What to make of a rejection call?
I just finished an interview and thought I knocked it out of the park. I got a call telling me that I got rejected and was naturally disappointed. I reached out to my interviewers for feedback and I was fortunate enough to get a response. The confusing part for me is that my interviewers told me that I was very sound technically, was a great fit for the company, and that they enjoyed talking to me in the interviews. However, they said that there were a lot of qualified candidates and that I was unfortunately rejected. I would've felt better if there was something I actually did wrong that I could've fixed for future scenarios, but being told that I was basically a great match, but still getting rejected is a bit disheartening for me. Any advice on how to go about future interviews?
Rejections happen man, and the interview to offer conversion is pretty arbitrary sometimes. I've learned to take it as it comes with a "their loss" mindset. Keep grinding...things will fall into place and you'll think of this as a speed bump in the grand scheme of things. If you're sound technically and interview well, there will be a shop that'll value your qualities enough to extend an offer.
Pretty much the exact same thing happened to me a couple weeks ago after a superday with my top choice BB. I got out of my funk by reminding myself (and really internalizing it this time) that offer rate percentages from superdays are 10-20%, and what gets people the offer at the end of the day is luck. There were a lot of other qualified candidates in that waiting room with you and the ones who made it got lucky. It sucks but the good thing is, down the line, since it sounds like you interviewed really well, you'll be the one to be lucky and get an offer.
This is the wrong mindset dude - when you get a superday its your offer to lose. Blame things on "luck" and you'll never better yourself. Rejection should lead to reflection, and reflection leads to action and growth. Reminding yourself that its unlikely to get an offer just makes it unlikely that YOU will get an offer.
This scenario has happened to me numerous times. Although not in IB, I kn ow the situation well, you felt like you nailed the interview, you crushed the technicals, and connected with all interviewers. After, everyone is responsive to your follows ups and thank yous and you feel like you have it, only to be told you didnt get it and although you were a strong candidate, they there was a lot of competition for the job and they took someone with more experience, better fit for the role, etc. etc. All this means is you are very close. I've been given bad feedback, cold responses to follow ups/thank yous, and more times than not straight up ghosted. All you can do is continue to do what you are doing while looking to keep improving in the process and an offer will come, most likely in the very near future.
Keep your chin up king, your snapback is falling
Sometimes that's how it is! It doesn't mean you weren't a good fit, rather that someone was better.
I have a sister in tech who matched every description of a role at a giant company, but the one who got the role had very niche experience in something similar. It doesn't mean you aren't a great fit, just that someone is a better fit.
Trust me that's better than having done something wrong. It just means for a company that is looking for someone like you as a fit, you know that you will interview well!