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Why the job interviewing process sucks...

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
They taught this in nursing school. I never received any though ...
Guess I'm out of touch and I expect a follow up especially in a few cases where I asked specifically for references.

On another note I interviewed someone and felt like it was going well .a good candidate. After the interview I was show the applicants lengthy criminal record .overall the interview process is flawed as the posts in this thread show. Many jobs are posted but earmarked or there is a political fix so maybe being yourself and not feeling constraints of norms or whatever is the way to go.

After college I had an interview that I thought was going well until I was Flummoxed by a question about how I deal with arguments with my roommate. Clearly felt I couldn't be honest. Didn't get that job.
 
I've conducted a few interviews and over the last 5 to 6 years I've noticed that post interview thank you notes are a thing of the past.

I have received a few (maybe around 10%, if that). The thing is, my decision was already made by the time I got the (email) note. Their resume went into one of three piles (yes, maybe, no) when I got back to my desk after their interview. My final decision was usually made within an hour of the last interview. I found that my coworkers were similarly expedient.

I also noticed that it commonly wasn't the best candidates sending the notes, it was the ones who knew they were "punching up" by applying for the job and were looking for some way to ingratiate themselves with me. (Or the guy who bombed the technical portion of the interview and decided to aggressively insist on a second chance)
 
Many jobs are posted but earmarked or there is a political fix so maybe being yourself and not feeling constraints of norms or whatever is the way to go.

I've noticed that even internal positions at my company are advertised well beyond the scope of qualified applicants. If I wasn't aware of who those internal positions were actually targeting, I'd definitely think the fix was in. Maybe a common HR practice is to set some publication requirements for job openings? There could even be some legal regulations regarding that. I know that job openings for political appointees to the federal government have to be published, despite the fact that they're appointed positions.
 
I’ve interviewed and hired quite a few folks during a 7-8 yr period of my career (mid-high level, some to very technical positions). Here’s a few things I learned from the process:
- being yourself > selling yourself. If you get the job by over-selling, you risk being perceived as a phony by your new peers.
- Have someone edit your resume. Poor writing skills, misspellings and typos are way more evident in resumes than I thought
- almost no new hires have the exact skills needed. If you have reasonable background, ask if the group you’re being considered for can either train or work with you to bring you up to speed. This question shows you know you’re not a perfect fit (humility), but some willingness/confidence to get there.
- If it’s clear you’re not a fit, stay calm. I’ve sent many resumes of candidates we didn’t hire, with positive notes from the interview, to business partners and even competitors. I’ve also interviewed/ hired “rejects” sent my way from other companies.

To all those looking, hang in there and good hunting.


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Wow. Just wow. Hearing that story makes me want to turn my phone on and record the entire interview. While the recording may not be admissible in court, it sure could get someone fired if it surfaced to the right people, especially if it carried the threat of being released to the press. In fact, I think I'm going to do that. There are just too many dirty, crooked bigots in the world today. Sorry for the negative perspective but I'm becoming an angry person in my old age.

They've got those little zip drive recorders that one can use to record lectures in college classes rather than try and write down notes. Supposed to be really good at picking up voices, downloadable to your computer via a USB port.
As has been said, probably not admissible in court (maybe even illegal) but imagine the brown spot after such an interview and you pull this thing out of your pocket. lol
 
Truly one of life situations you would never expect and therefore are not prepared to respond with a smile and a go f yourself.

I've conducted a few interviews and over the last 5 to 6 years I've noticed that post interview thank you notes are a thing if the past.

Recent interviews for a position about 6 months ago. Maybe 6 interviews .no thank you note / email .I ended up emailing a candidate we liked asking for references. We had someone schedule an interview and just not show up.

Obviously, in a video or phone interview a thank you note is problematic at best. BUT, for every in person interview I do, they get a handwritten note BEFORE I leave the building. Every time.

