Here’s a situation I’ve seen dozens of times: a friend interviews at a company. When I ask them how it went, they say: “I answered all of the questions, so I think I will get the offer.” A few days later, reality kicks in – they didn’t get the offer. In some instances, I’ve had friends tell me they screwed up in an interview (or two), and they still got the offer.

What’s happening here is that some people believe that an interview is simply about getting the “right” answers. In reality, the company conducting the interview is looking at many additional factors. I’ll go over them below.

Most of these observations come from my background in Product Management/Technology, but I believe they apply in a broader environment as well.