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E: nm, over and done with
BonerGhost fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Sep 19, 2014 |
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Sep 15, 2014 17:22
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| # ? May 12, 2024 21:56 |
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I need some advice on being an interviewer/managing a search for applicants. I'm under the impression that this thread is more for people on the other side of the equation but I thought it couldn't hurt to check here before starting a new thread.
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Sep 16, 2014 20:47
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E: nm, over and done with
BonerGhost fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Sep 19, 2014 |
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Sep 18, 2014 01:56
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foutre posted:I need some advice on being an interviewer/managing a search for applicants. I'm under the impression that this thread is more for people on the other side of the equation but I thought it couldn't hurt to check here before starting a new thread. It'd help if you posted your question right away, I don't think it's a problem to ask! In the past I've interviewed and hired people for technical (IT) and sales positions. With the amount of people available right now (at least in the midwest) it's cherrypicking. But even in a shallow market there's a lot of tools available to get the right person interested. So ask away, I'm sure there's more smart people here!
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Sep 19, 2014 01:04
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I had a phone screening today and I botched it pretty bad. However, this company seems to advertise openings pretty much monthly. Is there any point in re-applying right away, is there a grace period I should sit out, or am I just dead to this company from now on?
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Oct 2, 2014 03:37
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If the manager and HR person on the new one is different Id go for it.
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Oct 2, 2014 06:52
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So I have an upcoming interview at a large corporation for a summer internship. I'm planning on wearing dark gray (almost black) dress pants with a grey blazer that's a little darker than this color. they both fit me very well and I think they look pretty nice together, although not quite as formal as a full matching suit. Is that acceptable or am I an idiot who should just buy a suit? The rest of the outfit is black leather dress shoes, white button up shirt, and dark blue or dark red tie. The problem is basically that I have a weird body type and buying a suit that fits me as well as these two pieces and is of decent quality would be >$1,000 which is all my money. Edit: This picture isn't me but it's pretty close to what my outfit looks like, except his pants appear to be actually black whereas mine are an almost-black shade of grey. Also, my pants aren't stacking like that and I'd be wearing a colored tie. Pertplus fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Oct 6, 2014 |
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Oct 6, 2014 04:35
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If you should wear a suit, wear a suit. If the interview is business casual, a blazer and dress pants is how I've done that in the past. If you think you need to spend $1000 on a suit for an internship interview you've been reading YLLS and other bs too much, unless you're applying for a fashion internship or something similar.
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Oct 6, 2014 06:45
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Buy a god drat suit. You are going to be a grown man, so you should have a suit. You can get a very decent CK white label suit for something around the $300-400 range. http://www.calvinklein.com/shop/en/ck/search/mens-suits-blazers Make sure it fits in the shoulders, everything else is tailor-able. Throw in $100 for tailoring (please tailor your suits, thanks in advance, this makes sure they fit right!!) and you're good to go.