I figure it works to my benefit to do so, because not everyone does it. Maybe they will send an email. But what would you rather receive? Handwritten on decent card stock or an impersonal email that you might scan? No brainer in my opinion.
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
Truly unbelievable that she could be so..... Evil, for lack of a better word. Wow. I will go to my job tomorrow with a much more appreciative attitude.
This country has always had a problem with race. For a while, it had to crawl underground because it was socially unacceptable. That started to change about nine years ago, and has been getting worse.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Interviewing is hard ... on both sides.

Look at pro sports drafting. Multi-million dollar companies hire a team of highly skilled talent assessors whose only job is deciding which candidate to pick ... and spend months watching the candidates perform “on the job” before they pick ... and yet pro sports are rife with “draft day busts”.

Now imagine all they get before picking is a 20 minute chat and a glance at a reume ...
 
Be honest, be genuine, and be persistent. The 3 best words of advice I can give a job seeker if you want the job.

It once took me three weeks - no kidding! - after getting hired to actually start working. Persistence pays! lol
 
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Another big frustration in the job-hunting process is supposedly well-meaning friends and family who say ...
"Why don't you just get a job, ANY JOB, while you wait for the right one to come along?"

And they say this in the same tone of voice, the same frame of mind, as if ...
"Why don't you just go to the library and check out a book, ANY BOOK?"

As if there are thousands of jobs sitting on the shelf, and all I have to do is pick one, and they will automatically give it to me just for asking.

Frankly, I think this is a great way to run the employment marketplace ... too bad that someone forgot to tell the employers.

TBT, I have gotten so desperate for work that there were times I applied to 7-Eleven, McDonald's, gas station pump-jockey, janitorial positions ... and even they turned me down.
 
Government or union contract regs may require an employer post a position...even when everyone knows it is going to a preselected internal candidate. It happens!

I've seen this happen at my current job. Posting the position is required but usually the person hired knew the boss from a former job or the like and had already been promised the position.

The honesty thing is tricky. I've had it backfire but now and then it has paid off. An example: Many years ago, I was unfairly fired and desperately needed to find a new job quickly. On my first interview I was asked why I left the last job. Well, I started to tell the whole truthful story in an attempt to plead my case, but the interviewer/boss interrupted me and said, 'You don't have to tell me about those [expletive]. I know all about them.' Turns out he had done business with them before. We bonded about that and I got the job. Whew!
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member

I tried to find a clip of his advice about how many many resumes you have to send out, how many interviews you have to sit through, before you have any success, but found this instead. (If anyone is interested, his thoughts on that can be found on his most recent appearance on the Jocko Podcast.)
 
You know what I looked for every time I was hiring? Competence and Passion. Wanted folks who could do the job well, but also wanted workers who wanted to do the work and who would enjoy it.

Mac
 
I don't think I would get hired
Me, neither ... there were too many points on that list where I didn't even understand the question, let alone how to answer it.

I know a lot of people that worked for Amazon ... notice that their employment is in the past tense.

These were all fulfillment production workers ... it was their job to take items from the shelf in the warehouse and put them into boxes to be sent out.

Amazon sets some brutal quotas. They must hit the ground running as soon as they clock in and keep cranking it out at a feverish pitch until the end of their shift. 10-hour days were common. Even more when during Holiday seasons.

Everybody that worked there complained about aching backs, sore feet, and lots of cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

They were constantly being graded and measured, and even those that hit the quotas were constantly pushed to go faster and produce more.

Burnout was quick ... I only know one person who lasted just over a year there, most people lasted just a little over 6 months before they quit. And many of those that quit had no other job lined up, they just couldn't take it anymore. And I heard there were lots of people that quit before they even got their first paycheck.

I never bothered to apply, even when I was desperate for employment.
I know that I wouldn't last very long in a place like that.
 
Tell me about the one thing you did in the workplace that had the biggest impact on someone else... is a question I used to ask. Answers were revealing.
 
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