|
I found this thread at the perfect time! I got through the phone interview last week, and I have an in person interview in a few days. I've been in food service/retail for the last decade, and this is the first time an office has given me a chance at an interview. They said they were impressed with my witty cover letter and personal blurb, which probably shocked me more than anything as I really struggle with CVs. They admitted that they are extremely picky about who they even phone interview, and that over 400 people applied for the position I did. No pressure, right? I don't know how many others are in the interview process, though, and I refuse to let myself believe I'm the only special snowflake. They are a company that has a casual/nerdy/creative culture, so I'm not sure if I should expect more of the traditional interview questions or if I'm going to be thrown for a loop if the questions end up more personal. I'm obviously going to prepare as much as I can for the questions that many expect during interviews, but this place puts such a heavy emphasis on finding people that fit their unique style, I can't really prepare for that. I'm extremely confident that I would flourish at this job, it's just getting over my giant mountain of nerves. This is my first real chance at a Big Girl job (after so so many bad service jobs), at a company that I really admire and want to work at. My nerves come from being entirely too invested in the idea of working there, because it would mean so many things to me. Trying my best to chill out about it. Thanks so much for this thread, and I will be going through the old thread to prepare the best I can. My biggest worry is that they're going to probe about the gap in my work history, which is basically due to me making one bad decision to work at a place that was not guaranteed to be successful (and wasn't), and the second as just a desperate attempt to pay bills. They're not even on my resume because both lasted about 3 weeks before combusting. Ideally I will only have to explain that I left my long-term old job for an opportunity that didn't work out because of x/y, and I won't have to go into detail about anything else. Mondlicht fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Jun 2, 2013 |
#
¿
Jun 2, 2013 19:44
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 10:49 |
|
|
corkskroo posted:Those sound like situations where you can be pretty honest. They'll appreciate that you're real with them. I once told an interviewer who asked why I was applying for a job that if freelance had still been going strong (this was after the last major financial crisis so it had dried up) that I wouldn't even be there interviewing. It was probably a counterintuitive thing to say and I'm not RECOMMENDING that anyone say something like that, but I could tell on his face that he appreciated the honesty rather than if I had blown smoke up his rear, and I did end up getting the job. In your case I wouldn't frame it as a "bad decision" but I think there are ways of discussing that that would be honest and would help your interview. Yeah, I would absolutely prefer NOT to lie. I just need to think of ways to word my experiences truthfully without being negative about my ex-employers. Trying to be as vague as possible while not lying seems to be ideal, as far as I can tell. "I left [secure job] for an opportunity that ultimately was not a good fit." I don't have to say that they took my hours down from 40 to 10 and then fired me because they hired too many people. I'd prefer to not even mention the job I took after that, which also didn't last very long due to the owner yelling in my face for standing up for a coworker that he called derogatory names (I walked out). On paper, I left a secure job where I was appreciated for 3 years to go and hop between two awful jobs that treated me terribly. Two jobs that aren't even on my resume because of those experiences, so I feel like I've already lied by not having them on there.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 3, 2013 04:14
|
|
|
I've been waiting myself to hear back about my interview.  There will be a second round of interviews for those that make it, so all I can really do now is hope!It honestly didn't go that well, in my opinion. I tried my best to prepare, but it was basically my first real interview. An hour long, being passed off to multiple people. It was intense. All of my jobs I've gotten previously have basically been on the spot hires after a very brief and informal interview, so even if I don't get this job at least I have this as a frame of reference now.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 7, 2013 18:00
|
|