Job Interviews

[Sparrow]

Here are some examples of some different interview styles: http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/interview-styles.html

Today I ended up being interviewed via "The Meandering Style" I was pretty comfortable with it . Anyway, good luck on your search, keep us posted on your progress and if you need any help let me know! I love helping friends with resumes and stuff like that.

 

[Sparrow]

Job interviews are like a date you go on so that they can see if you are what they are looking for or if you are compatible with their needs. Be yourself and SHOW them your good qualities with your demeanor.

Thats a good way of thinking of it!

 

[FDG]

Lol, job interviews like a date...that's a horrible way to look at it, a job isn't a relationship.

 

[Sparrow]

But it kinda is though ! You must be on your best behavior and impress them!!!

 

[swordpath]

Tell them what they want to hear - punctual, dependable, a team player, yada yada yada. Fortunately in my case, I can say those things and not be lying.

/arrogance

 

[entropie]

Give the entp 15 minutes on a job interview and if its two people interviewing you after the time they will be interviewing themselves and asking you for a job in the end

 

[Such Irony]

But it kinda is though ! You must be on your best behavior and impress them!!!

I agree with Sparrow. With both interviews and dates, you're hoping you do well enough to get asked back. In the case of dating, you're hoping to get asked for a second date. With a job interview, you're hoping for the job offer. This is assuming you the date or the company makes a good impression on you. In some cases they don't. With both dates and job interviews a person can sense a mismatch and not wish to go out with the person again or work for the company.

 

[Spamtar]

Don't get impatient and bail out mid interview. This is what I did (indirectly) for some government job interview which was out of town and interviewed me three times with repeat interviews for the same job (since I made the trip I might have well stayed the course until the interview was over).

Don't get it set in your mind one of the interviewers don't like you and then show it that you don't like them either.

If asked a dodgy questions with a political correct answer and a less political correct answer, choose the politically correct answer. Ratting out other employees to the supervisor is usually the answer that would give you the most points even if you would never/rarely do it for real.

 

[entropie]

Yea that's good advice.

I hate this bad/good cop manner. The guy who played the bad cop I still dont like nowadays 5 years later

 

[lunalum]

Give the entp 15 minutes on a job interview and if its two people interviewing you after the time they will be interviewing themselves and asking you for a job in the end

Drat, does this mean I have to switch back already?


But really, those interviews get to me. I can sound confident and give good answers at first, but then after a while it's like the interviewer is asking the same question over and over "are you fantastic at getting things done?" and by the end it is obvious in my tone that I'm trying to convince myself of it...

Am I better off just memorizing and parroting lines in the future?

 

[GZA]

What are the best kinds of weaknesses to have in an interview? Cause obviously if your weakness is "I procrastinate and read comics in the men's room" you are probably worse off than other weaknesses, right?

 

[highlander]

What are the best kinds of weaknesses to have in an interview? Cause obviously if your weakness is "I procrastinate and read comics in the men's room" you are probably worse off than other weaknesses, right?

Usually, your weaknesses do relate to your strengths - i.e., a strength maximized can become a weakness. I actually like to ask people where they feel their talents and non-talents lie because their answers indicate at some level what kind of self awareness they have. People who give rich answers to those types of questions come across as having a higher level of maturity or emotional intelligence.

 

[OrangeAppled]

Don't waste your time working in any profession that gives credence to trivial interview questions over actual talent and ability.

This is incredibly hard to find. Most employers hire people who interview well, not people who are necessarily best suited for the job. I've worked with people who interview well & get jobs easily because they know how to talk - they yacked all day while I actually worked.

See, this is where our understanding of a good interviewer meets with some disagreement. Either a good interviewer is a very rare find, or a good interviewer is not what you claim it to be. To me, a good interviewer is one that approves of me and helps me get the job.

Agreed...a good interviewer does not use BS strategies and mind games to uncover the "truth" about you or try and throw you off in the interview as some kind of "test", and they value real skills directly related to the job at hand & seek to determine if you have them, not arbitrary standards they've they've been brainwashed into thinking are necessary for all jobs.

Sometimes I feel like employers forget that YOU are interviewing them also. They seem to assume everyone is desperate for the job & think that gives them license to be ridiculous.

I've interviewed people 3 times...once for a design intern, twice for freelance writers. I asked them directly about their work experience, their abilities & skills, & in these cases, their "styles". In all these cases, a portfolio of past work was the biggest selling point. I also wanted to see they fully comprehended what was expected, & that they felt confident they could do it. That was it. I didn't analyze their handshake or ask idiotic trick questions.

