First Job Interview - need help/advice

Page 1 of 1 [ 6 posts ] 

LostInEmulation
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Feb 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,047
Location: Ireland, dreaming of Germany

24 Sep 2010, 2:45 am

I managed to get a job interview in pretty much the other end of the republic. I have a few problems now:
* public transport in a foreign city is not... great and I fear not making it there in time... despite planning an hour to get from the central station there.
* I am visually impaired and wear glasses which are very thick. I have heard that the glasses make me look creepy since my eyes appear much bigger in them. How can I prevent creeping the interviewer out? 8O
* How should I react to questions about my glasses/disability in case they crop up (I mentioned my problems with bad vision in my application so they know)?
* Any specific things I should do or avoid?


_________________
I am not a native speaker. Please contact me if I made grammatical mistakes in the posting above.

Penguins cannot fly because what cannot fly cannot crash!


DeathGoth
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 26 May 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 57

24 Sep 2010, 10:30 am

If you wear sunglasses all the time remember to take them off..

I notice people hate not seeing someones eyes.. I hate taking them off and have to be told to...

So keep that in mind.. Act as normal as possible and dont lie about anything... if they ask a question then answer it the best you can.

Dont tell them ur screwed up they will think 2ce about hiring you.. I have been noticing this alot..



cleo
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 4 May 2010
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 97

24 Sep 2010, 12:21 pm

You are going to be scared/nervous. Everyone (yes, even NT's) is at a job interview.

Get there as early as possible. Leave extra early and hang around somewhere nearby until your time.
MUCH better than racing in the door at the last minute.

Make sure you are neatly dressed in your best clothes.
Get up early enough to get completely ready. You will have more time to calm down.

Smile, smile, smile.

If you make a mistake and start speaking at the same time as the interviewer, STOP, smile and say "Excuse me, Go on." indicating they should speak first.

Good Luck!



t0
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Mar 2008
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 726
Location: The 4 Corners of the 4th Dimension

25 Sep 2010, 1:02 pm

1) Don't worry about the glasses. There's nothing you can do about it anyway.

2) If you're concerned about getting there on-time, can you go earlier? Can you tell from a map if there's a cafe or similar spot where you could wait until the appropriate time? This might calm your nerves down a bit also - give yourself a break to rest and compose before the interview.



LostInEmulation
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Feb 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,047
Location: Ireland, dreaming of Germany

25 Sep 2010, 5:19 pm

Thanks to all of you!

The glasses are no sunglasses, but they are tinted because I am more sensitive to light. for the photos, they were 'shopped to appear a bit lighter than they actually are. My eyes are visible though.

As I said, the job interview is in another part of the republic, so I have to be quite a bit early anyways, it also means lots of things which can go wrong... especially due to the fact that I take the train there... so I planned to be an hour early in the city. I know of no café there (openstreetmap does not have them). Is that sufficient?

About clothes... I am illiterate in the language of fashion, but my mother will help me pick them... Would a set of spare clothes be required in case, idk, I get dirty somehow before I reach the company?

@DeathGoth: I never planned to mention my Aspergers, but I did mention my disability. I am not required to mention it but I didn''t know that when applying there. Any idea how I should react when asked about that?


_________________
I am not a native speaker. Please contact me if I made grammatical mistakes in the posting above.

Penguins cannot fly because what cannot fly cannot crash!


Logan5
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 398
Location: Sanctuary

26 Sep 2010, 7:03 am

LostInEmulation, it is difficult to say whether or not you should mention your Asperger's syndrome. Some employers genuinely try to be accommodative, whereas others screw you over. It is fairly common for job interviewers to ask candidates, "What is your major weakness?" (or some variation on this question). You could answer Asperger's syndrome and/ or briefly describe some of its major symptoms. No matter how one answers this question, the trick is to then discuss what one has done to overcome it, and thereby frame it in a positive light. For instance, you could mention how certain aspects of Asperger's are also strengths (e.g. good attention to detail).

Taking a train that arrives an hour before the interview should be adequate. The only other alternative I can think of is to arrive there the night before, and stay overnight in a hotel, but that might be too expensive and/ or stressful. At the risk of stating the obvious, write the interview location and the contact person's name and phone number on a small piece of paper, and bring this with you. That way, if something goes wrong, you can always call them.

You mentioned that there are not any cafés near by. Are there any public places like parks or libraries you could wait in? I like to look up the location on google's maps < http://maps.google.de/ >, and zoom in using the satellite view, because this gives me some idea of what the area looks like.

Only bring a change of clothes if you are going to stay overnight. Otherwise, they will just get in the way. You might want to check your appearance in the bathroom mirror at the train station if you have time. So it might be worth bringing a hair brush, a small amount of make-up (if you use make-up), etc.

For some more general advice, there are many books about interviewing. The more useful books list interview questions and provide concrete suggestions for how you should answer them. The one I used is, "How to Impress For Success at Job Interviews", by Vaughan Vandenberg < http://www.interviewsolution.com/ >. Another one that some people like is, "The Complete Q&A Job Interview Book", by Jeffrey B. Allen. Also, there are some free tips in these two articles:
"10 Interview Questions Decoded"
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MS ... s-Decoded/
"What Not to Say During a Job Interview"
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/eti ... page3.html

Finally, one general interviewing tip: always keep your answers positive.

I hope the interview goes well. Please let us know. :)