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job interviews

41,094
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17
Years
how are you at interviewing for jobs? can you clearly and concisely answer questions, or do your nerves tend to get the better of you? when was the last interview you went on and how well did/do you think you did?

(bonus) did you get the last job you interviewed for?
 

FlameChrome

[color=#7fffd4]IDK what to put here[/color]
1,152
Posts
7
Years
Actually i havent been to a job interview sadly yet. But I have applied to like 3 jobs so heres hopping. I would actually probably forget what to say honestly, and be nervous. I usually do a lot so it would only make sense. But if i do get an interview i will post again in this thread and speak of it.
 
12,103
Posts
18
Years
I used to think I was pretty good at job interviews - I've gotten pretty much every job I've applied for as an adult.

But, then, I started trying to promote at my current company, and learned a...lot about what not to do. I found out I had a tendency to ramble, and not necessarily answer the question. From the failed interviews, I learned:
  • Always have a beginning [what the problem was] -> middle [what steps did I take to resolve it] -> end [what was the outcome of the action?]
  • Review some situational questions online. A lot of my interviews featured questions that asked me to, "Them them about a time where I.......".
  • Slow down when providing answers.
  • Know what criteria they're looking for, and intertwine that into my answers. If the posting says "Familiarity with Office Products is preferred", in one of my answers I'll try to make sure I can incorporate how I'm amazing at Microsoft Excel/Powerpoint/etc.
  • Think about possible scenarios that you can call upon to reference. A popular question I experienced during interviews was "Tell us about a time you had to work with a co-worker you didn't see eye-to-eye with. How did you come to terms with that?", or "Tell us about a time you had to give feedback to a peer. How did it go?" Looking at various situational questions [as mentioned earlier] will help with this.

With my current Dept, I applied for a position back in early 2016, and had a second interview, but didn't get it. I applied again in late 2016, and again, had a second interview, and didn't get it. However, the next time I interviewed for the position, I got it.

What helps is doing mock interviews. If you're promoting within your company, maybe talk to your boss about doing some mock interviews. They're super helpful. The more interviews one does, the better.
 
8,973
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18
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I've always personally felt that being authentic and genuine would do it. I mean, this won't always work -- there might be someone who's just better qualified for the position -- but for every job I've interviewed for, I was always very positive, upbeat, and generally very energetic. I wasn't afraid to ask questions if I really had any, and I was quite engaged in conversation with the interviewer.

Otherwise +1 to everything Tyler/Ursula already said. But also don't be afraid to take some time to think about your answer before you do it. Especially if they ask you a situational question and the situation in question happened quite some time ago at an old job or something; I don't think any interviewer realistically expects every single person that they interview to have 100% perfect memory or anything like that. This seems like a stupidly obvious thing but it's easy to forget that interviewers are people as well and to somehow have the belief that you have to fire off answers seconds after they ask their questions. Take some time first, there's nothing wrong with that.

Although I think one of the trippiest questions tend to be some variation of "how much do you think you'll make". I got asked this question during one of my old retail job interviews and I had to treat it like a quiz question because I thought answering too low or too high would instantly disqualify me. As it turns out, the interviewer flat-out admitted he asked that more for curiosity's sake than anything else -- the company would offer you x amount regardless of how much you answered -- so I guess it was more of a measure of expectation than anything else.
 
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JJ Styles

The Phenomenal Darling
3,922
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9
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  • Age 35
  • NCR
  • Seen Nov 11, 2019
One of my more recent job interviews went fairly well till the last part (Final Interview) where i was told that I didn't answer questions concise enough to be qualified to be part of Recruitment but from the way the interviewer heard me, she told me i had the potential to be part of Sales instead. However during that time, i wasn't in the right mood either.

Overall, I'm mostly unnerved and calm during interviews since we were kinda trained on how to handle such activities during college, and we had great help and criticisms from some of our rather brutal professors too. (Human Resource Management BAYBEEE). Come to think about it, HR graduates such as myself are going to be the same Homosapiens who will be conducting such interviews.

Also, how i got hired at my current work? When i was asked what did i do after i graduated college, i came up with some stuff like doing productive things (that I actually did). Some interviewers are keen on hearing about how productive someone is when it comes to interviews, so don't go and tell your interviewer that you did nothing but play video games and watch TV or lounged around etc, since many interviewers are already rather judgmental (EMPHASIS ON MENTAL) regarding that.
 
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bobandbill

one more time
16,891
Posts
16
Years
I think I'm generally alright, and have had that feedback. Had a few in-person, video call and phone call interviews. One involved a testing stage which wasn't fun.
(bonus) did you get the last job you interviewed for?
I did not, but I got this job that I had been interviewed for... about a few months earlier. Things can take time with academia @_@
 
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Nah

15,926
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10
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  • Age 31
  • Seen yesterday
I've only had a few interviews in my life, and I can't say I like them. I'm not really into trying to sell myself to the interviewer cuz it's like....fam I'm just some unremarkable nobody trying to make enough to survive in this world I never asked to be brought into.

