This is a great article, 3 Reasons Why Someone Less Qualified Got The Job, and points out three great blunders that keep you from getting that job offer.
But they left out one very important reason off the list:
1. They sold themselves better than you.
You might be the most qualified, the most accomplished, the most talented candidate out there. BUT, if the interviewers don’t know it, it doesn’t matter.
I once had a client who got quite defensive with me on this point – “My experience should just speak for itself.”
And that sounds really nice – but how could that really happen? Work experience is, at best, an inanimate thing. It can’t talk. So you have to.
If the “Selling” analogy isn’t working for you, try this one. Step your personal self out of the situation and think of it as being the “Advocate” for that experience. You have to stand up and speak out so that others know about what ___ can do, because it’s not in a position to stick up for itself.