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tiananman posted:In my field (copywriting/marketing/advertising/publishing), I would want someone to ask me what I think sums up the entire purpose of the job and how I can fill that role. If they're interviewing for the position, they've already decided they needed someone to fulfill that role and they ought to have a pretty good idea what it is. By all mean discuss the exact position and responsibilities though. I'd also keep my strong opinions about the industry to myself during an interview, but that's just me.
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Oct 23, 2013 12:40
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FrozenVent posted:If they're interviewing for the position, they've already decided they needed someone to fulfill that role and they ought to have a pretty good idea what it is. By all mean discuss the exact position and responsibilities though. I think there's a lot that gets discussed in an interview that misses the forest for the trees which is I think what he's getting at.
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Oct 23, 2013 13:09
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CarForumPoster posted:I think there's a lot that gets discussed in an interview that misses the forest for the trees which is I think what he's getting at. A lot of interviewers aren't experts at the work itself and are there to assess personality, cultural fit, attitude, etc... I think asking to be asked about the role in depth is a good idea but make sure your answer is all positive statements. Even if you want to criticize something take the constructive approach and talk about how great things can be. Nothing buzzkills and interview like a candidate who uses it as an opportunity to complain about something. And it does happen. A lot of these industries change constantly and employers are looking for people who are passionate but also who aren't so rigid that they can't roll with the changes.
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Oct 24, 2013 11:17
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I'm in a weird situation. I had a phone interview for an internship a few weeks ago on a Thursday. It went great and they said they wanted to follow it up with an in person interview the following week. The next day I emailed them to schedule the in person interview. No response. The next Thursday (a week after the first call) I emailed them asking again about the next step and still have not gotten any reply. That was last Thursday. Should I consider it lost or would it be kosher to give them a call, or at least another email? It's a very young company so I understand them not having it completely together, but this seems kind of outrageous.
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Oct 24, 2013 19:47
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yoohoo posted:I'm in a weird situation. I had a phone interview for an internship a few weeks ago on a Thursday. It went great and they said they wanted to follow it up with an in person interview the following week. The next day I emailed them to schedule the in person interview. No response. The next Thursday (a week after the first call) I emailed them asking again about the next step and still have not gotten any reply. That was last Thursday. Should I consider it lost or would it be kosher to give them a call, or at least another email? It's a very young company so I understand them not having it completely together, but this seems kind of outrageous. Just call - if you give up, the position is lost anyway. What you don't do is call like ten times. Once or twice at most.
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Oct 24, 2013 19:53
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I have a phone interview Monday for a position in a different division. If that goes well, there will be in-person interviews (I believe policy is to do at least three face-to-face interviews, so I assume I'll be fighting at least five other people for one of those). Should I tell my boss that I'm interviewing? If so, at what point in this process? (I'm pretty much perfectly qualified for the position, if a little over-educated, but I'm also a terrible phone interviewee, so I'm not sure this will last past the end of next week.)
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Oct 25, 2013 21:25
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I need advice on following up after a job interview: I am currently employed but looking to make the next move in my career. I was contacted by a recruiter about a position that I am very much interested in. Since then (roughly a months time), I have gone through multiple phone and video interviews with the hiring company as well as the recruiter. I was told by the company that I would hear something regarding the next step in the interview process by last Monday but, in fact, have not heard anything. I happen to work with someone else interviewing for this same position. Upon telling the hiring manager that she would be passing through the city where the hiring company is headquartered (it's 7 hours away), they went ahead and set up an in person interview with her. Honestly, I panicked a little. I asked the recruiter if I should/ could follow up with one of the people that I interviewed with and she told me as soon as she heard something from them, she'd let me know. I've been dealing more with the company than I have with the recruiter. My question is- should I just sit around and wait for the recruiter to follow up or is it appropriate to email the company directly (I'm thinking of emailing one of the people who interviewed me) asking for a follow up?? I was told I would hear from them no later than a week ago and, again, have heard nothing.
