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Xercies
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Aug 23, 2008
Posts: 176
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 Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:44 pm Post subject: Getting past an Interview |
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I don't know if this has been posted before so I'm sorry it has but I have a question.
WEe were doing these kind of mock interviews where you have to talk to the teachers and tell you why you want their job. And later when we got to the results i was the worst one in the class, my shyness and nervousness getting me nowhere. I know my stuff but i will probably fail in the first rung. So I'm wonderinig how do i get past the Interview and actually get a job? |
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Bunni
Deinonychus
Joined: Mar 16, 2007
Age: 48
Posts: 321
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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Practice will help. There are sites online that have interview questions. You can practice with a friend or practice in front of a mirror. You won't always know everything that's going to be asked of you. You are selling a product to an employer and that product is you. Break it down for yourself, literally make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Now, Obviously it's easy to talk about your strengths in a positive way, but weaknesses also need to be brought up with a positive light.
Maybe speak with your teacher and ask for some practice, or ask for constructive criticism. Don't be afraid of judgement here, use it to make your interview better.
First time interviews are hard for everyone. Don't give up!
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Bunni
That which doesn't kill me, makes me stronger, and really pisses me off. |
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Ticker
Come to the Dark Side; we have cookies...
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 2406
Location: Cage Free at the moment
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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I went through the same thing recently having been laid off and going through many interviews and I am a real Nervous Nelly if there ever was one. Best you can do is find books with typical interview questions print out the questions and write in your answers. Then rehearse those questions over and over with a friend. For many of us we have to practice at anything we do so answering interview questions in no different. Just realize employers do not use the same precise wording on interview questions so they make take a question you memorized and throw some twist in it. So you have to be versatile.
If you are interviewing for a job it astounds employers if you research their company and no stuff about it and can throw that into your interview. Also don't be afraid of multiple person interviews. I have had 2 3-person interviews and one 4-person and though people say those are scary they are actually easier I found. Why you ask? Because the group interviewers seem less prepared and they act nervous themselves looking back and forth at each other saying "ok who's suppose to ask next?". Plus for some reason they tend to write your answer down on paper so they spend more time staring at their paper frantically writing to keep up instead of staring at you. Plus not being able to make eye contact well its easier to glance convincingly from one person to another looking briefly in their eyes than one on one eye contact with someone sitting across the table from you.
Just keep practicing and practicing. I did and finally got a huge job with one of the top companies in the world. They gave me rave reviews of the interview too and like I said I'm the nervous type. So never give up!
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I'm sweet on the outside and rotten within... |
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Xercies
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Aug 23, 2008
Posts: 176
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah i think the main problem I had was when I got the question asked "was i good in groups" and i was astounded by that question and what to say because personnaly I'm terrible in groups and i had no idea how to make that in a positive light... |
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Moose1132
Butterfly
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Age: 22
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Xercies wrote: | | Yeah i think the main problem I had was when I got the question asked "was i good in groups" and i was astounded by that question and what to say because personnaly I'm terrible in groups and i had no idea how to make that in a positive light... |
I totally bombed an interview one time when they asked me a question very similar to that (it was "What does team work mean to you?"). Caught me entirely off guard and I had no idea what to say. I've never been good at interviews at all really. It's frustrating how difficult it is for us. I was lucky with the job I have now. I just walked in for the interview, they took one look at me, and basically said I was hired because I looked big and strong. I didn't have to say a word.  |
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pineapple
Deinonychus
Joined: May 01, 2006
Age: 24
Posts: 380
Location: san francisco
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| Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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It could help to memorize some standard phrases. For example, the answers to "what are you looking for in a job?" and "what are your strengths?"
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chuck norris does not sleep. he waits.
Go here, be asexy------> http://theonepercentclub.blogspot.com |
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GoatMan
Deinonychus
Joined: Jun 05, 2007
Age: 25
Posts: 312
Location: Beaverton, Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:13 am Post subject: |
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The main key I've found is to have specific stories you can describe when an employer asks about your ability to function in a team setting, when you had a difficulty that you strived to overcome, that sort of stuff. HR reps just soak that stuff up like a sponge.
