go the extra mile and print off the job description, circle key words, and then pop those into my resume. It’s like SEO but for recruiters. A little cheesy, but I’ve landed an interview at every job I’ve applied using a custom made resume. So I know it works.

Practice for the Interview

I’m lucky that I have besties who are as obsessed with career development as I am. When I told my best friend I had an interview, she immediately FaceTimed me with a million pop questions, and helped me tailor my answers to put my best foot forward. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have people in your corner. And if you don’t, contact me! I’m the internet best friend you didn’t know you needed.

But we talked about over basic questions like strengths and weaknesses, and being the genius that my best friend is, she went on Glassdoor and found interview questions that people had been asked when interviewing for similar positions. I think she practiced with me for 5 hours, because we’re a little obsessive, but also it paid off because I didn’t have interview nerves going into the interview.

And since the interview itself was over Zoom, we took some time to set up my camera and make sure that my background was as professional and polished as possible. I cannot stress this enough that preparation is key.

Interviewing is well, a thing

I hate interviews. They’re a bit tricky, and I never know how I’m doing. But, in all the jobs I’ve landed, I’ve laughed in the interview. It’s not always indicative of if the interview is going well, but trying to frame them as conversations between new coworkers instead of as a place to jockey out all your best work has helped me immensely.

Laugh some, have a good conversation. Show your stuff, of course, but interviews are really about your vibe and the vibe of the company. So it’s okay to have a personality.

This interview went well, but looking back, I made a critical mistake, I focused on what I could improve upon in my answers, instead of what I was excellent at. I’m not saying this is necessarily why I wasn’t offered the job, but I’ve changed my approach to interviewing. And that’s okay.

When you don’t get a job, look at how you could do things differently next time.

Send a Thank You Note

Always send a thank you note. It’s polite and important. The thank you note I sent also reiterated why I felt I’d be a good fit in the role.

Two people interviewed me, so I sent individual thank you notes to each. I made sure to include individual details and tailor them to the person I was sending them to.

And take the no with grace

After a few weeks of waiting, they reached out and told me they hired someone else. It was sad, but you can still leave the door open for future conversations.

I thanked them again for their time and told them I really appreciated the work that they were doing and to reach out if they ever felt I’d fit well in a different position. It’s important to keep those doors open because something can come out of it.

I also reached out to my friend and asked her what other companies were doing similar transit work in the space – but it’s kind of a niche space and no one else was hiring.

And that’s okay, No’s happen. They’re hard, and I recommend eating a lot of ice cream and watching a sad movie. But they’re part of life.

You can do everything right and still get a no. Chalk it up to practice and move on to the next opportunity.

Thankfully, I was still working at Starbucks and just kept making coffee while I waited for another job opportunity to crop up.

Transitioning from service work to office work is a hard transition, and it comes with a lot of no’s – even from amazing companies that you would swoon to work for. It doesn’t say so much about you as it does about what the company needs, and that’s okay.

If you keep waiting, and doing the work, something else will eventually come along.

Posted in career

The One Where I Applied to My Dream Job, and Didn’t Get It

Put your best foot forward, straight off the bat

Practice for the Interview

Interviewing is well, a thing

Send a Thank You Note

And take the no with grace

Moriah Chace

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