7 Common Tech Interview Mistakes That Cost You Job Offers

Key insights from my recent live session with 100+ tech job seekers.

Last week, I hosted a webinar that drew over 100 tech professionals from around the globe, all wrestling with the same frustrating question: "Why do I keep failing interviews despite having the right experience?"

After a decade at Google making hiring decisions, running my own recruiting firm, and coaching hundreds of candidates into top tech roles, I've seen the same patterns destroy otherwise stellar candidates. The good news? These are completely fixable once you know what to look for.

Recorded live available at https://youtu.be/o9-mKt9wTMw . Slides are linked in the video comments.

Here's what we uncovered together.

The Hard Truth: Interviews Aren't About Your Resume

Your resume already got you in the room. At this market, you are probably a near-perfect candidate already on paper. Now the question is: Do you look like someone who succeeds in this role?

This isn't about having the perfect background—it's about pattern recognition. Interviewers are asking themselves: "Have I seen this success profile before? Can I confidently predict this person will deliver?"

Every answer you give is evidence toward that decision.

The Rubric Reality Check

Here's something most candidates miss: interviewers aren't winging it. They're usually scoring you against specific rubrics—clarity, ownership, technical fluency, execution, business impact.

The hard truth? Most rejections aren't because you lack the skills. They're because of signal loss—you failed to prove you have what they're looking for, even when you actually do.

The 7 Patterns That Reject Strong Candidates

1. Using hypotheticals instead of real stories "Well, if I encountered that situation, I would probably..." Stop right there. They want proof you've actually done this before.

2. Burying the problem you solved You jump straight into your solution without explaining what was broken, why it mattered, or who cared about fixing it.

3. Disappearing into "the team"" We launched the feature and it performed well." What did you do? What decisions did you drive?

4. No measurable outcomes Stories without numbers are just stories. Where's the revenue impact? Time saved? Users affected? Risk reduced?

5. Speaking in generalities "I improved the system's performance" tells me nothing. Give me the architecture, the constraints, the trade-offs.

6. Sounding reactive instead of proactive Junior candidates wait to be told what to do. Senior ones anticipate problems, escalate intelligently, and drive decisions.

7. Missing the business connection Engineers often explain how something works. Leaders explain why it matters to customers and the bottom line.

What Senior-Level Communication Actually Looks Like

This market has almost no "no experience" roles and barely any junior positions. It seems like everyone is supposed to function, at least from an attitude perspective, as a senior, so your best bet is, even if the position itself is not senior, to communicate like one.

When I mock interview candidates who eventually get offers, their stories naturally demonstrate:

• Comfort with ambiguity: "The requirements were unclear, so I interviewed three key stakeholders to understand..."

• Decision ownership: "I recommended we prioritize X over Y because..."

• End-to-end accountability: "When the launch didn't hit targets, I dug into the analytics and discovered..."

• Proactive thinking: "I noticed this could become a bottleneck during peak season, so I built..."

• Customer-first framing: "This change reduced user sign-up friction by 40%..."

The Rubric-First Strategy That Actually Works

Before you answer any question, pause and ask yourself: What is this question really about?

• Is this about technical depth? Show your architectural thinking.

• Is this about leadership? Demonstrate how you influenced without authority.

• Is this about execution? Walk them through your process and results.

Then craft your response to directly address that signal.

Your 4-Week Interview Prep Blueprint

Week 1: Story Collection Write 7-10 STAR stories from your real experience. Make them specific, detailed, and results-driven.

Week 2: Rubric Mapping Identify 5-10 key qualities for your target role (ownership, technical fluency, customer focus, etc.). Map each story to at least one rubric.

Week 3: Adaptive Practice Don't memorize scripts. Practice telling the same story from different angles—technical depth vs. business impact vs. leadership lessons.

Week 4: Mock Interview Refinement After each practice session, ask: "What signal did I fail to send clearly? How do I fix that next time?"

When You're Lost Mid-Interview, Use These Anchors

The Business-First Rule: Every answer should connect to "What problem was I solving and why did it matter?"

The Customer-First Rule: When in doubt, frame around "How did this help the customer succeed?"

The Expert Mindset: Ask yourself "What would the most capable person I know do here?" and channel that energy.

The Reality Check

In today's market, if you land an interview, there's a strong chance you can win it. They're not interviewing 100 people—they're seeing maybe 15 of the strongest candidates out of thousands of applications. If you made it to the final 15 out of 1000+ candidates, there's a strong chance you can land it.

"Good enough" doesn't win anymore. You need to show up like you belong in the top 1% of people who do this work.

What's Next?

Your next interview is likely worth $20K+ in potential compensation. It deserves serious preparation.

Start with your last three interviews. Which of these patterns tripped you up? Fix those first, and your success rate will climb fast.

The difference between landing the offer and getting another rejection often comes down to just a few key moments where you either proved your value clearly—or left the interviewer guessing.

Don't make them guess.

Want more tactical job search advice? I share weekly insights on LinkedIn and host regular sessions for tech professionals navigating today's challenging market.