Job interviews are consequence-free zones.

[Broken_Erika]

Edge Factor: 9,000

So....No-one made a DBZ reference from this post yet? Ahem...
THE EDGE FACTOR IS OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[warpus]

So, I had a job interview today. Showed up too late, which wasn't quite my fault, as there was a car crash on an intersection and my bus was stuck in traffic for almost 40 minutes, but of course employers don't care about that. I was also... well, let's say dressed inappropriately, because I had misjudged the climate of the company.

So needless to say, during the actual job interview, it was obvious very early that I wouldn't get the job. Not a big issue, as my friend works full-time and I do earn some extra money by doing commission art every now and then, so while having that extra, guaranteed income would be nice, strictly speaking, I don't need to have a job.

But I'm ranting, so back to topic. It became clear very early that that job interview is a waste of time, especially given that my résumé isn't much to be proud of either. I was already pissed because all of the preparation was for nothing, so when he asked me why I dropped out of school so early, and why I haven't done anything in the 2 years since then, instead of giving my usual talk, I just answered that I was more interested in sex and drugs at that time. So 10 minutes later, we were having sex and now I have a job LOL.

...no, that's obviously not how the story ended, but his face when I said that was delicious. I wanted to give more of those type of answers, but couldn't really think of anything in the moment.

The thing is. Minutes later, the job interview was back to normal, as if I hadn't said anything outlandish, and then in the end, he told me that he'd contact me if I get the job. Obviously, I still won't get the job, but here's the thing I realized on the way back: The moment I left that room, everything I did in there, has basically never happened. The employer might tell the story about what I said in some other place, but my name won't be attached to it. It's basically like that saying - "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas".

This may sound really childish and stupid, but I'm seriously considering sending out some applications for jobs in fields that I really don't want to get into, just to see how far I can push things, have some fun and gather experience and confidence for actual interviews while also battling my shyness in the process.

Applying to jobs you don't really want can be a great way to practice your way through the interview process!

Back in university I was in one of the biggest internship/co-op programs on the planet. Each term I'd apply to hundreds of jobs for the next term. I went through a LOT of interviews, and at first interviews really intimidated me.. but the more I went through, the more I knew what to expect, how to behave, etc. So I got in the habit of using some interviews as "test runs". I wouldn't give them answers like you did, because then it would probably get back to the university and I might make them look bad, etc. but I did use the experience to just.. practice practice practice. After my program was done and I was out of school I had gone through so many interviews, that I had a much better handle on them.

So if you're inexperienced with interviews, apply to a couple jobs you don't *really* want, and use the interview process as a self-improvement vehicle. I had a similar approach to dating when I wasn't that experienced with going on a date with a girl yet. I would seek out dates and forced myself to be less picky than usual, if I was after my dream girl or whatever. I got more dates as a result, and they allowed me to practice going through the process, and learning all the social cues and norms that go on along the way. Made me much better at dating in the end, and I met some interesting people along the way. Mind you if you do this you gotta make sure to not string the other person along just for your own self-benefit. Be honest about your intentions, but on the first date it's a crapshoot anyway so you shouldn't feel bad about going through a bunch of first dates to get a better handle on how they work and how to deal with them looking cool

 

[Birdjaguar]

If I'm an invention of your imagination, then my opinions are your opinions. I am but your fractured subconscious trying to express itself.

True, I would be arguing with myself at that point. Which basically means, it's self-reflection. That's great, I'm open to having my mind changed... by myself!

And you both are projections of my mind. If we all are just illusions or delusions of each others consciousness, it seems that the single source of all our delusional illusions would be something universal. Perhaps it is the separation that is illusory.

 

[Traitorfish]

I, for one, believe that we are all projections of the mind of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

If I'm going to be a figment of some goon's fantasy, I at least want it to be a goon I respect.

 

[Patine]

This is a classic case of a thread completely running off the rails entirely of it's opening topic...

 

[Light Cleric]

Maybe the rails were just a figment of our imaginations

 

[rah]

Well she did start the thread so I guess if someone is going to derail it, she's the appropriate person to do it.

 

[warpus]

It's very easy to type someone's name into google to see what stupid stuff they might have said online. If I was hiring I would definitely do it to try to get a sense of the applicant's personality. Being a good fit for the team can go a long way, and if you can prevent hiring an obvious online troll or racist or someone who could easily make your organization look bad.. you might as well take the 5 seconds it takes to google the applicant's name. The information is usually out there, so you might as well have a look

 

[Virote_Considon]

Some jobs and their qualifications are very different than others.

"What makes you qualified to be King?"
"My father was King, and now he's dead."

The lassie in the lake gave me the sword. I believe she would provide an excellent reference if asked.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

The lassie in the lake gave me the sword. I believe she would provide an excellent reference if asked.

