How to get a job (or not)

Good work Hobbs!! :clap:
 
Somehow I have a gut feeling that I didn't aced the interview for my job transfer bid. Is there a way for an introvert who has little experience in interviews to ace one? Especially since I want to improve my economic situation and get a better job than the one I'm currently in.
 
Somehow I have a gut feeling that I didn't aced the interview for my job transfer bid. Is there a way for an introvert who has little experience in interviews to ace one? Especially since I want to improve my economic situation and get a better job than the one I'm currently in.

Being an introvert is not equal to social ineptitude. Regardless, maintaining careful eye contact when addressing the interviewer or being addressed by them is always good. Don't stare at the floor or the ceiling, even during the quiet moments. Keep your eyes at about sitting level.

Always have at least three relevant questions you can ask throughout the duration of the interview. Be candid. It feels like a show but for a lot of places there is room for having an actual conversation, so expressing interest in what they're saying and asking questions about it shows you're informed about the position. I work as a freelancer but my best paying gig came from correcting the interviewer on something listed on the job profile. If your understanding of a position ends at the cookie-cutter job description, then it'll be difficult to express legitimate interest.

Dress modestly. Don't arrive in a tuxedo but don't arrive in gangster clothes either. Something that isn't baggy or too tight and looks presentable for most, if not all, settings. You don't need a suit for most interviews, nor do you really need a tie (though you can't go wrong with it if it fits properly). Casual work wear (aka a dress shirt, khakis, business belt) suits this well.

Be friendly to everyone you interact with between you stepping through the door and leaving. The secretary, the passing employee, the other interviewers. They all matter. Be kind.

It's okay to say "uh" and "uhm" while answering questions, but not okay to start off an answer with repeated "uhs". Simply say, "give me a moment to think about that," if you don't have an understandable answer yet.

Anything more wanted?
 
Somehow I have a gut feeling that I didn't aced the interview for my job transfer bid. Is there a way for an introvert who has little experience in interviews to ace one? Especially since I want to improve my economic situation and get a better job than the one I'm currently in.

Do a lot of interviews.

At this point they're kind of boring and I've got pretty good canned answers to all the typical questions. If I get asked questions I don't like I just ignore them other than to lead into a talk about something I think is more interesting.
 
Somehow I have a gut feeling that I didn't aced the interview for my job transfer bid. Is there a way for an introvert who has little experience in interviews to ace one? Especially since I want to improve my economic situation and get a better job than the one I'm currently in.

The only way you're truly going to know for sure how to improve is if you call the employer and inquire about how the interview went and how you can improve going forward. It also looks really good to the company as it shows persistence, enthusiasm and a strong desire for self-improvement, all of which are strong skills for pretty much any job.
 
Somehow I have a gut feeling that I didn't aced the interview for my job transfer bid. Is there a way for an introvert who has little experience in interviews to ace one? Especially since I want to improve my economic situation and get a better job than the one I'm currently in.

Do you have any friends/relatives/colleagues/etc who have been in several hiring interviews (particularly as an interviewer rather than an interviewee)? Having a few practice sessions with them (they could adopt several styles of interviewing) where they can afterward give specific feedback to you would probably help you a lot. It is part of the preparation for that most important job interview of all, presidential debates. Also, it would reduce the nervous factor - "I just had a practice interview where the interviewer started jumping up and down on their desk and mocking me. This one couldn't possibly be that bad."

Heck, I think I just came up with a new business idea. :think:
 
The only way you're truly going to know for sure how to improve is if you call the employer and inquire about how the interview went and how you can improve going forward. It also looks really good to the company as it shows persistence, enthusiasm and a strong desire for self-improvement, all of which are strong skills for pretty much any job.

You probably won't get anywhere with this, HR tends to strongly discourage giving any worthwhile feedback about applicant performance as there's mostly downside to the employer from sharing.

Probably get more by submitting whatever your local equivalent of a FOIP request is for all the info the company has on you.
 
You probably won't get anywhere with this, HR tends to strongly discourage giving any worthwhile feedback about applicant performance as there's mostly downside to the employer from sharing.

Probably get more by submitting whatever your local equivalent of a FOIP request is for all the info the company has on you.