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Oct 6, 2014 13:21
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Thanks for the answers. Edit: Just bought a god drat suit Pertplus fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Oct 7, 2014 |
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Oct 6, 2014 13:50
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Even though I ended up getting the (very good) job I regret not reading this thread before going to the interview and assesment day. In hindsight, I don't understand why they hired me because I messed up so much: - At the first interview I was very umprepared when there was a huge traffic jam near their offices in the morning. For example, I couldn't warn them I'd be later because I somehow did not note down a phone number to call to anywhere. - I ran the last part to the company (I was 2 minutes late) so when the teamleader met me in the entry hall (I had not expected him to wait for me there at all) I first had to catch my breath before I could talk easily. - It was my second interview ever and I never did any practice/preparation. As such, a lot of his questions were completely new to me and I struggled thinking of good answers (I even was unprepared for his question "what would your teachers and friends tell me about you?" despite it being such an obvious question). - I acted in a very confusing manner after the interview (not expecting him to bring me all the way to the front door and explain the route back). Luckily I had mentioned acting in a confusing manner as one of my weak points. - At the assesment center (it's a big company and the HR department let's all candidates come for 8 hours of tests) I completely messed up the case study. I screwed up so much it's ridiculous. For this test, I got some files on a imaginary company and I was supposed to act as an advisor for its CEO (who would be played by the interviewer). I somehow had the idea I was supposed to give a presentation based on the sheets of papers I received instead of discussing the matter with the interviewer like I was supposed to do. So I didn't ask him a single question. I also failed to innovate at all or say anything interesting. Lastly, I was very visibly nervous. - At the second interview I was again unprepared for the questions. I disagreed with the interviewer at one point (about what the best course of action I should have taken in an anecdote I told her), dodged questions and failed to think of a time when I got negative feedback from somebody. I was a lot less convincing in my communication than normal due to being nervous again. - Maybe not necessarily bad, but during the language tests (I had to speak in the two foreign languages I mentioned on my resume) I had to talk about the books I like. Somehow the interviewer had already read the book I was currently reading as well. It was "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat", a book about neurotic disorders. I personally think it says something positive about me that I'd read books like that, but I probably should not have described the book as very funny/humoristic. (There also were multiple inteligence/management test on a computer but I did these very well) Somehow despite this all I was still quite convinced they'd hire me after I left the assesment center that day because I did generally have good answers and anecdotes and have a decent resume (no working experience, but a good degree with good marks). But when they hired me they gave me feedback on my performance and it's clear I had no reason to be confident whatsoever as it was a very close call. There'll be more evaluations later on so I'll try to prepare me a lot more next time (perhaps by reading this thread a bit). Walh Hara fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Oct 6, 2014 |
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Oct 6, 2014 14:45
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Thanks to the helpful guide provided in this thread, I managed to get a job and come in at the maximum pay for my level (DOE scientist job). STAR is a really great format to answer questions at the interview.
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Oct 8, 2014 21:13
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I just went through a very weird interview process where I seemed I already have the job, and then at the last minute suddenly found I didn't. I haven't interviewed for a long time, so I'm sure I made quite a few mistakes, but for this I'm just trying to figure out where things went wrong and how to improve in the future. - I thought I did terribly on the phone interview, mostly due to being an exhausted, unhappy mess at the time, but was surprised to be invited in for an in-person interview. - I thought the in-person interview went well. My future boss seemed to like me, and I seemed to get along well in the group skills interview as well (a peer + their team) - The recruiter who submitted me was first told by HR that I wasn't being brought back for a 2nd interview (final) interview, but then was told that was a "miscommunication" from the peer who interviewed me, and I was later scheduled to be brought back in. - I was brought back for interview #2, which was supposedly just the rubber stamp from the higher-ups, including the C-level at the top of my area. Recruiter told me he's placed multiple people at the company and never had someone not get hired after this round. Things felt like they went very well. One person I interviewed with said "When you have this job....uhh...I mean..uh.....assuming you are hired". Only minor negative was that at the end, my prospective future boss mentioned that I was the earliest person in for final interviews so it might be a while until I heard final word. - Crickets for a month and a half. Apparently while trying to get some feedback, my recruiter heard that my 2nd interview went well, but also that my "peer" from the first interview thought I wasn't a good fit (same peer who caused the "miscommunication" about me coming back for the final round) because I didn't have the required skills, even though it's part of my everyday work. - I got a final word a few days ago from recruiter that another candidate was selected. I asked if there was any feedback and he told me there wasn't. I'm pretty much confused after this entire ordeal. Was I doomed from the start? If so, why did they bring me back? Did I flub something important on the final round? Was this just a fluke? Is it normal for companies to offer no feedback when someone is passed over late in the process? The company seemed like good people, even the peer who thought I wasn't a good fit, but I'm debating if it would be appropriate to apply in the future. My "future boss" seemed to really like me, and we had some friendly banter where he picked my brain in some experience that he hadn't been exposed to but was interested in. It's a small place so any role would have similar requirements to what the role was that I applied for, so if the same person is there and thinks I'm incompetent I don't see them bringing me back - even though they already did once before! Should I do any kind of follow-up directly with the company in an effort to leave the door open (since I already sent everyone thank-you notes after the fact, I've communicated with them in the past) I would like to apply for any future opportunities if feasible, since there aren't a lot of opportunities in my area for my specialized skillset. Any advice or perspective would be appreciated. Unfortunately at the moment I'm really just distracted by trying to figure out what just happened.