Also applies to doctors, dentists, lawyers, and teachers these days. Those are the stereotypical dynasty professions over here.

*replace lassie in the lake with mom/dad and sword with tutoring/contacts.

 

[Esperr]

The first guy I ever interviewed told me halfway through that he was "tired of putting on a show for an hour just to get rejected" and that he(paraphrasing for language)"didn't care about our company or our family or environment, or had visions of grandeur about being there for twenty years, he was there just to make money, not...umm..put his mouth on my certain places". The dude was super qualified for the job, i actually appreciated the honesty and the lack of fluff.

He had worked for another firm in town that had a reputation for being a really tight ship, when I asked him about it he straight told me they just had him doing bank reconciliations and end of months(re:basically filler work that he was overqualified for) instead of blowing himself up and making it sound like it was super hardcore. I honestly really wanted to give him the job, but once I told him he would be doing bank reconciliation and inventory auditing(re:monotonous, tedious, basically double checking somebody elses work) he said he wasn't interested and left.

TLDR:Sometimes in the right situations, blatant honesty can help.

also as an aside, job interviews are 90 percent trying to be bros with whoever is interviewing you. Skills don't matter. Theres plenty of people with skills, we just wan't somebody who we can be chill with. if you were the genius exception...you wouldn't be interviewing with us.

 

[rah]

If an applicant can't keep it together/fake if for 60 minutes......Do you really want them? 99% of the time the answer is no. (sometimes it's a symptom of substance abuse)

The honesty part I can handle. (and have hired a few of the brutally honest ones)

Sometimes the most creative one are high maintenance. You just have to determine if they're worth the effort. If they're really good.....

 

[Esperr]

That was never what I was looking for though, at least in my field. Are you qualified? You literally wouldn't be here if you werent, you could not have even gotten this far. So we just want somebody we can chill with(at least in that job) and BS, and who isn't going to be a scrooge mcduck when people started busting out alcohol during busy season.

edit:Idk why auto correct changed duck to the f word. Ussually its the other way around.

 

[rah]

I've usually worked for large organizations where HR was responsible for providing 90% of the candidates, so just because they were there did not guarantee that they were qualified.

And I think I can honestly say that their "CHILL" factor never played a role in any of my hiring decisions. I hired a lot of weird people, but then that's the field. But then most that have worked for me claim that I'm not typical.

 

[Esperr]

If an applicant can't keep it together/fake if for 60 minutes......Do you really want them? 99% of the time the answer is no. (sometimes it's a symptom of substance abuse)

The honesty part I can handle. (and have hired a few of the brutally honest ones)

Sometimes the most creative one are high maintenance. You just have to determine if they're worth the effort. If they're really good.....

I've usually worked for large organizations where HR was responsible for providing 90% of the candidates, so just because they were there did not guarantee that they were qualified.

And I think I can honestly say that their "CHILL" factor never played a role in any of my hiring decisions. I hired a lot of weird people, but then that's the field. But then most that have worked for me claim that I'm not typical.

What was/is your field? This was when I worked in public accounting for KPMG(just for context, they are one of the "big 4" accounting firms that deal with openly traded company). They would get filtered through HR, and in my field, at least for what we were hiring new people for, if you have a degree and two brain cells your qualified. We just wanted people who weren't miserable to be around. Certain times of year your going to be crammed with them for 12 hours a day, or during projects. It might sound superficial, but it really makes a difference if we can all get along at least ok, or somebody is going to lose it.

edit: I don't do hiring anymore, ive long since escaped public.

 

[Yeekim]

The lassie in the lake gave me the sword. I believe she would provide an excellent reference if asked.

Needs to be said:

Oh, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you! Strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!

 

[rah]

What was/is your field?

I'm an IT Director. So I've hired a lot of nuts. Most of them were great hires.

One of the best hires was a guy I met that was doing maintenance on a gaming website. At the time he was a manager at a book store and had never written a line of code in the language that I was hiring for. He was weird but had done some really creative work on some games. He learned the coding language in a few weeks and exceeded my skills in a matter of months. (I had decades of experience in the language at the time) Interviewing to find treasures like these was always quite challenging. Their education/experience was often meaningless. I usually hired more entry level types so I could train them myself. (and they were always considerably cheaper) Most of them have gone on to quite successful careers. (yeah, every now and then I'd choose a clunker)

 

[Broken_Erika]

It's more than skills, it's a certain mindset.

 

[rah]

That's for sure.
When I shared management responsibilities of a call center, I'd hired a lot of my computer operations staff from the call reps. Much better to hire those that I was familiar with over time that I knew had the desire/drive and had demonstrated the logic skills required.
The other managers used it as a carrot for their staffs. Work hard and other career opportunities were possible. It got to the point where i'd be walking the floor and see reps with programming books open in between calls.