Did Not Get Official Job Offer After Receiving Offer Verbally. What Can I Do Differently?

Chen, What can I do differently?  I did not get the job offer after what was supposed to be the last interview and was assured verbally that an offer will be coming.  Happened three times at different interviews.

Answer:   There are a few possibilities that you can evaluate, especially if you are well qualified for the position.

1) They did not offer you the opportunity officially because of reasons you cannot control.   Maybe they changed their mind on what they had originally decided was important to them.  Or maybe they decided that instead of hiring someone, they would just maintain their current staff.  Or, perhaps they decided to fill the position internally.

2) You did not “close the job offer” during and after the interview.  This is something that pharmacists are not used to doing.  It may not come naturally to you, but it is an important step to convincing a potential employer that you are the one for the job.   I will share with you a couple of tips.

One tip you can use during the interview: Finish the conversation by sharing  how interested you are in the position, why it is a good fit (mention the benefits to them), & that you are looking forward to receiving the offer letter.  Ask them what the next step is (including the process they need to go thru before the offer letter is written) and when you will expect to receive the official offer letter.  There are additional things that you can do during the interview to “ask for the job” or “close the job offer”.  This will make you stand out from the rest of your competition.

Remember, it is a competitive pharmacist job market right now.  No longer is it true that a pharmacist breathing with a license is being handed jobs left and right.  Even if you are qualified, you have to stand out as being passionate about the position & how you are better than the other pharmacist candidates who interviewed.  You need to win the interview game.

One tip you can use after the interview:  Follow up with the hiring managers who interviewed you.  As far as how frequently & in what way, this & ways to “close the job offer” is something that is covered in the Get the Edge teleseminar program.  It is designed to help you get the edge in your job search.  Check it out if you are not getting the job offers that you want in this tight pharmacist job market.

3) They found out reasons not to hire you after they spoke to you.  For example, perhaps they discovered information during reference checking that led them to believe you are not a good fit afterall.

Hope this helps in your next interviews!