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Dik Hz posted:Which side of the table are you on? This time I am a external candidate. So far I have prepared questions (five so far, want to add one or two more and use them as the flow of the conversation dictates), and I have a prepared answer for one likely question and intend to build up a few more. I'll practice answering them tonight. I'll re-read the job description to make sure I'm hitting the high points.
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Nov 2, 2022 10:12
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Hello goons. I'd like some feedback on an interview I just had, and some ideas on where to go next. I recently applied for a Field Inventory Specialist position with a prominent public insurance adjustment company, had a screening interview over the phone, and just had an in-person interview at their office. The position involves representing insurance policyholders when they suffer a loss to ensure they get the maximum recovery, and the FIS position specifically involves going to the loss site and documenting lost and damaged items. The phone screening went extremely well. I was called by the Inventory Administrative Manager and discussed how my experience was relevant to the position, the details of the position, and a few other screening questions. The IAM seemed very impressed with me, and told me she wasn't even going to ask me any communications-based questions since I was so eloquent and effective at communicating with her. She told me at the end I would definitely be moving on to an in-person interview. I feel the screening went 10/10. Today I had the in-person interview, which went well but was definitely a bit rougher of an experience. The interview began at 10:30 and I checked in at 10:25. I matched the dress of the office (button-up with no tie), but perhaps a tie would have made a better impression. I was interviewed by the Inventory Field Manager (who would be my direct superior) and the Chief Operating Officer, and was told the interview would be 30-45 minutes. The IFM started by asking me to 'describe myself'. I should have been better prepared for such a generic question, but given that it was such an open-ended question, the very first question of the interview, and I had yet to build any rapport with them, I may have flubbed my response a bit. I talked about how I enjoyed helping others (specifically with my history of doing constituency work for a city councilmember), and I was attracted to the position because of the ability to be an advocate for people who just suffered a serious loss. I also mentioned that I am always looking to learn, try something new, read a new book, learn a new skill, and generally stay very active with my learning and personal growth. I definitely need to work on a 60-second elevator pitch of myself. Second, the COO asked me about my employment history, specifically with my 'variety' of different experiences over the last few years, and if I was looking for a more permanent position. I responded that I was, that the nature of some of my previous work (elections, 2020 census) often lead to temporary work with no chance to remain permanent after completion, but that I was definitely looking for a more permanent position with the potential for more professional development and career growth. I feel I gave an adequate answer, but did not completely address the varied nature of my employment history, and completely failed to mention that I spent the last 5 years focused on taking care of family rather than focusing on my career. The rest of the interview went fairly well. Lots of 'tell us how your experience relates to the job' and similar sorts of questions. I feel I was able to answer those much more adequately, and I also demonstrated a genuine interest in the position, an ability to do the job, and having done some research into the company and position. After about 30 minutes the IFM began to glance at her watch after each question, and after a few questions the COO got the hint and began to wrap up the interview. I asked when they were looking to fill the position and the COO said they were actively interviewing for the position, they would wait until they found the 'right' candidate, and that they could be accommodating of my schedule. I asked if they wanted any references and the COO said they'd 'cross that bridge when they get there'. The interview lasted 35-40 minutes. I feel like the interview went 7/10; 6/10 for my responses to the first two questions and my interaction with the IFM, and 8/10 for the rest of the interview and interaction with the COO. It went decently, but I don't think they were in love with me. The IFM gave me her business card. After the interview they went to discuss it in another office. On arrival, and then on my way out, I was sure to be very polite with the receptionist, thank her, and wish her a nice day. I'd really like this position, and I'm wondering if and when I should send a follow-up / 'thank you' email for the interview. I'm also wondering if it'd be appropriate to mention anything I forgot in the interview (specifically that a family health decline interrupted my career ~5 years ago, and that I was focused on taking care of family rather than my career growth for the last few years). I've got another interview tomorrow morning, so this was a good refresher, but I'm definitely most interested in this first position so I'd like to make the most of it. I should also post my resume and get some feedback on it. Thank you.
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Nov 2, 2022 22:31
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Its fine to send one thank you email immediately. You probably don't need to add any additional information about your background or resume unless they asked or it was an elephant in the room for some reason. (Know when to stop selling.) Best of luck!
