I Got Rejected in 3 Interviews — Here’s What I Learned

Overview

The speaker explains that interviews often include hard technical rounds, and candidates may pass them successfully—but still get rejected due to mistakes in the final “non-technical” discussion (e.g., with a director, delivery manager, or engineering manager). They share three personal incidents (around 2019, pre-Covid) where they passed technical interviews but were rejected after the non-technical conversation went wrong.

Incident 1: Praising an old project and degrading current work

• In the final round, the director asked about work/projects the candidate feels proud of.
• The speaker talked excessively about a tool they built 4 years earlier, while implicitly downplaying their current work.
• As the director probed for details, the conversation shifted negative—making it seem like the speaker wasn’t doing valuable work recently.
• The speaker concludes that senior interviewers care more about your thought process and how you value your current work, not about deep technical implementation details in that moment.

Lesson: When asked about proud work, prioritize the most recent and current achievements. Discuss multiple projects/domains rather than centering everything on one old highlight.

Incident 2: Blaming the former workplace’s workload/team management

• In another final round, the speaker was asked why they left a previous company quickly (citing a toxic work-life balance).
• The speaker gave direct negative reasoning, claiming management overcommitted and the delivery team was burdened—effectively blaming the employer/team for the work-life imbalance.
• The interviewer (a delivery-focused manager) interpreted this as a red flag: if they join and workloads rise again, the candidate may respond similarly and struggle under extra pressure.

Lesson: Don’t criticize prior companies or frame explanations in a way that suggests misalignment with the employer’s operational needs. Keep reasons neutral and non-impacting (e.g., personal location/family reasons), and avoid portraying workload problems as someone else’s fault.

Incident 3: Claiming lack of learning and pushing disruptive tech changes

• In the third case, the engineering manager asked why the speaker left a product-based company.
• The speaker said they weren’t getting learning and wanted new technologies, arguing for upgrades/replacements.
• The manager countered that product companies require stability, and repeated technology changes are costly and unnecessary without a clear business need.
• The speaker kept justifying and trying to persuade, which led to a more negative tone—suggesting they weren’t aligning with the organization’s constraints and priorities.

Lesson: Don’t justify leaving by saying you weren’t learning. Instead, present a better opportunity rationale (e.g., being open to change due to improved prospects). Avoid getting trapped in arguments with senior stakeholders.

Overall Conclusions / Recommended Interview Messaging

The speaker summarizes three core communication rules:

1. Proud work question: Be proud of recent work and be proud of multiple things. Don’t downgrade current responsibilities by over-focusing on the past.

2. Leaving a previous job: Avoid speaking ill of past employers. Use explanations that don’t undermine professional fit.

3. Reason for switching: Don’t say it’s because you can’t learn. Frame it as being open to better opportunities and continuing growth, not dissatisfaction with the current company.

Presenters / Contributors

• Presenter/author: The single unnamed speaker (the YouTube video creator)