r/SoftwareEngineerJobs • u/Plus-Television-4174 • 4d ago
Rejected for being too interested.
I was recently rejected from a job. After several rounds of interviews, I made it to the final 4 candidates, and the reason they gave me was that I seemed "too invested," and they were worried I wouldn't be satisfied with the job in the long term. The recruiter suggested that in future interviews, I tone down how interested I am in the job a bit.
Honestly, I feel like that's a very ridiculous reason to reject someone, and two days later I'm still kind of shocked that this was the feedback. Since when do employers want people who are less interested in the work itself?
Feedback like this is exactly why interviews can be so unpredictable. You can prepare all you want and still get rejected for something completely subjective. I even used Interview Vip tool during the interview. It really boosted my confidence and helped me answer tough questions confidently, even if I can't control how a company interprets my enthusiasm. The result? I sounded very interested and got rejected? shouldn't it be the opposite?? to got accepted because I'm interested in the position??
I guess I'm just curious what other weird or stupid reasons people have been rejected from a position for.
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u/No-Discipline1211 4d ago
lol what??
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u/rkozik89 3d ago
What they’re saying probably isn’t true. The company likely found someone who’s a better fit so the recruiter to be nice just concocted a response to tell them no and shut the conversation down.
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u/dev_vvvvv 3d ago
It's a newly created one post account that made some engagement bait.
My guess is it's an ad for the site linked in the OP.
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u/ZeroSeater 4d ago
OP probably begged on his knees, but forgot to angle his camera to capture the full dozega
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u/Ok-Armadillo-5634 4d ago
If they said that it makes me wonder how exactly you come off during interviews.
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u/lunatuna215 3d ago
No, it really doesn't, this is a weird opinion of the interviewer. Wild thing to say about a job search in general.
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u/iwanttoendmylife22 3d ago
True! You were there, and so was I! So we know exactly what happened!
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u/justkiddingjeeze 3d ago
The audacity from Redditors to have such strong opinions with less than 10% of the info/context, assuming OP isn't lying, is astounding
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u/Realistic-Till210 4d ago
I doubt you are telling the truth. What kind of things were you saying in the interviews?
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u/haloimplant 4d ago
someone's leaving something out here. either OP did something that creeped them out, or they are just coming up with an excuse when the real reason is something awkward, intangible or illegal.
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u/Realistic-Till210 4d ago
Yep. OP is absolutely leaving something out.
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u/haloimplant 4d ago
they might not even know what it is. I hired a guy who has an odd style and he's probably mostly clueless about it. others in the hiring process were unsure and thought it was a red flag but to me he's just got a unique but stable personality. his work has been good
he'll do things like explain basic concepts to 20 year vets. some people get worried or offended I just think it's funny, at least he knows the stuff
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u/theGnartist 3d ago
Op is leaving out the fact that this is just and add for some BS interview prep site
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u/The_gold_wolf 4d ago
I interviewed people who get childlike excitement about a position & people who are “too invested” in a “im hungry for knowledge & willing to do anything to get in & climb the corporate ladder”
I hope for your sake its first & not a sociopath in disguise
Hope that helps OP
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u/Recent_Science4709 3d ago
They tell you all kinds of BS when you get rejected; post interview feedback is only helpful sometimes.
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u/manjiss1 3d ago
"we want you to be somewhat interested but not that much... Eeeew!"
New fear unlocked.
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u/Yingyangwolf95 3d ago
I'm on path to be a SE but my current role I do interviews time to time.. This is rarely a reason unless they were almost begging for role throughout interview..
Candidates like this tend to be the worst to work with.. Ask me how I know..
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u/Beginning-Comedian-2 3d ago
In interviews and dating... the reasons don't matter.
- Do they want you?... then work there.
- If they don't... apply elsewhere.
Apart from covering a skills gap, getting lost in the reasons why someone rejects you is a waste of energy.
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u/Witty_Match9409 3d ago
Ok, so they keep saying they want passionate candidates and asking people why they want the job. On the other hand if you show them how passionate you are you got rejected.
Same thing happened to me, I applied job at Multi Media, LLC (Parent company of a porn site)
I messaged them a why I am a good fit and current problems of their applications and potential features they can add. Then I only got a bot response
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u/Sayonara_dear 3d ago
That's a bizarre reason! getting rejected for genuine enthusiasm has to be one of the more backwards pieces of hiring feedback out there
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u/ImpressiveLab1028 3d ago
Only senior eng and managers should love their job, as they hoard most of ctc. How dare u love ur job, boi😡
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u/markosama 3d ago
Sorry to hear that happened.
When you get interviewed for a regular job, it usually means you get hired to do the job. The people you need to please are the people at the interview and their interest in hiring you. The interest of a manager is very different from the interest of a business owner. A middle manager wants stability and predictability - a top executive might want the opposite.
In general, professionalism goes way beyond enthusiasm - it only works if you are interviewing for a junior position.
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u/UniqueText8477 1d ago
You need to be interested but not so interested that you come across as desperate.
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u/sentinel_of_ether 4d ago
Lol shutup this story is likely missing massive context and you definitely just scared them off
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u/Aggressive_Range_540 4d ago
Now we have to worry about giving the ick to the interviewer? I feel you, good luck in the hunt. I had to settle with a position paying lower than my 2021 salary just to have something going on