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Oct 9, 2014 21:01
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clockworx posted:I'm pretty much confused after this entire ordeal. Was I doomed from the start? If so, why did they bring me back? Did I flub something important on the final round? Was this just a fluke? Is it normal for companies to offer no feedback when someone is passed over late in the process?
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Oct 10, 2014 01:57
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What do I do about the 'where do you see yourself in five years' question if the job I'm applying for isn't 100% related to my long term career goals? The two things I'm really interested in are film preproduction and festival programming, but since I don't have anything close to a steady job I've been applying to a plethora of office jobs to land something to pay the bills. Obviously I don't want to express anything like that in the interview, but I'm not really sure what to say, epsecially since a large amount of my administrative experience is in film companies.
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Oct 13, 2014 18:55
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Vertigo Ambrosia posted:What do I do about the 'where do you see yourself in five years' question if the job I'm applying for isn't 100% related to my long term career goals? The two things I'm really interested in are film preproduction and festival programming, but since I don't have anything close to a steady job I've been applying to a plethora of office jobs to land something to pay the bills. Obviously I don't want to express anything like that in the interview, but I'm not really sure what to say, epsecially since a large amount of my administrative experience is in film companies. What do they want to hear?
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Oct 16, 2014 19:26
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That's the thing; I'm not always sure? I mean, I think the reason for that question is 'will this candidate bail on us for something else'? It's really weird though for like, an entry level front desk position. The last interview I was asked this was for a clerical/customer service position at an animal shelter, so I wasn't really sure where to go with that, especially since I have little idea what kind of upward mobility that type of job would have. I assume part of that question is also gauging how much ambition you have or what type of goals you set for yourself, but I'm not too sure about that. One thing I know I need to work on either way is...I guess being more eloquent? I came out of that interview feeling like I came off as 'I'm excited about this job because kitties and puppies  ' than 'I'm excited about this job because I do well with office work and knowing I'm helping an animal shelter would be really personally rewarding', and that's a problem no matter what. I still have a long way to go with this stuff.
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Oct 20, 2014 00:22
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I had a telephone inverview Wednesday, but it was more of an informal talk. No interview style questions, no competency based ones, no "tell me about a time". Just general questions about my CV. I was asked to describe my year studying abroad, asked I'd be up for living where the job is, what my hobbies were and so on. The guy also told me I was on a short list of 5. I enjoyed the conversation and guy seemed very nice, though I have no idea what he thought of me. He said he'd be in touch at the start of this week, because he has to decide if I should fly out to the final interview or not. Ordinarily I'd have it and there would not have been a phone one, but I live in a different country. I did highlight that I'd be happy to attend, and said I'm available any time and only asked that I be notified of the date in advance so that I may get tickets at a reasonable rate. It's a small company and the telephone interview was with a director. They probably don't have a lot of experience hiring. Financial sector, if that's relevant. Should I send a follow up email and ask about it, and say I'd like a proper interview (politely, of course), or sit and wait? Would it reflect on me well as someone who's driven, or poorly as someone who's nagging? Zeppelin Insanity fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 22:49
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Just had what was probably my best interview ever yesterday, for a job that would pay a hell of a lot more than I'm making now. Got an email tonight saying no. Wondering where I hosed up.
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Oct 22, 2014 06:26
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There could very well have been a better candidate. Not getting an offer doesn't mean you hosed up.
