I have been interviewing for Director Level positions and have gotten to the last round of the process where there are 2 - 3 candidates left in the pool.

10 Comments

1. Kimmon SwartApril 7,2022 at 9:23PM UTC

   I can relate! Currently in the same boat as you after being retrenched in September 2021. The problem with the higher end, upper Management or EXCo is that the demand is lower, and the skillset required is higher than the general, mass production girl Friday (no offense meant here).

   Don't give up though, hone in on that amazing power boss lady you are, the right company will snatch you up when the time is right. Xx

2. TK ParksApril 7,2022 at 11:44PM UTC

   I've experienced the same thing. I wish I could offer some advice, but fact of the matter is, this situation is not uncommon. Companies have to show that they providing equitable opportunity for qualified applicants even though they may already have someone internally in mind for the position. Keep your chin up and stay at it. You will land in a role that is meant for you!

3. IntrapsychApril 9,2022 at 12:31PM UTC

   In my industry many employers are promoting from within despite the fact candidates are not skilled, experienced or knowledgeable enough.

   They simply give the promotion to the next person who can carry out core functional tasks. In fact, many don't even interview for the position. This primarly because of the major disruption due to covid and the necessity to keep existing talent as tons of people are leaving jobs that burned them out.

4. AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 12:45PM UTC

   I agree with you. This is very time consuming and draining

5. HelenApril 9,2022 at 1:34PM UTC

   It is so irritating when you have a great interview and then the job goes to an internal candidate. This happened to me twice and in both cases I did not know I was up against an internal candidate until afterwards, (usually when I asked for feedback post-interview). I was at the point where I wondered whether asking if I was up against an internal candidate at interview might at least make them come clean on my chances of actually getting the job. I don’t know. I didn’t ask, but you are right, it’s annoying.

6. AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 1:50PM UTC

   When an internal candidate is chosen it is typically because the hiring manager already had them in mind for the position. They go through the motions of posting the job externally and conducting robust interviews to demonstrate they are giving everyone a fair chance. My company does this. You will need to draw on your network and see if someone can refer you to a job (most hiring managers will consider favorably a referred candidate).

7. Julie Chatman, MBA, CISMApril 9,2022 at 3:02PM UTC

   Organizations are incentivized from multiple angles to choose internal candidates over external candidates at times. Under certain circumstances, the reverse is true.

   Higher level leadership roles come with a significant time commitment - for the candidate and the organization. The organization is taking steps to find the candidate who is the best fit and mitigate risk while the candidate is trying to find an organization that’s a best fit.

8. AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 4:06PM UTC

   Dear...
   There are several reasons why some companies choose an internal candidate over external(s). Some actually already made the choise early in the hiring process and only want to benchmark internal vs. external. Some choose during or at the near end of the hiring process because they already know the internal very well - or actually see the candidate as the best fit. And some loose the energy to take that extra interview with an external when in doubt.
   So what can you do... you can take the learnings with you. what and where did you feel good or less good during the interview ? Yes - it is time consuming where you invest a lot of time and energy in it. But so does the company. Key messages here: You can stop the interview and hiring process if you feel that they are just using you for benchmark. You can use the interviews from "lost positions" as training for next hiring process. When entering an interview round; kindly ask how many interviews are to be expected.
   Yes - go all the way with 8 interviews for that dream job and you experience that the company really sees a need for it. But put your foot down if you feel even the slightest bit used for benchmark only; keep your dignity and redraw your application. By making an agreement with yourself to always be able to stop if not feeling comfortable or allow others do to you for you to land that dream job; you automatically also stop that terrible feeling afterwards. It actually may even turn out to be a benefit for you during the interviews as you may seem more relaxed.

9. Annetta MosesApril 10,2022 at 5:53AM UTC

   Even if a position goes to an internal candidate, the hiring manager doesn't always have an internal person in mind. At my company, all positions are posted for internal candidates before the position is posted externally.

   I could be interviewing external candidates before I received the internal candidate's application. At this point, I am evaluating all on the same criteria.

   During the interview process, ask if there are any concerns about your qualifications. You may discover that there are skills or experiences you don't have that the company wants.

   Good luck.

10. Antonia CalzettiApril 13,2022 at 2:18PM UTC

    Interviews in general are time consuming. While it is unfortunate when a position goes to an internal candidate, it's not always because the position was created for an internal candidate. There are internal candidates applying to positions because they think they are a good fit for the opportunity, not because they've been "selected" by the HM. As a corporate recruiter, I've had many positions open where internal candidates apply based on their background. And honestly, you want to be with an organization that promotes from within.

    Don't take the recruiting process personally. It's not about you. Many times there are multiple strong candidates in final phase of an interview process and you getting to final interviews is FANTASTIC. Feel good about that. When you're not selected for a position, ask for feedback. Most of the time you'll find even though your background and interviews were strong, there was someone else who had an edge on your skillset.