I also have one tomorrow
 
1,743
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6
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I actually am rather fond of interviews! I'm not a very nervous person, so they've never really unnerved me.

I always try to remain composed and I attempt to answer questions in an eloquent, professional manner. Furthermore, I think it's important to look the part. As a minor, I always try to dress to the nines and wear articles of clothing that scream sophistication. (I certainly wouldn't want to wear anything that would make me look juvenile.) Typically, I'll wear a dress with a cardigan, do glam makeup, curl my hair, and put on a pair of heels. I will admit that my one weakness is that I have a tendency to be a tad loquacious and sometimes stray off topic. Although, I do think this may work to my advantage as I have primarily applied for jobs in the retail industry and many managers prefer more outgoing, bubbly individuals, such as myself. I have only applied for a handful of jobs and have landed every single one, including my current job. :)

A piece of advice that I'd give to anyone going into a job interview would be to ensure that you retain eye contact when it's appropriate. (Don't stare down your interviewer, but looking someone in the eyes as you speak shows that you have confidence. Looking away may make you seem anxious or unsure of yourself.)

Also, just be yourself. Try to relax, breathe, put a smile on your face and own it! :)
 
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25,439
Posts
11
Years
I've never had to do a job interview. I walked right into the job I did for several years and I can still go back to it at any time once I'm well again.
 
3,105
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11
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  • Age 22
  • Seen May 23, 2023
Not exactly the same but I had to do an interview for a school I applied to when I was 11 and that was lowkey traumatic because it was just me and 3 interviewers. Had no idea how to answer some of the questions aisisk like what can I offer to this school I DON'T KNOW. It was a good learning experience though!
 

Sirfetch’d

Guest
0
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I've only had a few interviews in my lifetime and they have all gone pretty well. For about a day or two leading up to the interview I get really nervous and sweaty but once it actually starts I am fine and am able to answer their questions. The only thing I struggle with is those "name a specific time where you had to" questions so I just bullshit those
 
6,282
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14
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  • Age 31
  • Seen yesterday
I don't really get nervous for job interviews, which is funny because I suffer greatly from anxiety. Job interviews never really cause me any issues though. I've never really had a bad one that I can remember.

& yes, the last one I went on I got and accepted!
 
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Bay

6,383
Posts
17
Years
Yeah even though I've done several interviews I still get nervous and ramble. A couple occasions I had perhaps replied as if I were going for an accounting ob even though I'm being interviewed for retail oops. One of the compliments I get most often though is they liked the questions I asked after the interviewer mentions if there is something I would like to know more about the company. I often would ask how they got their start with their company and what their expectations of me for this position.
 

pastelspectre

Memento Mori★
2,167
Posts
13
Years
ive only had one real interview and it was awful. i never got a call back and i stuttered and shook uncontrollably during the interview.

ive had a few practice interviews at the alternative school i went to, but they didnt really help much for when the real deal came. :/
 

Lycanthropy

[cd=font-family:Special Elite;font-size:16px;color
11,037
Posts
10
Years
I haven't had to many job interviews, I managed to get both of my jobs without one. My dad once heard someone was looking for a waiter and sort of forced me to take the job. I could start right away to see how I'd do. We're five years later, and I still work there.
As my other job, I guide high school students through chemical practicals at my university every now and then. They simply asked everybody who passed the first year of Chemistry to see who was willing to help out, desperate enough not to require an interview on top of that.

That said, I've done one job interview in my life. I was pretty nervous at first, but in the end I think it went mostly alright. I didn't get the job though, as there were eight candidates and only one position.
 

Ice1

[img]http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/icon/712.pn
3,447
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9
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  • Seen Nov 23, 2023
i once had a job interview with my uncle mike and he said no thank you at the end and i didnt get the job which is ashame because if i get that job i could quit high school andj ust deliver papers and buy my own house lol sounds alot better than mr browns classes
 

Honest

Hi!
11,676
Posts
15
Years
I actually interview people for work at times, so I've been on both sides of it!

Regarding being interviewed, I'm in the software dev field, so there's two things to get interviewed on: soft-skills and technical. Soft-skills, I'm a natural at. I love talking. Technical is hard though, especially when there's not paper involved. Last interview I'd taken that I failed out, I'd managed to make it to the last round and was fighting against this one guy from Virginia. Messed up a Python question related to File I/O.

Being on the other side, it's actually really interesting seeing how people react to an interviewer. I've seen quite a bit already. Had one kid that just stared at me when I asked him something. Poor guy blanked so hard. I also realized that it's very hard being an interviewer, cause I hate rejecting people. All I can think about is how this person just wants a job, and having been in the position before, I sympathize with them. Never easy to turn someone away, but I guess I've gotten used to it.
 
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