I Passed Every Test but Failed the Interview — Here’s Why
Another interviewer told me that they have recommended candidates to be hired even when they have failed the technical questions…As long as the candidate was able to discuss why their solution was wrong.
I still recall the moment, I was on a video call, my hands were shaking, and I could see the interviewer’s cursor moving over my code.
My code solution was… well, let’s just say it looked awful.
I had barely managed to answer half of the questions correctly; I overthought the others and totally messed up mentally.
I was convinced it was all over for me.
But here is the thing: I got hired nevertheless.
And I am not the only one. After chatting with workmates, hiring managers, and developers that have been in both roles, I came to an important realization, being technically perfect is not the one thing that will guarantee you the job, as we usually think.
The Day I “Failed” My Interview
Imagine me as a fresher, extremely nervous, and going for a job interview which I have always dreamt of. As the technical questions kept coming, I felt like I couldn’t respond well. One of the questions was about state management. I answered by mentioning Redux. To which, the interviewer replied very politely that Redux was “pretty old at this point” and they were now using Zustand and Jotai.
Fantastic, I said to myself. Totally wrecked it.
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However, instead of simply agreeing and pretending to know what those were, I did something different. I asked why. I asked for materials. I even took out my notebook (yes, in the interview) and began writing down points on what I had to study.
It was because if truth be told, I had already given up on the idea of passing. So I thought, why not get something out of the downfall, right?
They informed me about the job offer two days later. There was no take, home assignment, nor anything else. Just an offer letter.
I was speechless.
Basically, what I figured out through my own journey and observing people around me was that communication triumphs over perfection in most cases. I have seen developers who are more skilled than me by far, but they struggle to articulate their thoughts. On the contrary, I am the one who says, “I am stuck, but here is what I have tried so far and what I am thinking to do next, “ and for some reason, it gets more credit.
One hiring manager I talked to nailed it:
