LadySkinsFan Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 The one I don't agree with is salary. I recently interviewed for a position at a gov't consulting firm that wanted to know my desired salary before I knew what office/client I'd be working out of as well their expectations of me (we work 40-50 hrs, weekends expected, etc.). I was completely thrown off and they said their company policy is not to interview before they've been given a desired salary (mind you not a range). I mean obviously my salary concerns would be different if I have to work out of MD, DC or right down the street same as if I was expected to work on proposals and stuff during weekends or it was just a helpful activity.I'm not telling you my salary range until you tell me what is expected of me for this type of position more than just the general work blurb on a website. Wow, I'd hesitate to just give a salary requirement until I knew the parameters of the job. If expections are anything over 40 hours per week, I adjust accordingly, also the location is important too. If faced with your situation, I'd do a worst case scenario. I'd also be very leery about working for this company. But that's just me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Good tips. Had two job interviews the last 5 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalig24 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Oh I had a boneheaded moment once while I was interviewing for a job. The interviewer asked me to list my pet peeves, right off the bat I said tardiness; I can not stand people who are always late. Well I'm sure that normally would have not been a problem if the interviewer herself had not be 30 minutes late. I felt like an ass as soon as those words left my lips. I wasnt even aiming that statement at her, at times I tend to be a little too truthful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Oh I had a boneheaded moment once while I was interviewing for a job. The interviewer asked me to list my pet peeves, right off the bat I said tardiness; I can not stand people who are always late. Well I'm sure that normally would have not been a problem if the interviewer herself had not be 30 minutes late. I felt like an ass as soon as those words left my lips. I wasnt even aiming that statement at her, at times I tend to be a little too truthful It would have been much worse if you were the one that was 30 minutes late, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalig24 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 It would have been much worse if you were the one that was 30 minutes late, lol Haha, true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Good tips. And I'm glad to know I did all of these things at my last interview. Including dressing well. About what percent of people do you interview do you consider "hireable"? Are there more bad interviews out there than good? Do you let out a sigh of relief when you find someone normal or is it more of a tough choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Zoony, very kind of you to take the time to do this, although I will say, if anyone is actually committing the kind of errors in most of that list, they do not deserve the time and kindness you've put forth +1 That's just common sense stuff. What industry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 All good ones and good feedback from the posters here. The one that always grinded my nerves was #14 not having a pen. How do you go out to look for a job without a pen ? I NEVER hired anyone that had to ask for a pen. Flat out stupid of them. Another one to add for me, DO NOT bring family, kids, or friends to the interview that will be seen. To me that screams potentially unreliable. Get a sitter, or tell your friends/family you will call them when you are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 My pet peeves. Don't put years and no months on your resume...i.e. 2005-2007 Sandwich Architect - Subway. WTF does that mean? 12/2005 - 1/2007? 1/2005 - 12/2007? It immediately raises a red flag to me. It's not uncommon. For the IT guys, don't put 500 technologies in the top of your resume. Skills: Windows Vista, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 7, Linux, Unix, Ubuntu, AIX, Solaris, Red Hat, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, MS DOS, etc, etc, etc. What does that mean? If you have a skills section, make sure your work experience shows where you did any of that. If you are asking for a ridiculous amount of money, don't say it's because "I am worth that". Tell me WHY? Know your audience. If you are applying for a job at McDonalds, don't ask for $30 an hour. You aren't going to get it if your basis is that of being a Sandwich Architect at Subway. If you know I want to hire you, don't make me put on my knee pads and chap stick to close the deal. Even if I do hire you, I will remember what you did to me. If you worked at a job for 5 years, try to include more than 3 sentences about what you did at that job, but don't make it 3 pages. I see more resumes that say NOTHING about what a person actually did than I can count. If you are asking for 100K a year and your resume says Answered telephones, got coffee for manager, and kept calendar up to date you might need a professional resume writer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonsieRB34 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 "10. Write a cover letter. Use proper grammer" ah, the irony There's a difference between a spelling and grammar error. The irony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVAbrendan Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Does anybody have any advice on job hunting tips in another state? For instance, I'd like to live in San Diego at some point - I am in Virginia now. I've heard a few tips like: - Get a PO Box in that city to use as your address on your resume -Get a free google voice number with the san diego area code I figure it's tough to even get your foot in the door once a potential employer sees that you live 2000 miles away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Does anybody have any advice on job hunting tips in another state?For instance, I'd like to live in San Diego at some point - I am in Virginia now. I've heard a few tips like: - Get a PO Box in that city to use as your address on your resume -Get a free google voice number with the san diego area code I figure it's tough to even get your foot in the door once a potential employer sees that you live 2000 miles away... Have a skill that someone in another state needs/want would be a good starting point. If you are a sandwich architect, that might not be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 3. When asked what your salary requirements or expectations are, do not dodge the question. Answer it. Don't be cute. If