Would a company interview you if they had no intention of hiring you?

I'm winding down this first year of unemployment having been to 10+ interviews and not landing a thing. Some of these interviews I flub the technicals and am dinged obv. Other ones I answer every question right, have good answer for the behaviorals and still get dinged. Any chance these people had no intention of hiring me from the start, or were just going to move me on if a top candidate was a horrible interview? I'm curious why these companies are even bothering to interview me at this point.

 

Answering everything "correctly" doesn't mean you get the job. At most superdays there are tons of kids that get everything "right". In some cases you can crush interviews but other people just did better. Other than OCR there's no reason for a company to bring in a candidate that doesn't pass some minimum bar.

 
Best Response

It could be a host of reasons. As the previous poster mentioned, if its for SA/FO college recruiting, it might be to maintain presence/relations with the college recruiting office.

If its an experience hire, they might have found one person internally but hiring guidelines require that they interview people outside the company as policy.

Perhaps there are plenty of great candidates and despite the fact you "aced" everything, there might have been a better qualified candidate or a person with more "fit".

Or perhaps the hiring manager had permission for head-count but due to economic uncertainty they have a hiring freeze.

The key is to not get hung up on the "what ifs" and keep fighting.

A lot of it is just dumb luck.

But at the very least you've got to nail the technical/behavioral questions to even get a chance to play.

 

I would have guessed you would have batted .10. maybe just a bit of bad luck? tell yourself you'll go on ten more before making a conclusion. (little bit of history for you: know how many interviews Rockefeller, Sr. went on before landing a gig? He went to all the firms he found in his native city (Cleveland, OH) and having been rejected by them all he went back to the start of the list and tried them again...one...by....one eventually he found a gig as an assistant bookkeeper- great biography: Titan: The Life Of...)

 

"best of luck with the process" is so vague haha... it could still mean the process with that firm. Chillax

If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough. "There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
 

I've only gotten that response in instances where I moved on to the super day (if after a first round) or gotten an offer (if after the super day). When it turns out that I got dinged, I've never gotten a response. Just a personal observation.

 

I think you're probably reading into it too much. Some people who respond just give generic responses because they're too busy to send something personal but feel like they should at least send an e-mail back. I have done this many times, probably because I've been slowly programmed since I started working to always respond to e-mails quickly.

Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
 

I wouldn't read anything into this. When I interview incoming analysts, I say this as well- you might end up in a different part of the firm, and I am just one of many people you will talk to. Its a process, and I am wishing you luck, there is nothing to read into it.

That said, mid-2009, in the post lehman era, firms were definitely just interviewing to see what they could get for what price. I went on several interviews where they said "well we aren't really looking to hire right now, but we are thinking about doing so in Q4, and thought you looked good..." Infuriated me a bit, but that's just how things were. In their defense, I wasn't necessarily looking to leave either, but would for a better opportunity.

 

This happens all the time. Not only with internal referrals, but with schools as well. A lot of banks visit their target schools, i.e. wharton, harvard, etc. for full time recruiting even when they're not looking to hire, just to keep a good relation with the school.

 

Illo voluptate a ut. Dolorem quas facilis mollitia iste impedit. Unde tenetur iste maxime fuga ratione dolor. Suscipit quia hic animi quos quibusdam tempora. Fuga aut quisquam vitae est.

Nisi ab est at ipsum asperiores. Perspiciatis consequatur sed quibusdam aperiam quasi consequatur tempora. Vel amet iure distinctio eum.

Quas impedit et tempora deleniti possimus vel nihil et. Voluptates quod aperiam explicabo rerum rerum. Sapiente excepturi qui eos ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Kenny_Powers_CFA's picture
Kenny_Powers_CFA
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”