I had a job interview recently and to put it succinctly – I bombed at the interview. I had a great written application and had it got to the referee stage they would have talked me up I’m sure, but the actual interview – it sucked. I sucked!
Yes, I had prepared but when it came down to it, all that preparation went out the window.
I really hate the format of the we’ll ask you a question comprising at least two parts, and we’ll sit here and look at you while you answer. I inevitably forget what the question is and I forget what I know.
I wondered if I was alone in this so I did a search, and surprise surprise – it’s a thing!
Susan Cain, well-known author of Quiet – a book about introverts says:
“The modern-day interview is mostly designed to hire narcissists,” Cain says, pointing to a recent study that indicates narcissists who have overt charm, verbal fluency and a take-charge personality, do better at job interviews than modest people.
I thought about it afterwards and thought that if the interview process were different, ie more conversational, I would have done a lot better. Or if I were given the questions in more of a role play situation I would have done a lot better.
I’m not afraid of talking to people and explaining my work to them. I’m not afraid of interview panelists either, but when a job’s riding on the balance there’s more to lose isn’t there?
I’ve rehashed over the process and wish I’d done a couple of things differently, and said a whole lot more but it’s in the past now and there’s not much I can do to change the outcome.
But I know I’ve got a bit of work to do for the next time.
I think I had 4 separate interviews for my latest job – three of those were on Skype (audio) or on the phone.
But the in-person one was more of a conversation as you mention. It was a chance for use to get to know each other. I could talk about my experiences and knowledge, as well me gauge where the other guys were at (technically, professionally and ‘culture’ of the company).
The other thing that I didn’t realise (but was quite happy about when I found out later) was that I was presenting a talk to a user group a few days before the in-person interview, and a couple of the guys came along and saw me speak, field questions, and recover from a demo that didn’t initially work!
I was under pressure but it was in a situation of my own choosing, so I think it was a bit more representative of who I am (a test of both problem solving skills and character), rather than giving an answer to “What are your strengths and weaknesses”
I bet you were glad you didn’t know they were there.
s/use/us/