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Nov 12, 2013 20:00
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Maris Stella posted:My question is- should I just sit around and wait for the recruiter to follow up or is it appropriate to email the company directly (I'm thinking of emailing one of the people who interviewed me) asking for a follow up?? I was told I would hear from them no later than a week ago and, again, have heard nothing. Definitely Email (or better yet call) the recruiter, not the company, and definitely not one of the people who interviewed you; they'll just forward it to the recruiter with a "huh?" note. It's possible that they're cruddy and just don't call instead of calling and saying no, so be prepared for that.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:13
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Is it bad when a job recruiter describes the job as "mundane?" I'm meeting with him at a coffee shop on Friday. It sounds like this his for him to "get to know me" before passing me on to the actual company. This is for a programming job, but I don't expect any "whiteboard" questions at the coffee shop section.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:06
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skipdogg posted:Generally I ask about the work/life balance of the position. I was taught to treat the subject even more indirectly: ask what the interviewer does outside of work, and see if they have a lot to say or not so much. Though I suspect that either way, the interviewer will be able to guess what you're really getting at.
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Nov 13, 2013 19:54
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runlegosleeprepeat posted:I've heard of interviews in technical fields using some oddball questions and/or brain teasers to see how candidates work through problems. For example, "How many barbers are there in Chicago?" Thanks! I was asked this exact same question but given a 2 million population. I'm fairly sure that my absolute confidence in answering this combined with other tips I got from the OP got me the offer.
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Nov 13, 2013 20:05
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My last job on my resume I was let go from. How do I respond to the question, "Why did you leave your last job?" or "Have you ever been fired from a job?"
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Nov 13, 2013 20:38
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the posted:My last job on my resume I was let go from. How do I respond to the question, "Why did you leave your last job?" or "Have you ever been fired from a job?" To really answer this it helps to know why you were let go. If the company was sold or you were laid off due to downsizing or something you should be okay. However since you asked how to respond to "Have you ever been fired from a job" it leads me to believe you did something stupid to get yourself fired. If you can somehow spin it into some "learning experience" bs you can probably go with that. I've only ever been laid off or quit, but was always told if you're fired from a job for serious reasons it's best to leave it off your resume. However if it was something like theft and you were charged for it, it's going to show up on a background check. EDIT: Here's a thread where someone asked a similar question. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3553995 Bugamol fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 22:47
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the posted:This is for a programming job, but I don't expect any "whiteboard" questions at the coffee shop section. For what it's worth, I've had to do this before. They had a set of papers with problems to solve. The interviewer excused himself while I worked on them, and when he came back I got to explain my solution. It was pretty weird.
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Nov 14, 2013 15:38
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Bugamol posted:To really answer this it helps to know why you were let go. If the company was sold or you were laid off due to downsizing or something you should be okay. However since you asked how to respond to "Have you ever been fired from a job" it leads me to believe you did something stupid to get yourself fired. If you can somehow spin it into some "learning experience" bs you can probably go with that. I've only ever been laid off or quit, but was always told if you're fired from a job for serious reasons it's best to leave it off your resume. However if it was something like theft and you were charged for it, it's going to show up on a background check. It was basically for slacking off too much / being uninterested in the work. It was just a student part-time position.
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Nov 15, 2013 19:02
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Just a reminder: Always send a custom written thank you note! This is important!!
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Nov 16, 2013 00:25
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^: Yes, if your thank you note mentions something we talked about, a question I asked/you asked, or something like that, I am 10000% more likely to care about it and actually bother to follow up on your app. If it is a generic "you're awesome and so is this job", I just kind of ignore it.Bugamol posted:To really answer this it helps to know why you were let go. If the company was sold or you were laid off due to downsizing or something you should be okay. However since you asked how to respond to "Have you ever been fired from a job" it leads me to believe you did something stupid to get yourself fired. If you can somehow spin it into some "learning experience" bs you can probably go with that. I've only ever been laid off or quit, but was always told if you're fired from a job for serious reasons it's best to leave it off your resume. However if it was something like theft and you were charged for it, it's going to show up on a background check. Yeah, ~as a manager~, if you tell me you got fired but you can explain what you did wrong and the steps you've taken to make sure it won't happen again, it is completely cool with me. However, if you say "I got fired because those jackasses expected me to show up on time, I mean, how dare they amirite guys?  "... that's a different story.
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Nov 16, 2013 01:24
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corkskroo posted:Just a reminder: Always send a custom written thank you note! This is important!! Interview advice from grandma.
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Nov 16, 2013 16:03
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Vomik posted:Interview advice from grandma. It's true, but you'd be amazed at how often it gets overlooked and the impact it can have.