The other thing is to consider a job interview like a hostile negotiation. You have to both seem intrigued and nervously awaiting acceptance for the position, yet still be calm or confident enough that you aren't coming off like a bad used car salesman trying to sell a Hyundai to someone who wants to buy an Audi.
The key, I've found, is to strongly indicate you're enthusiastic and want the job, but at the same time, hint that you have other alternatives. Put the ball in the hiring manager's court, where you want what they're offering, are more than willing to do what it takes to get it, but at the same time, your time is more valuable than theirs. Hint that you have three or four other interviews for positions in a similar field that match the same career goals you are giving to the employer.
Rather than focusing on correcting social interaction with the employer, think like a terrorist holding a hostage. You have what they want (your job skills and work ethic), but you have to convince them first what you have is genuine. You have to sell them on the belief that your terms are the only ones for the employer to get what they want, and if they don't meet your terms, the consequences (not finding as skilled an employee, and having a high turnover rate for the position in question) are a fatal mistake.
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My motto:
Study like a scholar
Act like a gentleman
Dress like a soldier |
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joku_muko
Phoenix
Joined: Dec 10, 2004
Posts: 532
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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Apply at places that are required to hire minorities/disabled. For me this was the state.
Be yourself.
Be honest. But, don't give away too much. This is hard but with practice you'll get it.
Last two very important cause this is where you will spend a lot of your time and if there is one thing I have learned is faking just makes you stress out way too much, its already stressful just working.
Have a sense of humor about it.
Be confident. I know we analyze a lot and that leads to correcting/doubting what we said or look at it in a different light. Just go with what you said at first. This one is hard for me, but confidence is really important.
If you can't answer a question or just don't know say so or ask for clarification, don't BS an answer.
Don't worry about eye contact or any of that social stuff. Really it will just make you worse. Just act normally, answer their questions, remember to smile if you can and shake their hand if that's not too much for you.
Keep going to interviews eventually someone will hire you. |
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irikarah
Blue Jay
Joined: Aug 25, 2008
Age: 28
Posts: 95
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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| joku_muko wrote: | Be yourself.
Be honest. But, don't give away too much. This is hard but with practice you'll get it. |
Ditto, and I can't stress either of these enough. I typically do well in interviews because I make an extra effort to appear casual, yet intelligent and articulate, even if I'm a mess of nerves. One thing I find that helps is to not build yourself up about it too much. I usually think to myself, "If I get it, great, and if I don't, that's OK too."
That said, I've been out-of-practice and recently botched an interview because I was too honest and too unfocused. When asked whether I was a glass half empty or glass half full person, I replied with something stupid like, "I guess I would say I'm a glass half empty person who's always trying to fill the glass." When asked why I left my previous job, I should've just said that I decided to go back to school (which is true), but left out the problems I had with my micromanaging, overbearing boss.
So, be casual, but not too casual, be honest, but not too honest, and try to give responses that highlight what you can bring to the company, rather than what you expect to gain from it. |
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Krickey
Hummingbird
Joined: May 29, 2008
Age: 20
Posts: 21
Location: South Florida
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| Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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I just got back from a real job interview (at Best Buy, got the offer as well) and the first guy I talked to said I seemed nervous, but I didn't feel that way.
The best way I've learned to prepare after all my failings with interviews is to talk to yourself. Because only crazy people talk to themselves and stores seem to like to hire crazy people.
Ok maybe not but talking out loud does help. If you can hear your own voice, you can imagine what it sounds to someone else and learn how to speak in a confident tone even if you aren't really confident.
It is OK to take a moment to think about the question they have asked you. You don't have to be the quickest person, sometimes faster isn't always better. Really, just practice until you feel like you actually deserve the job. |
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Ticker
Come to the Dark Side; we have cookies...
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 2406
Location: Cage Free at the moment
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| Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| joku_muko wrote: | Apply at places that are required to hire minorities/disabled. For me this was the state.
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Check your state's website thoroughly as some states have a regulation where if you submit this special disability preference form they are required by state to give you the job if you are the only disabled person that applies unless you are exceedingly bad like a druggie or something. Now the preference thing is assuming you have a professional diagnosis of Aspergers (or something else) as self diagnosing gets you nowhere with federal or state programs for obvious reasons.
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I'm sweet on the outside and rotten within... |
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