 

[Scott N Denver]

what are people's thoughts on "I care too much" as a response to "what is your greatest weakness?
In general? For F's? For NF's? For NFP's and INFP's? How about for people in technical/science/engineering positions?

 

[skylights]

^ i'd specify what you care too much about. while i totally understand what you mean, it's also kind of vague and sounds emo off the bat.

the weakness question is a hard one. be too forthcoming and you come off sounding like a lazy slob, or ridiculously anal. don't be forthcoming enough, and it's obvious you're trying to paint an ideal picture of yourself.

Astounding as this is, the Greek hazing system has made its way into professional interviews

:rolli: "astounding as this is, the author of this article is not a greek, otherwise he would realize how odd this statement sounds to anyone who actually is a greek..."

protip: don't talk about things you don't actually know about! this is true in interviews too!

 

[mmhmm]

what are people's thoughts on "I care too much" as a response to "what is your greatest weakness?
In general? For F's? For NF's? For NFP's and INFP's? How about for people in technical/science/engineering positions?

good to use an anecdote to illustrate that specific weakness.
"i overextended myself too much in when i was (your role
ie. project manager/coordinator etc.,) working on project x by
doing the following 1, 2, 3. and here were the results / consequences
from overextending: A, B, C. To avoid A, B, C happening again I would
(solution ie. delegate better (how?), prioritise better (how?)"

shows that you know what and where it went wrong. and how it affects
your desired outcomes.

 

[Such Irony]

Usually, your weaknesses do relate to your strengths - i.e., a strength maximized can become a weakness. I actually like to ask people where they feel their talents and non-talents lie because their answers indicate at some level what kind of self awareness they have. People who give rich answers to those types of questions come across as having a higher level of maturity or emotional intelligence.

This is very good advice. All too often people give replies they think the interviewer wants to hear rather than truly reflecting on their strengths or weaknesses. They might say things like "I'm too much of a perfectionist" or "I'm a workaholic." It's better to use something else as these are overrused by so many. It's good to put a positive spin on your weaknesses so in another light they could also be viewed as a strength. Also, mention how you are working on your weaknesses and progress you've made so they aren't so problematic for the prospective employer.

This is incredibly hard to find. Most employers hire people who interview well, not people who are necessarily best suited for the job. I've worked with people who interview well & get jobs easily because they know how to talk - they yacked all day while I actually worked.

So true. In some of the jobs I've had, including my current one there's a couple people I wonder how they ever got hired. They don't seem invested in the work they do, and like you said, they pass much of the time talking or doing other nonproductive activities like checking Facebook. Job interviews seem to favor the more talkative extraverted types. Sometimes people can charm their way into a position and a more low-key, less talkative introvert gets passed over even though they would be very competent in that position.

 

[ThatGirl]

They might say things like "I'm too much of a perfectionist" or "I'm a workaholic." It's better to use something else as these are overrused by so many.

Wait, but that WAS an honest answer though.

I could have worded it as, "I don't like people getting involved in my work because if I am not in a direct position to delegate their assistance I don't want to be responsible for the things they mess up or have to go back later and fix the work they did when I am perfectly capable of getting it done myself, and even had an exact plan on how to do so."

But then I would have sounded like an asshole.

And it is true, I have been working for a long time on how to not either boss the shit out of people or disregard them completely. How to integrate harmoniously with out losing efficiency.


Thought I would clarify on that.

 

[entropie]

what are people's thoughts on "I care too much" as a response to "what is your greatest weakness?
In general? For F's? For NF's? For NFP's and INFP's? How about for people in technical/science/engineering positions?

I'ld think the person is likely to blame others or the environment for a thing not working. Because he/she thinks he cares too much, means aswell that he/she thinks he/she cares enough. Imo caring about your work is mandatory if you want to invited to the interview in the first place at all.

I gladly wasnt ever asked yet the question what my greatest weakness is. I wouldnt readily now what to answer that couldnt be twisted or turned into something negative for me. Would prolly say something like "I have issues with speed limits" or any other socially accepted flat joke

 

[Kimchitasi]

what are people's thoughts on "I care too much" as a response to "what is your greatest weakness?
In general? For F's? For NF's? For NFP's and INFP's? How about for people in technical/science/engineering positions?

I will focus on my actual strengths though I may slightly exaggerate. You're selling yourself and it doesn't hurt to oversell your positive qualities. 'I care too much' isn't really a response for any job. I think I might say: 'I want to work well with my co-workers and leave drama out of work.'

As for weaknesses: When it is a serious job I want I sometimes undersell myself for fear I get hired for something I can't handle. And if it is a question I'm not prepared for I stumble. I always think through possible questions and my responses before my interview to mentally prep myself. If it is a curve ball I may tell too much about my weakness on the spot.