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Oct 22, 2014 13:22
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Yesterday I had a job interview for another department with my company. I have been with my company for over 3 years and spent a good chunk of that time in my current department. I was getting ready put up a plaque on my desk that said "Don't forget! You're here forever!" and put pictures of my daughter all over it to say "Do it for her!" I've applied for other positions over the years and have been turned down because I interviewed terribly. Interviewers would go out of their way to tell me it wasn't my qualifications but the way I interviewed. I saw this thread over the weekend and I just wanna say thank you to the OP since it put things in such a great prospective. I practiced, took notes, and basically made made up a whole dossier on the position and what I planned to do for the interview. Before, when I was asked about something I did in the past I would just give an example and be done with it. This time I had structure and it actually went somewhere! I just got the call that I got the position and will be starting on Monday in my new role. Thanks!
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Nov 26, 2014 06:43
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Thanks to this thread, I had a very good interview today with a start-up engineering firm. A few behavioral questions, and then the hiring manager played up their benefits package for the rest of the interview, which I took as a good sign. I'll hear back on Wednesday, but I'm super excited. 
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Dec 6, 2014 01:31
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I had some misgivings following my interview because I knew factually that the position was new and either the responsibilities were not clearly defined, or the manager (who was new to the department and possibly management itself) wasn't clear about them herself, but I figured everyone has to be new sometime. Two months in, and I'm very much questioning my decision to accept the job based solely on management. Who here has declined an offer where the pay and the job fit what they were looking for, but they didn't have a good feeling about management? I'm curious what things others have dealt with.
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Dec 6, 2014 03:46
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NancyPants posted:I had some misgivings following my interview because I knew factually that the position was new and either the responsibilities were not clearly defined, or the manager (who was new to the department and possibly management itself) wasn't clear about them herself, but I figured everyone has to be new sometime. Two months in, and I'm very much questioning my decision to accept the job based solely on management. I turned down a job recently that I wouldve done well at and was a decent enough but fit for, but it was a small company recently acquired and run by a guy with a M&A background who had been at companies a max of 3 years over the last decade and a half and in the interview talked about a lot of 5 year and 10 year plans. He kinda reminded me of myself and why I always need to remind myself to follow through.
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Dec 6, 2014 05:11
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Had a really nice albeit tough interview for a transfer pricing/tax specialist position in a top-5 italian company, a bank. Transfer pricing is a relatively new and unexplored concept in the italian big companies, and having previous experience on it really helped me. What do you guys think when the interviewer's first question is to break the ice and make a comfortable situation? I was interviewed by the director of the tax department, his aide and a HR guy whose first question was, jokingly "now, why would anyone devote his life to something like being a tax specialist". Everyone was smiling and I replied with an italian polite equivalent of "it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it", to which everyone laughed and nodded. Went on to explain that I actually like it, and why, and have been doing it for years now. I was kinda glad that he asked the question.
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Dec 18, 2014 10:23
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Alright, I am interviewing for a job and so far have done a phone interview, a face to face, a working interview (shadowed an employee for half a day), took a personality test, and did a face to face with another person. I received a call asking if I was still interested, said yes, and they said they would call my references and get back to me. Within an hour they called two of my three references who said nothing but good things. That was Tuesday, and I haven't heard anything back since. The whole process has been two weeks as of today. When is it appropriate to shoot a followup email? From a hiring manager's POV, do you put this much effort into multiple applicants at once or is it safe to assume I am the only person who was brought in to shadow? (Small business, less than 20 employees, and a fairly low level position)
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Dec 19, 2014 18:31
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I'd say next week, but since it's Christmas, send them an e-mail on the 29th. It's possible they'll wait until after the holidays to make a final decision.
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Dec 19, 2014 20:16
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Xandu posted:I'd say next week, but since it's Christmas, send them an e-mail on the 29th. It's possible they'll wait until after the holidays to make a final decision.
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Dec 19, 2014 20:26
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I mean, it is a little odd that they asked if you were still interested and called your references and then didn't back to you the next day. But given that it's the holidays and people are on vacation, I don't think it's anything to worry about yet. It's possible they're just waiting on one guy's final approval.