I imagine it depends on how the company in question functions. More 'homely' interviewing processes tend to be done by people you might end up working with on a daily basis if you get the job and I figure they'd be more willing to provide critique. If everything gets done through a politically correct HR department then yeah, you'll probably get nowhere in particular.
 
I almost never tell anybody why I rejected them, and it has nothing to do with political correctness.
 
Yeah, for my job openings, the applicant calling to inquire about the status of the process gets told it's in progress, and approximately when we anticipate making an offer to a candidate, and no more than that. I don't mind a single followup call/email - it helps very slightly if at all. The second or third ones are negative marks. And probably for the same reasons as Downtown, I would not give a candidate feedback about the interview or in general, it's simply "the other candidate was a better overall fit for the position" and thanks for your time.
 
I almost never tell anybody why I rejected them, and it has nothing to do with political correctness.

Yeah, for my job openings, the applicant calling to inquire about the status of the process gets told it's in progress, and approximately when we anticipate making an offer to a candidate, and no more than that. I don't mind a single followup call/email - it helps very slightly if at all. The second or third ones are negative marks. And probably for the same reasons as Downtown, I would not give a candidate feedback about the interview or in general, it's simply "the other candidate was a better overall fit for the position" and thanks for your time.

Is there a particular reason for this? My only experience with being an interviewer was for a charity who needed a more professional writing team for orphan case studies and I told everyone why they weren't accepted because it seemed like the right thing to do.
 
Opens them up to potential liability.

Or if you want to be optimistic about HR's results, you can assume that interviews have useful predictive value to job performance - it then follows that giving applicants any information which will improve their interview performance (without affecting job performance) will worsen HR's ability to pick good candidates from interviews.

Optimally HR should stick to questions that it's impossible to improve your answer to without improving your job performance.
 
Yup, liability is the biggest one. I also don't want to argue with anybody over the phone, which has happened before.

Also, not every hiring decision is totally rational. You want to be the guy who calls up an applicant that he isn't getting the job because the manager would rather get a beer with the other guy?
 
Also, not every hiring decision is totally rational. You want to be the guy who calls up an applicant that he isn't getting the job because the manager would rather get a beer with the other guy?

Sure, why not?
 
CivGen, I wouldn't worry about trying to "ace" an interview. In my experience, both from being interviewed countless times and from being the one doing the interviewing, it is nearly impossible because you could answer the same questions in exactly the same way with different interviewers and they will rate your performance differently. It's very subjective.

There are a couple things that will help: use examples when answering questions (don't just say, "yes I can do that", but tell her/him/them of a time when you did something similar or the same), and ask questions - the second means you have to learn some about the place you want the job at (this is not always applicable of course...)

Other than that, just be yourself.

Us introverts don't like selling ourselves, which can be absolute death in an interview, especially if you're being interviewed by extroverts (and if you're being interviewed in the US, which promotes self-promotion). Try not to see it as selling yourself, just state examples of what you've done.
 
Is there a particular reason for this? My only experience with being an interviewer was for a charity who needed a more professional writing team for orphan case studies and I told everyone why they weren't accepted because it seemed like the right thing to do.

For me (aside from my agreement with downtown, again) it's because there's very little upside to me (and them) and a lot of downside. Either I'm telling them about something they can't fix (personality, "vibe", attitude, etc), or weakness in technical qualifications that likely won't apply to a future interview anyway, or I'm telling them about something they can fix and if they were a better candidate they probably should've before they walked in my door (being late or way too early to the interview, being all smiles to me but curt to the receptionist, not being informed about what the company is about, etc). So either I like the guy and am bumming him out telling him something that does him no good, or I (probably) don't like the guy and can't be arsed.
 
Dress modestly. Don't arrive in a tuxedo but don't arrive in gangster clothes either. Something that isn't baggy or too tight and looks presentable for most, if not all, settings. You don't need a suit for most interviews, nor do you really need a tie (though you can't go wrong with it if it fits properly). Casual work wear (aka a dress shirt, khakis, business belt) suits this well.
Would I need to wear a tie? Obviously I don't want to arrive in my current work uniform.

Anything more wanted?
How would I tackle the question "Why do you want this job?". Obviously my mind is going "I want more money, more hours, benifits, and to get out of the job I do not like that's not utilizing my skillset".
 
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