I thought it would help if I do some translation of what the real meaning is when interviewers say things to you.
You are overqualified for this job – We don’t want to pay you and you might make your boss feel insecure about their job.
You don’t fit with our company culture – We need someone who is more needy and desperate and that isn’t you.
We found someone who is more aligned with the job – Someone told them what they wanted to hear, not the truth about their delightful position.
We value social time after work and we work hard and play hard – They want you to be one of the gang and be an extrovert like them.
We need someone with a college degree – They don’t know that the biggest and most successful companies have dropped the degree requirement.
We need someone committed to the job and will be in the office each day – They don’t trust their workers and need to supervise them.
We are looking for rockstars – We want to give you paper instead of a decent salary and don’t care about your education.
We want someone who can be a leader – They need someone to take the fall for past bad decisions. When you are a leader then you threaten others leadership.
We need multiple rounds of interviews up to 10 to make sure we are making the right decision – No one wants to take responsibility for a hire.
We are looking for someone who is just starting out – Doesn’t want to pay what it takes to do the job successfully.
We need someone who is a specialist but can be a generalist when assigned – They don’t know what they want.
We promote from within – You don’t have a chance of getting promoted since it will be a friend or family member who gets the job.
We believe in equality and fair play – When a company has to say they act ethically like Google they don’t. Google just hired outsourced people. Do no evil indeed.