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Nov 2, 2022 22:46
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Thanks. They didn't ask about directly (which is why I didn't think to mention it), but they got pretty close to it and I think that was their concern when they asked about my 'variety' of experience and interest in a more permanent position. It wasn't quite an 'elephant', but --- Nevermind, they just called me and offered me the position while I was writing this post!! This position seems great, it could completely change my life! Thank you goons!
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Nov 2, 2022 23:33
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literally this big posted:Thanks. They didn't ask about directly (which is why I didn't think to mention it), but they got pretty close to it and I think that was their concern when they asked about my 'variety' of experience and interest in a more permanent position. It wasn't quite an 'elephant', but Way to go!
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Nov 2, 2022 23:55
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Congrats! And yeah, for the record I probably wouldn't send information like that if it didn't come up in the interview. But a followup Thank you is fine.
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Nov 3, 2022 01:45
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How often do y'all have recruiters reach out to you and then you don't get a callback for even a first round? I suspect fairly common but it's happened to me a couple of times so I'm wondering if it's me. I'm not actively looking but sometimes I get a reach out for a role that sounds interesting. I would think since they're contacting me the odds would be a little better of at least a first round conversation?
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Nov 3, 2022 15:26
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Its not uncommon and I wouldn't take it personally. Especially right now things are nuts with companies vacilating wildly between "We can't find people to hire" and "We need to lay people off"
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Nov 3, 2022 16:46
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Xguard86 posted:How often do y'all have recruiters reach out to you and then you don't get a callback for even a first round? Almost always get a first round interview if it’s an internal recruiter. Probably 10% chance to get a first round interview from an external recruiter who reaches out to me but that’s because they’re almost all pharma guys and I don’t have any GLP experience. Point being is that it’s highly variable based on your job and local industry. Definitely not a reflection on you as a candidate.
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Nov 3, 2022 17:24
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Xguard86 posted:How often do y'all have recruiters reach out to you and then you don't get a callback for even a first round?
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Nov 3, 2022 18:14
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I've a question about the best way to format my resume to incorporate a 1 year temp contract that will be finishing in December of this year. Prior to this I was in job X, and after this finishes I will be returning to job X. I'm struggling with where to place this 1 year contract in my resume alongside the details of job X, which previously was at the top/most recent in my experience "list", with "2016-Present" as a label. I have this so far (click the top left pixel dimensions to make big), and was wondering if I'm missing some big obvious way to do this better. The 2012-2014 job was at a different location and needs to be it's own heading. 
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Nov 3, 2022 18:40
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That's how I'd do it and I'd maybe put an asterix on the RRT role and just have a line in the CIS that says something to the effect of it being a temp contract situation.
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Nov 3, 2022 19:13
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CarForumPoster posted:Way to go! I also got a job offer from the Census Bureau just a minute later lol. I have another interview today, my substitute teaching credentials were just approved, and the candidate I'm working for may hire me onto their staff if they win their election in 5 days. Suddenly... I've got options. But I'll probably go with the public adjuster position. I just got a voicemail about them drafting an offer letter for me. At what point should I look to negotiate compensation? How should I go about that?
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Nov 3, 2022 19:31
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literally this big posted:But I'll probably go with the public adjuster position. I just got a voicemail about them drafting an offer letter for me. At what point should I look to negotiate compensation? How should I go about that? Negotiation thread, but if you are not confident about the pay range, let them name a number first. Generally the longer you wait to discuss money the better it is for you, especially as it sounds like you've got some options.
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Nov 3, 2022 19:36
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Lockback posted:Negotiation thread, but if you are not confident about the pay range, let them name a number first. Generally the longer you wait to discuss money the better it is for you, especially as it sounds like you've got some options. The Indeed listing lists pay as "From $29.00 per hour", and there's also a 1.9% commission on whatever our cut of the customer's payout it. That seems like a decent rate to me (more money than I've ever made, and I've never had benefits before). I don't want to undervalue myself, but I'd probably be more interested in negotiating benefits like credentials, training, education, tuition reimbursement, etc. Any idea on how to play my options against each other? The adjuster position is writing me an offer letter now, but my interview today is just a first round interview (probably more rounds to go), and the election isn't for another 5 days (results will likely take longer to count). The Census position is only offering $17/hour (part time, located in Los Angeles) so I'm going to decline that one later today. And subbing is more of a backup plan than a main career focus.
