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So my interview yesterday - ehh.
I surprised many by being in my shiny suit. Someone described it as sharkskin, and I guess that's right. Way to shiny for me. So, that may just end up in the back of the closet for a bit. It seems more like a party suit than an interview suit, but my other suit is in Dallas, awaiting other opportunities.
I guess I should have known stars weren't fully aligned when the elevators weren't working right, and we got stuck two floors lower than where I was supposed to be. We were released from the chamber, and I had to walk up the to flights, leaving me a bit winded for the meeting.
For some other reason my socks and the slack seemed also to be having a static cling battle.
The other problem was the interview itself. I had sort of steeled myself to talk about the needs of the job, and what I wanted to do. I knew the challenges and I knew my talents and what Do for it. I also had the advantage of knowing the two interviewers. One I had worked with since I had started with the company, almost six years ago, the other had been an associate under my charge at one time.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that they are both familiar with my background, they are very unfamiliar with the interviewing process, and they played it safe - very safe, and pulled out the HR approved booklets. The booklets are generic questions provided by an outside company, and every question starts with "tell us about a time". The questions are professionally designed to try to get the interviewee to give specific examples of behaviors.
It's also screamingly generic, and if your like me, and you sit there and give off the first bad example that comes to your mind, you can really sink yourself. It's a generic, standardized test that's designed to keep the company away from asking inappropriate questions, but I feel it also keeps you from really getting to know a candidate. Personally, I don't use it, since it's devoid of personality.
So my two interviewers sadly don't get away from the book, no follow ups, no digging, nothing off-book. I have a little time to make my case in a basic "Why would you be the best candidate?" question at the end, but that's just fluff, and I know they will put more weight on the "star" system that goes along with the booklet the questions they read off.
I don't think I fully sunk myself, but I didn't help myself either. It's like taking a standardized test when you were preparing for the essay. Oh well.
Of course when you come out o the room, and everyone in the cube farm (since it's only 4 feet high) sees you in your shiny suit, they all know you interviewd. You get some questions. I wish I could have dodged them. I did a coupe of things, then ran off to go change clothes as soon as possible. Everything back to normal.
I surprised many by being in my shiny suit. Someone described it as sharkskin, and I guess that's right. Way to shiny for me. So, that may just end up in the back of the closet for a bit. It seems more like a party suit than an interview suit, but my other suit is in Dallas, awaiting other opportunities.
I guess I should have known stars weren't fully aligned when the elevators weren't working right, and we got stuck two floors lower than where I was supposed to be. We were released from the chamber, and I had to walk up the to flights, leaving me a bit winded for the meeting.
For some other reason my socks and the slack seemed also to be having a static cling battle.
The other problem was the interview itself. I had sort of steeled myself to talk about the needs of the job, and what I wanted to do. I knew the challenges and I knew my talents and what Do for it. I also had the advantage of knowing the two interviewers. One I had worked with since I had started with the company, almost six years ago, the other had been an associate under my charge at one time.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that they are both familiar with my background, they are very unfamiliar with the interviewing process, and they played it safe - very safe, and pulled out the HR approved booklets. The booklets are generic questions provided by an outside company, and every question starts with "tell us about a time". The questions are professionally designed to try to get the interviewee to give specific examples of behaviors.
It's also screamingly generic, and if your like me, and you sit there and give off the first bad example that comes to your mind, you can really sink yourself. It's a generic, standardized test that's designed to keep the company away from asking inappropriate questions, but I feel it also keeps you from really getting to know a candidate. Personally, I don't use it, since it's devoid of personality.
So my two interviewers sadly don't get away from the book, no follow ups, no digging, nothing off-book. I have a little time to make my case in a basic "Why would you be the best candidate?" question at the end, but that's just fluff, and I know they will put more weight on the "star" system that goes along with the booklet the questions they read off.
I don't think I fully sunk myself, but I didn't help myself either. It's like taking a standardized test when you were preparing for the essay. Oh well.
Of course when you come out o the room, and everyone in the cube farm (since it's only 4 feet high) sees you in your shiny suit, they all know you interviewd. You get some questions. I wish I could have dodged them. I did a coupe of things, then ran off to go change clothes as soon as possible. Everything back to normal.
