What should you do if you feel like you fumbled an interview? 

It happens. 

Sometimes your nerves overtake you, and you say something you wish you could take back or even start rambling.

You wish you could have a do-over, but that will not happen.

So what should you do now?

First, The Interviewer Might Not Feel The Same Way You Do

How often have I heard job seekers feel they didn’t do that great in an interview yet still get a job offer? We are often more critical of our interview performance than those evaluating us. 

While saying something incorrect certainly is not helpful, it has to be looked at in the totality of your interview performance. Did you accidentally mispronounce the name of someone? Or did you misquote a statistic? While you certainly want to be accurate in what you say, people make mistakes. And you never know. The other person may not have noticed. Don’t be too hard on yourself. 

If you started rambling because of nerves, this is another situation where the interviewer may not have noticed. And even if they did, they may have seen that you were nervous and attributed it to only that. They may not hold it against you when making their decision.

Send A Thank You Note

While I always advise job seekers to write thank you notes after an interview, this situation is a time when it could help your candidacy.

You want the interviewer to remember all the positives about you and what you can offer to the organization. Connect the dots for the interview as to the problems they need to have solved and how you have shown you can do that. It also helps to reiterate why this role excited you.

And a word of warning. While you may want to acknowledge your perceived mistake, it is not a good idea to bring it up. Only discuss the positives of your candidacy and not any negatives they may have noticed in you. 

Practice, Practice, Practice

The best suggestion is never to find yourself in this situation in the first place. This is where practicing how you will answer questions is helpful. Get comfortable with what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. Video yourself when answering questions to see how you are coming across. You should be able to see if you are rambling, and it is an opportunity to review what you need to say to answer the question and what is extraneous information. If you don’t feel you can be a good judge of your performance, get a trusted friend or colleague to provide feedback.

With more repetition, you will feel more comfortable answering questions, and it will help keep those interview nerves from sabotaging you.

It Happens To Everyone

You are not alone in feeling you may not have performed up to your ability in an interview. It happens to all of us. So don’t think you are the only one that has experienced it. But when it happens, understand as best you can what went wrong. Try to control what you can so it doesn’t happen again. 

Shelley Piedmont is a Career Coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. I help job seekers prepare for interviews. You can engage me to help you prep for any interview. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.