Tanked an important job interview, should I withdraw?

September 22, 2021 5:51 AM

I work in higher ed and got an interview at an organization I very much want to work for some day. For lots of reasons, I really tanked the phone interview, though on paper I'm a strong candidate. Would withdrawing my application, with the (true) explanation that there are new extenuating circumstances that mean now is not the right time for a move, leave me in a better position in the future?

For more background: I'm considering withdrawing my application, since I do have some complicated family situations arising and I can correctly and ethically say that extenuating circumstances have come up. Should I withdraw, or just wait and see if I really did tank as badly as I think? If I don't withdraw and leave them with a "well, that person was good on paper but terrible on the phone" impression, does that put me in a *worse* place than withdrawing now due to these new extenuating circumstances, and hoping that they write off my bad phone performance? If they have new positions open up, I will very much want to consider them and apply.

Thank you, internet strangers!

posted by lillygog to Work & Money (14 answers total)

At my [state] school, there is a different hiring committee for each job opening. And we are also supposed to destroy all notes and paperwork used in the course of the decision-making process. It goes without saying that we are not to discuss candidates with anyone not on the committee.

IOW, it's unlikely the same people would interview you again for another position, and it's unlikely they would know anything about your previous interview. Of course, this all depends on the school.

So, I wouldn't worry about withdrawing.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:08 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If a miracle occurs and you are offered the position, would you decline it due to your new family circumstances? If yes, then you should withdraw. Otherwise, why would you? This sounds like rejection-sensitive dysphoria talking.
posted by heatherlogan at 6:13 AM on September 22, 2021 [43 favorites]

I don't think that withdrawing gains you anything. If you genuinely did badly, that would still be remembered whether or not you withdraw (and in fact, the combination of doing badly and then withdrawing is going to be noticed and remembered). And if you didn't do that badly (which would be my guess; we rarely do as bad as we think we did), then withdrawing removes any chances of being offered the job.

My suggestion would be to ride it out, see what the result is, and then move forward from there.

hoping that they write off my bad phone performance?

I've been involved in a few hiring processes lately, and we have been extremely forgiving about awkward phone/video interviews, since it is such a terrible format and difficult for everyone.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:15 AM on September 22, 2021 [11 favorites]

Other people may be different, but for me, a candidate would have to be really memorable for this to affect them in the future. I tend to put poorer performing candidates out of my mind really quickly and move on to the ones that are still in the running for the job. Giving a poor interview wouldn't, by itself, make me reject them from a future job.

(I have been the really poor interviewee myself, so I recognise how stressful it can be. I can still remember the panic I experienced as I failed to answer the opening easy question and we had to come back to it at the end.)
posted by plonkee at 6:18 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Wait, do you actually still want this job or not? If you moved forward in the process would you be happy about that? If you still want the job, don't withdraw. You have nothing to gain here by withdrawing. The only reason to withdraw is if you don't want the job.

If you do want to address the way you tanked in the interview (without withdrawing - there's really no need!) you can write an email to the interviewer saying, "Thanks for the interview! I enjoyed getting to speak to you about $THING and $THING! I wish I had been clearer about my previous experience with $THING - I realized as I was speaking that I [blah blah blah what you wish you had said]."

A note like that won't completely counteract a bad phone screen, but it won't hurt and I think acknowledging that you didn't perform as well as you would have liked in the phone screen is going to read a lot better than mysteriously dropping out after a bad phone screen due to family circumstances (which could be entirely spurious as far as the hiring committee knows).
posted by mskyle at 6:18 AM on September 22, 2021 [3 favorites]

Its unlikely you tanked it as bad as you think you did; maybe you won't get chosen but unless you did something real out of bounds during your phone call, I'm sure they aren't thinking that.

That said, let's say you really DID do some crazy ass stuff during the call and now the office chatter is "wow we loved that candidate on paper, but that phone call..." - well, that's already done. You withdrawing now will not change that.

The only value to withdrawing would be at a later point in the process, if they see you as a candidate they want to move ahead with, and they would incur cost like flying you out to do an in-person. Then you could drop out and say something like I'd love to work with you in the future, but can't take this position.