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Nov 3, 2022 19:48
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Lockback posted:That's how I'd do it and I'd maybe put an asterix on the RRT role and just have a line in the CIS that says something to the effect of it being a temp contract situation. Thank you - yes I called out the temp contract immediately in the first bullet point so it doesn't look awful. What did you mean about the asterisk? Like this?  If you meant like, asterisk and then explain the 1 year gap with an associated asterisk at the bottom of the page, I don't really have room for that. Or did you mean put the other asterisk by the line in the CIS role about it being a temp contract? Appreciate your input.
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Nov 3, 2022 19:53
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literally this big posted:The Indeed listing lists pay as "From $29.00 per hour", and there's also a 1.9% commission on whatever our cut of the customer's payout it. That seems like a decent rate to me (more money than I've ever made, and I've never had benefits before). I don't want to undervalue myself, but I'd probably be more interested in negotiating benefits like credentials, training, education, tuition reimbursement, etc. Do you have to travel as part of the job? I'm biased - the only insurance adjusters I deal with are for auto, and those guys have to travel, so that's why I bring it up. They are either provided cars or reimbursement. If you have to travel, figure out how that works.
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Nov 3, 2022 20:18
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VelociBacon posted:Thank you - yes I called out the temp contract immediately in the first bullet point so it doesn't look awful. What did you mean about the asterisk? Like this? Oh I mean like list it as 2016-2022* and then have the asterisk explain it was a temp assignment in the temp assignment description. Or did you actually leave the job then come back to it? If its that then what you have now is correct, if it was like a different assignment then I'd do it as I suggested.
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Nov 3, 2022 21:18
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Lockback posted:Oh I mean like list it as 2016-2022* and then have the asterisk explain it was a temp assignment in the temp assignment description. Or did you actually leave the job then come back to it? If its that then what you have now is correct, if it was like a different assignment then I'd do it as I suggested. Ah yeah I left the job to go do the CIS stuff (same employer) for a year. Coming back to the same thing so ya I'll leave it as is. Thanks for the eyes on it.
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Nov 3, 2022 21:51
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Well, I asked the recruiter if he had any feedback. Figured why not. He said the hiring manager screened me out no comment specifically but generally they're having trouble filling the role due to candidates w/o enough experience in a particular thing. So the usual dumb unicorn hunt crap but appreciated him responding + this thread validating I'm not crazy.
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Nov 4, 2022 03:26
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I’m on the last round of interviews for a job I’m really hoping to get. Pretty annoyed there is apparently a second project/deliverable in this process, but I want the job so I guess I’ll just deal with it.
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Nov 4, 2022 19:05
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Xguard86 posted:Well, I asked the recruiter if he had any feedback. Figured why not. He said the hiring manager screened me out no comment specifically but generally they're having trouble filling the role due to candidates w/o enough experience in a particular thing.
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Nov 4, 2022 19:46
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Do you have to travel as part of the job? I'm biased - the only insurance adjusters I deal with are for auto, and those guys have to travel, so that's why I bring it up. They are either provided cars or reimbursement. If you have to travel, figure out how that works. Yes, the job is "about 75% travel", as in traveling out to loss sites to document damages, with many of those jobs being far enough away that I'd have to get a hotel. They cover costs of room and food, and reimburse for mileage driven, but do not directly pay for gas. So my other interview yesterday went really well that they scheduled me for a second interview this morning. Unfortunately it looks like a pure-commission sales gig going door to door selling AT&T and ADT services.  They'll most likely make me a job offer this afternoon, but I'm not sure if or how I could use this terrible sales offer as leverage for the negotiation. I also turned down the Census offer for being uncompetitive. There's still a decent chance of getting an offer for a staffer position if we win the election, but that's still a week or more away.
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Nov 4, 2022 20:26
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If it's a Fed rate based mileage reimbursement that is quite a good deal.
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Nov 4, 2022 20:43
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If you haven't done a travel job yet please be aware that 75% travel feels like 120% travel.
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Nov 4, 2022 20:57
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literally this big posted:So my other interview yesterday went really well that they scheduled me for a second interview this morning. Unfortunately it looks like a pure-commission sales gig going door to door selling AT&T and ADT services.
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Nov 5, 2022 00:57
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Is 75% M-Th? If yes then +1 to the quote because I did that for 5 years and you basically don't live at home anymore. +/- to that but it's huge for lifestyle.
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Nov 5, 2022 19:33
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I think it's more along the lines of 75% of cases are far enough away that it's be best to get a hotel. Some cases will be local enough that I can go home every night.
