No experience.

Dognapper

Why do companies bother to bring you for an interview and then tell you you don’t actually have the experience they want, they read a cv call you for interview and then just say that. Is it kind of a get out of jail free rather than saying we don’t like you ? Or do they just have to fill a quota of interviews before they give it to the person that was getting it all along ?

fleet

Dognapper wrote: »

Why do companies bother to bring you for an interview and then tell you you don’t actually have the experience they want, they read a cv call you for interview and then just say that. Is it kind of a get out of jail free rather than saying we don’t like you ? Or do they just have to fill a quota of interviews before they give it to the person that was getting it all along ?

Although possible that they have a candidate in mind this tends to only be large corporates or government that do this. Most SMEs would not waste their time and money bringing you in for an interview unless you were already in the top 3/4 candidates. They may be looking to see your response to the question.

R75MM

Dognapper wrote: »

Why do companies bother to bring you for an interview and then tell you you don’t actually have the experience they want, they read a cv call you for interview and then just say that. Is it kind of a get out of jail free rather than saying we don’t like you ? Or do they just have to fill a quota of interviews before they give it to the person that was getting it all along ?

You would not be called for an interview unless they really see something in your CV that they really like. Most jobs would have 20-30 applications (maybe that's a slight over-statement) but they will only call the top 3-5 for interview.

YOU ARE IN THAT TOP PILE. Don't give up and keep going.

Suggest you perhaps spend a little bit of money and get some interview coaching; get someone (not me!) to tell you how to answer some of them hard-to-answer HR-type questions.

Everyone has transferable skills, you just need to focus on these and how these transferable skills "map" to the role you are going for.

And finally, congratulations - before you know it you will have the job you want.

Best Wishes,
R7

kenmm

Yep, as above, interviewing is expensive and a pain for those involved.

If they say you don't have enough experience maybe you actually don't? Do you have something on the CV but don't have as much depth in the area as you could have? Or maybe you do have the experience, but aren't communicating it well enough?

Edit: if you are getting interviews, you are doing something right!

OMM 0000

They were hoping you would impress them in some way. For example, maybe you don't have a lot of experience but you might be sharp and charismatic.

I have called people for interview where they had no experience, but I liked something on their CV (e.g. degree in physics). I thought "well maybe they're analytical and smart, so let's so if this can work". And I have hired them.

Nicetrustedcup

Myself I got lucky when I got my 1st job in IT, I was fresh out of college after 4 years and other then a 6 month internship I had no experience and once this company gave me my 1st job I realised what I done in college was pointless as I could not do a thing day 1, so they had to train me up and so on, however it was a very badly paid job but I said to myself if I don’t take this job it could be 6 months before the next one came along.

That’s the joys of workplaces someone will take the risk on you so don’t keep yourself down you will get someone soon and even if it’s for less pay you should take it as it’s all about building up your experience. Also god knows what job you might end up as sometimes it’s a random area that you become very god at.

As myself, years later I am in a different company and I am making a name for myself for the right reasons and I love what I do.

It takes time but you will get there

LimeFruitGum

As a hiring manager, I don’t have time to interview someone who is clearly not a fit and I would certainly resent being asked to interview a lot of people for a quota’s sake. HR or the recruiting agency should be screening the unqualified / inexperienced candidates out for me.
Having said that, there’s always a bit of wiggle room around the specifications, a candidate could be an edge case in terms of having 3 years experience in skill X when you were looking for 5 (or whatever). It might still be worthwhile talking to that person.
I once got a job that asked for a degree in a specific language. I only had a diploma, but I had several years project management and industry experience where I wrote and spoke that language daily and that clinched it for me. I was in that role for six years before moving into another department.

But I don’t think it is accurate to say you have no experience, you’re getting interviews so you obviously do have experience:) Do you know if they refer to a specific skill or if there’s been a typical interview question that you tend to struggle with?

Jim2007

Dognapper wrote: »

Why do companies bother to bring you for an interview and then tell you you don’t actually have the experience they want, they read a cv call you for interview and then just say that. Is it kind of a get out of jail free rather than saying we don’t like you ? Or do they just have to fill a quota of interviews before they give it to the person that was getting it all along ?

It is very rare to find a single candidate that meets the required criteria, never mind a few people. So you pick the best 5 or 6 people to interview in the hope that you'll end up with one or two possible candidates.

It is also possible that some of the candidates you pick turn out to have experience that makes them more suitable, but just did not put it on their resume.

So if you are invited for an interview, you should see it as an opportunity to sell yourself. You should have a fairly good idea where the weaknesses are in your profile and work to satisfy the interviewer on those points as well as establishing a good rapport with the interviewer.

Mongfinder General

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