You can win at a job interview even if no job offer is made

Any time there is a business transaction between 2 sides, the following outcomes are possible:

• Win - Win (both sides win from the transaction)
• Win - Lose (one side wins, the other loses)
• Lose - Lose (both sides loose)

An interview is a business transaction.

An individual comes to the interview for getting a new job.

The company organizes the interview to fill a job opening.

For the job interview, a Win - Win outcome means that the individual gets the job and the company fills the open position.

What then is the equivalent of Lose - Lose?
The individual does not get the job and the company wasted time and resources for the interview.

And Win - Lose?
Usually, if a job interview is successful, both sides won.

It is unlikely that the individual is successful in the interview and the company loses something in the transaction.

It is also improbable that the individual does not get the job and the company wins at this.

Still, Win - Lose is possible.

Let's say that you go to an interview and do not do well.

You dont get the job and this sucks.

But during the interview, you learned different ways of approaching problems relevant to your job.

Or you identify gaps in your knowledge.

Or skills that you should have but sadly dont have yet.

This is the Win - Lose outcome.

You gained awareness about what you do and, more important, dont do well.

You see how other people approach problems that you struggled with.

This is a big win.

The company still did not get the position filled.

But maybe next time, you will do better.

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Alex Siminiuc