What to Do After a Bad Interview

It's almost impossible to go through your career without having at least one bad job interview. But don't worry, we are here to help make sure you learn from your mistakes and have a better experience during your next interview. We will discuss what you should do after a bad interview and how to avoid them in the future.

First, let's look at how to know if an interview went badly in the first place.

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How do you know if an interview went badly

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There are several key signs your interview went badly. During your job interviews, pay attention to the interviewer and look out for these indicators to find out if it wasn't your best performance.

• Interviewer's body language
• The amount of time your interview lasted
• Negative verbal cues

You know deep down if it was a good experience. Trust your gut. Think about what might have gone wrong and what you can do better the next time. Think of a way you would do something differently if given a second chance.

If you have the opportunity, ask the recruiter or hiring manager, where you went wrong. While this is not easy to do, it can make a huge difference the next time you interview.

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What should you do after a bad interview?

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Candidates often want to put bad interviews behind them. You ought to really try to think about what went wrong and what you can do differently the next time though. As much as you would like to just forget about it, you will benefit from learning from the bad experience.

You may want to talk about your bad interview with a friend or mentor. Walk them through what happened and think of how you could have handled the situation in a better way.

Here are some questions to ask yourself after a bad job interview.

• Did I spend enough time preparing for my interview?
• What might I have said to the interviewer that I should not have?
• Was I late or dressed inappropriately?
• Did my experience and background match the qualifications for the position?

Just because you have a bad job interview doesn't mean you are bad at interviews. There can be reasons out of your control that the interview didn't go well.

• You might not have been the right one for the open role or the company.
• The employer could be looking for skills that you don't possess.
• The job could have gone to an internal candidate.
• The interviewer could be having a bad day.

Whatever the reason, don't let it bring you down. It's important to address it and move on. Always send a thank you note to the interviewer and anyone else you met with. Take some time to think about what you want to say in your note. If you know the interview went badly, you can help make it right with your thank you note.

Here is a sample of what you might want to include in your email.

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I wanted to reiterate my interest in the company. I feel I can use this experience to better myself. I also wanted to mention that I would love to be considered for a position in the future if this one gets filled by someone else. I appreciate any feedback you might have for me. Thanks again!

Make sure you learn from each interview you go on during your job search. Know that some will probably go better than others.

Don't let a subpar interview hurt your confidence. Whether you forgot your answers or couldn't get your point across, you can recover.

Most candidates don't make the same mistake twice, so if your interview got out of hand, put it behind you. You have already made improvements by considering about what went wrong.

Collect information from the interviewer and work to correct bad habits. If you spend a little time fixing mistakes, you'll land a new job eventually.