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Nov 5, 2022 19:39
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Summary sections are different than objectives right? I know the OP says no objectives but should I have a summary? Especially for a career change resume. What should I highlight in summary section if yes
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Nov 6, 2022 02:47
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:Summary sections are different than objectives right? I know the OP says no objectives but should I have a summary? Especially for a career change resume. What should I highlight in summary section if yes I think having a summary section is ok for the limited purpose of telling a narrative that you have no way of communicating via your work experience, like when you are a career switcher. You want to keep it short. Its purpose is to just convince your reader to be interested in your experience.
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Nov 6, 2022 03:48
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:Summary sections are different than objectives right? I know the OP says no objectives but should I have a summary? Especially for a career change resume. What should I highlight in summary section if yes Wouldn't that kind of narrative thing go in a cover letter?
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Nov 6, 2022 07:42
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Summaries kinda depend. It's better if you don't need it but a sentence or two can be alright. Don't be long winded.
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Nov 6, 2022 15:15
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Just wanted to thank everyone for the resume advice and kind words when I was fired. I just signed a job offer for a company significantly closer to my house for more money so it eventually worked out for the best.
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Nov 7, 2022 23:46
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Morand posted:Just wanted to thank everyone for the resume advice and kind words when I was fired. I just signed a job offer for a company significantly closer to my house for more money so it eventually worked out for the best. Sweeeeeeet!
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Nov 8, 2022 00:40
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Morand posted:Just wanted to thank everyone for the resume advice and kind words when I was fired. I just signed a job offer for a company significantly closer to my house for more money so it eventually worked out for the best.
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Nov 8, 2022 02:10
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My lovely boss just complained at me because of something he failed to do. So, the mature choice when faced with that is to spend lunch sending out 11 more applications.
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Nov 8, 2022 18:07
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Updated my resume and would appreciate feedback. Looking at data analyst jobs in health care. Thanks! 
Javes fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Nov 9, 2022 |
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Nov 9, 2022 20:47
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Javes posted:Updated my resume and would appreciate feedback. Looking at data analyst jobs in health care. Thanks! I'm in healthcare as an RT, just finishing a temp placement in informatics, I think this looks honestly pretty great, fantastic that you're able to provide literal $ amounts of how much you've been able to save the businesses (American hospitals are basically for-profit businesses right?). The 'projects area' being it's own thing under the billing representative heading does confuse me a little - assuming these projects weren't done as a billing representative since it's a new heading. Is it important for the employer to know which position you held while you did those projects? If this is just the normal way this stuff is detailed in your specific part of this industry, just ignore me. VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Nov 9, 2022 |
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Nov 9, 2022 21:18
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You seem to be eminently qualified. Just need to sharpen up the thing a bit. Organization: I would consolidate projects in to your resume. It's weird to have a projects section. Your job is projects. Content: For prior jobs, I'd at least try to include a headline number or two. Most people beef up prior jobs a bit more than you have, and the lack of content there makes me suspicious. For ed, do you have any specific data science training or certificates? might be good to include. Possibly put your EPIC cert in education so it stands out more. Most people also put tools and software towards the end. You've generally got good quant stuff in here. Generally, there's something a little off about your wording - eg "deliver the department vital data analytics tools" - that doesn't mean poo poo. describe what the tools actually are used for, or don't put value judgements on them. There's some funny syntax to clean up, too - "earned X by creating Y" and then the next line is "saved x after creating Y" - after is weird because it disassociates cause and effect. That whole sentence about vendor price compliance is weirdly worded. The last bullet in your current job could be consolidated and also enhanced - you created a dashboard that displays KPIS xyz that accomplished something for the user. The dashboard means nothing unless it enables the user to perform an action and or achieve a better result; you need to describe the action and result here. I would standardize throughout on "I did Thing X using Y tools that achieved Z result for my employer/the users/etc" - sometimes you're including tools used, and sometimes you aren't. I would also round numbers for a litany of reasons, and for instance say that you saved the department $300K annually by doing thing, that you helped your department earn a $375 vendor rebate check, etc.
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Nov 9, 2022 21:23
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Word, I appreciate both of your feedback. Always struggled with the syntax for incorporating quantitative achievements while also making it readable. I will clean that up and drop the projects section. I can add another bullet point that has numbers for the previous jobs, was struggling to keep the resume at 1 page.
Javes fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Nov 9, 2022 |
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Nov 9, 2022 21:26
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