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Nov 16, 2013 17:18
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corkskroo posted:It's true, but you'd be amazed at how often it gets overlooked and the impact it can have. It depends on the field, and the hiring criteria. If you're one of 100 applicants and the job is for a receptionist, sure. If you're someone that a recruiter at that company reached out to, the note is going to make 0 difference in the decision.
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Nov 16, 2013 18:02
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corkskroo posted:It's true, but you'd be amazed at how often it gets overlooked and the impact it can have. I misread it as an actual hand-written note at first. Thank you emails are so-so... I often send them, but I wouldn't say it's important. As someone who has hired people I've never given them any thought unless they use really poor grammar/spelling.
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Nov 16, 2013 19:07
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I hear you guys. Obviously no advice applies equally across the board. I was just coming from a meeting of round two interviewers where a discussion of who sent a thank you and who didn't took up a big chunk of the discussion and had an impact on who was recommended and who wasn't. This wasn't for an entry-level unskilled position either, but one where interfacing and culture is a big component, so soft things like communication mattered.
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Nov 17, 2013 16:57
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Volmarias posted:It depends on the field, and the hiring criteria. If you're one of 100 applicants and the job is for a receptionist, sure. If you're someone that a recruiter at that company reached out to, the note is going to make 0 difference in the decision. It won't hurt, and it gives you the chance to elaborate on something you may have hosed up on during your interview.
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Nov 17, 2013 19:52
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Shmoogy posted:It won't hurt, and it gives you the chance to elaborate on something you may have hosed up on during your interview. Yeah, it probably does depend in the expected position and level. It won't hurt, but it isn't necessarily expected, and may not help for some positions.
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Nov 17, 2013 23:17
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I'm waiting to hear back from two employers I interviewed with. One interview was four weeks ago. When I asked when they expected to make a decision during the interview, they only replied "soon". The other job, which I think I have a better chance of getting, I interviewed for two weeks ago. They were much more specific: I'd hear back, either way, last week (except I didn't). What to do now? Email, call, or continue to wait it out?
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Nov 18, 2013 00:06
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I'd move on. If they wanted to get back to you, they would have. You could send them an email if you want but I wouldn't expect anything.
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Nov 18, 2013 01:00
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What's the best way to respond to a question like "how do you balance multiple assignments with different deadlines?" It's come up in both of the interviews I've had (for one step above entry level jobs) and I've basically stuck to an honest "the closest deadline comes first; if there are a lot of deadlines, I'm certainly not above asking for help from co-workers, just as I'd hope they'd ask me for help when they need it" answer, but it just hasn't clicked either time. I feel like that's not a bad answer, but the truth is that I've never had problems with multiple assignments and deadlines at work. I do have a cute story about playing the piano at a company event because our accompanist cancelled on the day of, but that's usually my "unexpected emergency" story or my "rising above expectations" line.
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Dec 5, 2013 15:52
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I would say something like: Prioritize the assignments based on mission criticality, develop Gantt charts to assign completion dates to the steps of the project and determine the resources necessary to complete that project. If needed and possible, pull resources to work on projects so they can be both be completed on schedule. If it is not possible to complete one on schedule, make sure it is the less critical of the two and attempt to reschedule the deadline. Inform those who need to be in the know, reassuring all stakeholders in the project that their needs are very important to you and the company. I disagree that the closest deadline comes first. Maybe work in something about your ability to stay clam, logical and personable in stressful situations.
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Dec 5, 2013 17:20
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CarForumPoster posted:Maybe work in something about your ability to stay clam Serious question: what's a good answer for "What differentiates you from others that isn't on your resume?" Is this my opportunity to bring up my totally lame non-work-related skills ("Why, yes, I did earn a rare trophy in Xbox Live.")? Or is it assumed I left a legitimate skill off my resume specifically for this question?
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Dec 5, 2013 18:09
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Personality skills, your ability to solve problems better than others with some examples of that, other things easily conveyed in words but not specific skills with keywords in them.
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Dec 5, 2013 19:15
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Curvature of Earth posted:I didn't know businesses still hired bivalves. The interviewer is asking you to please them sexually. Alternately, discuss interesting and potentially relevant extracurricular activities that show you're more than just a beep boop robot that does exactly what its told.
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Dec 5, 2013 21:50
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Is it weird to go to an interview with a list of things you've done? I was thinking organized by skills for a job. Employee needs to do X, I've done X at jobs 1, 2, 3 . . . etc. I could probably remember 90% of them but I want to nail it and be all around prepared.