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Dec 19, 2014 20:50
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Slugworth posted:So I am jumping the gun being worried about it already? In my mind, you check references as the last step before offering the job. Thus, I started panicking when I didn't immediately hear back. I honestly have never really applied for a job in a traditional way though, so I have no idea how the process usually works. My last 'interview' was 10 years ago over drinks in a bar. I'm 90% sure you got the job if they called references. What happens during Christmas is that various people who need to sign off on it are out of town so nothing gets done. Plus when they shoot you an offer it means they have to follow up and work out details, and if they gave you an offer last Friday who is really going to be there follow up this week? If it will help allay your fears, shoot them an email today with the tone of 'hope you guys are having a great holiday, when can I expect an update on your decision'.
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Jan 2, 2015 14:40
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Bicuspid posted:I'm 90% sure you got the job if they called references. What happens during Christmas is that various people who need to sign off on it are out of town so nothing gets done. Plus when they shoot you an offer it means they have to follow up and work out details, and if they gave you an offer last Friday who is really going to be there follow up this week? On my way to the next one as we speak. Fingers crossed.
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Jan 2, 2015 21:46
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Slugworth posted:I appreciate the positivity, but unfortunately found out last week I didn't get it. Well then I'm 90% sure you will get the next job!  But really that sucks to hear. Clearly you're employable though, having went that deep in the process. It should just be a matter of time! And hopefully there's one or two things you can take from it so you can be even better in the next one.
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Jan 3, 2015 01:12
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I have a question: Is there a SomethingAwful group that gets together and interviews each other (skype im guessing)? SOME OF US DON'T HAVE FRIENDS. No, not really, but right now none of my friends are available.
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Jan 9, 2015 20:14
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:I have a question: Is there a SomethingAwful group that gets together and interviews each other (skype im guessing)? SOME OF US DON'T HAVE FRIENDS. No, not really, but right now none of my friends are available. Holy poo poo that sounds like a great idea
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Jan 9, 2015 21:06
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:I have a question: Is there a SomethingAwful group that gets together and interviews each other (skype im guessing)? SOME OF US DON'T HAVE FRIENDS. No, not really, but right now none of my friends are available. I'd be willing to participate in such a venture. I currently do technical interviews for programming and data science positions.
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Jan 10, 2015 17:34
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Oh, well then I suppose we can make one, although I may want to see if more people would be interested in it first. Is there a particular program that would be best for that? Could we even do group interviews!! 
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Jan 11, 2015 01:28
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:Oh, well then I suppose we can make one, although I may want to see if more people would be interested in it first. Is there a particular program that would be best for that? Could we even do group interviews!! To pass a group interview all you need to do is say something intelligent and not talk over anyone.
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Jan 11, 2015 01:43
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This might be obvious, but if you can, spend a couple weeks studying really hard for whatever stuff is in the job description for the job you really want. Then if you get a phone screen/phone interview study really hard for the subjects they talk about. I recently got a job that is exactly what I want to do, which pays above market for the area, and is where I want to live and when I looked at the job description it was a hail mary application. But I studied like crazy and found a bunch of Webinars on the fundamentals and got an offer with just a phone interview (and telling them that I was interviewing with one of their competitors, but that they were my favorite). I also torrented thigh highest reviewed books on the subject and read one of them before my interview.
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Jan 15, 2015 19:15
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Hello thread. I currently live in Southern California, but I have an interview with a company in Austin next week. The question of salary will come up so I've been doing some research. Every website I looked at says Austin is about 30% cheaper than LA. My question is, should I be taking this into account when they make an offer? For example, if they offer the same amount I'm making now, does that mean that it's actually a pretty good offer?
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Jan 16, 2015 00:52
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Absolutely you should. There are tons of calculators to convert your SoCal $ into Austin $. $100k in San Francisco is only $60k in Orlando FL. If someone was offered 70 in orlando they'd be living much better than on a low 6 figure SF Salary.
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Jan 16, 2015 01:41
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