If you withdraw after a phone screen and BEFORE they move you along in the process, they'll likely forget about your candidacy or in worst case, wonder why you bothered applying in the first place.
posted by RajahKing at 6:22 AM on September 22, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: If you want the job, do not withdraw. Hiring in higher ed is really hard right now. We have been hiring for a number of high-level administrative jobs at my university and the applicant pool is shockingly dismal, so even if you bombed the interview, you may still be the leading candidate. And even if you're not ultimately chosen, you might get to the next interview, which would give you a chance to set yourself up better for future opportunities there.

Let them be the ones to tell you no--don't do it yourself.
posted by HotToddy at 7:18 AM on September 22, 2021 [12 favorites]

I have interviewed someone who did a terrible job and was manifestly unsuited for a position, and because hiring is done by committee, the same person was asked to interview again twice morej for other positions. (Graduate of the school where the teaching job opened up and really wanted to return to good old alma mater, which at my place of work and for me, based on prior situations, was a red flag). That person may actually have been hired eventually because sometimes "available" trumps "suitable."
posted by Peach at 8:16 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Never reject yourself.
posted by redlines at 8:38 AM on September 22, 2021 [3 favorites]

I think most of the people who have been hired over the last few years (including me) thought they didn't do well on their phone interview. The only time the phone interview was truly bad was if they started arguing with people aggressively. A little nervousness or stiltedness is forgettable.
posted by Comrade_robot at 8:44 AM on September 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

People bomb interviews so often, it’s rarely memorable (memorable bombs would include: the guy who mistook his female interviewer for an admin and told her to get him a soda—and even then, that guy still has a shot as long as future interviews are with someone else). Your photo is not on a wall with “do not hire” sharpied on. I can’t think of any possible outcomes that make withdrawing the better option.

Here are some possibilities:

You might not move forward in this search.

You might feel apprehensive and nervous next time you interview with this organization. (Likely to happen whether or not you withdraw now.)

You might be called for an interview with a different hiring manager who doesn’t know anything about this recent phone interview.

You might be interviewed by someone who vaguely remembers your phone interview but invited you to interview because your current resume/application are impressive.

You might be interviewed by the same person who did your phone interview (unlikely, but possible). They might remember you and be impressed by how much you’ve improved. Or, they might literally have no memory other than “this person interviewed previously with us and didn’t get that specific role.” (These are possibilities even if you withdraw.)
posted by theotherdurassister at 9:04 AM on September 22, 2021 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I'm in HR, our team has weekly recruiting meetings. It's HR only, no hiring managers.

We only hear about bad screenings if they are very bad (guy who took a shit during the call, I'm looking at you) in which case our recruiter doesn't even bother to name names, or if an otherwise strong candidate bombed but then followed up (e.g. a thank you email sent after the call reiterating interest in the position and clarifying an answer that was given) and is progressing to the next stage of the interview process.

Every once in a while someone who was rejected previously will apply for a different position, and it's always looked at with fresh eyes.

So: send a thank you email to the screener, reiterate your interest in the role, and at most clarify one point you wish you had answered better.
posted by phunniemee at 9:06 AM on September 22, 2021 [6 favorites]

One of my best friends "bombed" her phone interview for the TT job she started last month. Happy hour this week lead with her Dean going 'we're so glad you're here. How do we get you tenure?'

So just to echo everyone else, don't withdraw unless you're certain you can't take this job now if it's offered to you.
posted by joycehealy at 9:55 AM on September 22, 2021 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Just look at all of you lovely and helpful people. I am so thankful.

This has been so helpful -- to clarify for anyone curious, while I do have some family complications cropping up, this is something that long-term I do think would be better for me and mine. But in the short term it could be a little bananas to pull off, so I was tempted to consider just ducking out.

It was so good to hear about your experiences in HR, and de-mystify some of that process, and what you've all given me is the confidence to wait and see what happens.
posted by lillygog at 1:21 PM on September 22, 2021 [3 favorites]