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Dec 7, 2013 01:00
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GreenCard78 posted:Is it weird to go to an interview with a list of things you've done? I was thinking organized by skills for a job. Employee needs to do X, I've done X at jobs 1, 2, 3 . . . etc. It might be a good idea to make a list ahead of time to make sure you aren't forgetting anything major, but I think it would look bad if you had to consult the list in front of the interviewer. You probably would be better off highlighting the most relevant parts of your history instead of worrying about reciting every detail of your previous jobs.
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Dec 7, 2013 20:42
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I was asked at the end of an interview if I ever lie or not. I said I have in the past as a practical joke between friends. How am I supposed to answer that?
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Dec 8, 2013 10:51
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"Everyone lies. But I've never lied in my professional life."
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Dec 8, 2013 15:56
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Midnight Moth posted:I was asked at the end of an interview if I ever lie or not. I said I have in the past as a practical joke between friends. How am I supposed to answer that? "This sentence is a lie." Sit back and dare them with your eyes to begin the paradox of unraveling that statement.
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Dec 8, 2013 17:23
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Thanks for the reply. Another problem is I've been trying to land a IT Technician/Jr Sys Admin position. I have a CIS degree and some help desk experience but I'm also a girl. I have had classmates and coworkers hit on me and have crushes on me. I deal with this by keeping conversations strictly business related which works but I'm worried I come across unfriendly and too aloof or standoffish. I wear a blouse and skirt to interviews even though the interviewers basically wear polos and slacks. They also think I might have problems doing field IT work. Am I overdressing?
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Dec 9, 2013 01:43
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Midnight Moth posted:Thanks for the reply. Another problem is I've been trying to land a IT Technician/Jr Sys Admin position. I have a CIS degree and some help desk experience but I'm also a girl. I have had classmates and coworkers hit on me and have crushes on me. I deal with this by keeping conversations strictly business related which works but I'm worried I come across unfriendly and too aloof or standoffish. I wear a blouse and skirt to interviews even though the interviewers basically wear polos and slacks. They also think I might have problems doing field IT work. Am I overdressing? Unless you've been explicitly told not to dress formally for an interview, it's better to err on the side of overdressing. Bear in mind that your interviewers aren't dressing up for your interview, so even though they're wearing something less formal than you are, that's probably to be expected. Have you been told that you would have trouble doing fieldwork? Is there a reasonably formal outfit you can think of that would also come across as practical? You could always show up in a polo and khakis yourself, and see how that goes. There's probably a good dose of misogyny at work too; it may be that this concept is being projected onto you, and there's nothing actually wrong with what you're doing. This being the IT field, I wouldn't be surprised in the least. No advice for how to deal with unwanted advances, although having a serious business only attitude probably won't do much to curb it, aside from making you seem boring like you suspect, and that's really just going to drive away anyone interesting while keeping the guys with crushes coming. Flirting can exist in the workplace, and it can be a casual thing that doesn't actually mean anything more serious than idle jokes. The further you get from a school environment, the less of an issue it becomes since people mature and understand boundaries, and understand that just because you're being friendly and laughing at jokes doesn't mean that you're romantically interested. If someone doesn't understand, a simple "look, I'm flattered, but I'm not interested" will probably work. If it doesn't, a chat with HR will. You shouldn't be afraid to be yourself out of fear of others. I'll admit that as a guy, working in the tech field (sausage fest as you've discovered), I'm generally not in the same situations you are, so take this with a grain of salt. I will say that I have had female coworkers, and they were generally pretty fun to work with since they had a casual attitude. Volmarias fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Dec 9, 2013 |
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Dec 9, 2013 04:58
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I had an interview at a place that I would love to work at and I feel the interview went pretty great. This was back on Nov. 29th. The lady says to me, "I'll give you a call Wednesday and let you know," which was interesting because it was very specific of her. Anyway, the Wednesday deadline (Dec. 4th) has come and gone and I haven't heard a peep. I sent a thank you email the next day after the interview, but otherwise there's been no contact. Do I continue to sit and wait? Should I follow up now or wait a traditionally two weeks from interview to follow up?
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Dec 9, 2013 20:32
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Definitely wait. These things take forever.
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Dec 9, 2013 23:34
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