Interviewers: What Makes You Ding a Candidate on the First Round?

I had a first round interview a while back which lasted 15-20 mins. I was asked a few basic technical questions and I absolutely nailed all of them (the interviewer even made note of my technical proficiency at the end of the call). Did not hear back from the firm for ~1 month, and I just got an email saying I was dinged. I do not understand this.

I already sent an email asking for feedback.

Interviewers, please comment as to why you ding candidates in the first round.

Thanks.

3 Comments
 

Not an interviewer but recently got dinged and had a similar experience as you - spoke to the guy afterwards and he said that he could not see me in IB for the long-run but rather in PE, and urged me to instead seek out analyst opps in PE. Sometimes, you might not succeed in showing the right motivation for the job

 
Most Helpful

Have done a lot of interviews - typically you won't ever get feedback, it's an HR/liability thing

Typically I have a soft decision in the first 5 or 10 minutes unless the person really bombs it at the end. You were likely technically sharp, but the person didn't think you were a behavioral fit. Was it all technicals? Usually a first round is mostly behavioral and the soft technicals are just to make sure you've studied them.

Similar to a first date, you could have great conversation but the girl just isn't attracted to you. First round interviews are the same way, which is why you have to network at many firms

 

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