I Failed My Dream Job Interview

We don’t talk enough about failure.

We post about wins. Promotions. Graduations. Engagements.

But what about those moments when you give everything you’ve got… and it still isn’t enough?

That’s the story I want to tell you today.

A few years ago, I was sure I had finally found my path. It was my “dream job,” or so I thought.

It checked every box:

• ✔ Great pay
• ✔ Impressive title
• ✔ Office in the city
• ✔ People would finally stop asking, “What are you doing with your life?”

I prepared like I’d never prepared before.

I rehearsed my answers.

I researched the company like I was writing a biography on it.

I even bought a new shirt that made me feel like I could conquer the world.

The day of the interview, I walked in nervous but hopeful. I sat across from the hiring manager with my resume printed on thick, fancy paper. Everything felt right. This was supposed to be it.

And then… I bombed it.

Not because I wasn’t qualified.

Not because I didn’t know the answers.

But because I wasn’t being myself.

Every answer I gave was carefully polished, designed to sound “professional,” but it sounded fake—even to me.

Instead of being honest about my passion for creativity, I spoke in clichés about “teamwork” and “growth opportunities.”

I was playing a part I thought they wanted to see, and I could tell the interviewer knew it.

Halfway through, I wanted to run.

When it was over, they shook my hand politely, and I knew—I didn’t get it. And I didn’t.

For a week after that, I beat myself up over it.

“You ruined your chance.”

“This was supposed to be your breakthrough.”

“How could you mess this up?”

But life has a funny way of revealing truths when you least expect it.

Two months later, that same company had massive layoffs. The “dream job” I thought I’d lost? It wouldn’t have lasted more than a year.

And here’s the part that surprised me the most:

Failing that interview didn’t just save me from a temporary job — it pushed me toward my real passion.

During those two months of feeling lost, I started doing something I hadn’t made time for in years: writing. Not for work. Not for school. Just for myself.

What started as journaling turned into blog posts.

Blog posts turned into freelance work.

Freelance work turned into my first actual income from writing.

And suddenly, I didn’t need that office in the city anymore.

I didn’t need that job title.

I didn’t need anyone’s approval to feel successful.

I was building something on my own terms, one small project at a time. It wasn’t glamorous. No one was clapping for me. But for the first time in years, I felt right.

Looking back now, I’m thankful I failed that interview.

If I had gotten that job, I would have stayed trapped in someone else’s idea of success.

Because here’s what no one tells you about “dream jobs”:

Sometimes they’re not your dreams. They’re just the things you’ve been told to want.

Failure taught me something that no job ever could:

I don’t want to build someone else’s dream. I want to build my own.

Since then, I’ve had other failures. Plenty of them.

Rejected pitches. Missed deadlines. Embarrassing mistakes.

But failure doesn’t scare me anymore. You know why?

Because it’s no longer a stop sign — it’s a detour. It’s not the end; it’s just not this way.

Now, whenever something doesn’t work out, I ask myself:

“What is this pushing me toward instead?”

And without fail, life always finds a new door I wouldn’t have noticed if I’d gotten what I thought I wanted.

So if you’re reading this right now sitting in the middle of a failure—whether it’s a job, a relationship, a creative project—I’m here to tell you this:

Fail loudly. Fail completely. Fail in public if you have to.

Because sometimes the door that slams in your face is just redirecting you toward the door that matters.

One rejection saved me from spending years chasing something that didn’t fit who I really was.

Maybe your “failure” is about to do the same for you.