you truly are open to any offer, tell them your salary history and that you would consider any offer. This one is a bit tough. As far as a negotiating tactic, a) you don't want to give your number first and b)you don't want to cap yourself before you even sell yourself. Another angle is that it's like being a contractor, you can't give your bid until you get the details about the job and what is expected. What's it going to cost to do this job right? I try to get the employer to give me their range first, if it's acceptable then we keep moving forward. I also don't like that they ask you to list your salary history because it's a number without context. I've taken jobs because the market was tight and we moved to a different area to be closer to family, in a "pure" market my number would've been higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 +1 That's just common sense stuff. What industry? Over the last 5 years I've hired positions ranging from $8 / hour to $75k annual + bonus. That's the purpose of this thread. This is not the stuff you read in fancy interviewing books. Based on my experience, it should be. I would say well over 80% of candidates make one of the mistakes above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I only ever did technical job interviews or management and HR typically weeded out the losers I guess. Maybe they do serve a purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnhay Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I'm so bad about the self-reflection part of interviews. I know it's necessary, but does the average person put that much thought into everything they've done (outside of the necessity of the interview environment)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjinhan Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Here is a questionCompany X makes an offer. You reject twice. Finally they come through with the money you want. You accept and have a start date in 6 weeks. Day after commiting to Company X, company Y, whom you really want to work for, calls you. Potentially better pay, better commute. What do you do? (and yes I am lucky, I work such a niche jobs I get constant calls) dude I would be really careful. I am currently working as a production engineer (Upstream in Oil and Gas) but I have a "niche" speciality so I get calls all the time as well. If your field as anything like mine as in terms of being a "niche position", the circle of friends/colleagues are very small so you do not want to "dirty" your name if you can avoid it. Now have you started working at company X? If you haven't started then maybe you can explain yourself to company X after you accept the offer to Company Y. I would be very careful on how you deal with your current situation. ---------- Post added April-23rd-2011 at 10:26 AM ---------- This one is a bit tough. As far as a negotiating tactic, a) you don't want to give your number first and b)you don't want to cap yourself before you even sell yourself. Another angle is that it's like being a contractor, you can't give your bid until you get the details about the job and what is expected. What's it going to cost to do this job right?I try to get the employer to give me their range first, if it's acceptable then we keep moving forward. I also don't like that they ask you to list your salary history because it's a number without context. I've taken jobs because the market was tight and we moved to a different area to be closer to family, in a "pure" market my number would've been higher. I was put into the similar situation when I was interviewing for my current job. They asked me for a number so I was just straight up honest with them about not knowing what my true "market" value was but I expected them who probably has more information than me to give me a market offer regardless of what I say in the interview. I told them that I KNOW I am getting underpaid right now and I had reasons why I was in that particular company for personal reasons but I gave a them a pretty detailed information.. I was making $88k but I am looking for minimum of $105k range for me to find it acceptable. However I desired range is in around $115k. The HR guy commented that $115k is probably a good number but he will let the managers know. They came back with an offer giving me what I wanted so I accepted but who knows maybe I could have asked for more. If you are interviewing for any decent company, my thinking is that they will WANT to pay you the market value or otherwise more than likely that employee will end up leaving them to get paid a market value from someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I've seen almost as bad. Wish I were kidding. I saw one once...midnightcowgurl@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tastes Like Chicken Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 If they ask you for your biggest weakness, don't say "I am a workaholic and it sometimes tends to get in the way of my own awesomeness." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEED3D Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Great tips Zoony. It amazes me how clueless and unprepared so many people are when showing up for job interviews. I've found what works best for me is to act extremely enthusiastic about the job and sell yourself on how ambitious and hardworking you are. Employers want those that are excited and ready to dedicate themselves to the company/agency! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubbs Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 If they ask you for your biggest weakness, don't say "I am a workaholic and it sometimes tends to get in the way of my own awesomeness." But it's been such a struggle for me to overcome.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I have a question... I think the weakest part of my interviews are always right at the end when the interviewer wants me to ask questions... What is the best way to go through this part? I don't quite know what the interviewers would like best. I try to be genuine as a rule, but a lot of times I just can't think of anything to ask cause I generally do a good bit of research into the organization anyway, and general questions about work environment seem to be dead ends. How important is this part? Should I have some scripted Q's ahead of time? Should I just ask about their specific experience and try to get the interviewer to talk about himself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I have a question... I think the weakest part of my interviews are always right at the end when the interviewer wants me to ask questions... What is the best way to go through this part? I don't quite know what the interviewers would like best. I try to be genuine as a rule, but a lot of times I just can't think of anything to ask cause I generally do a good bit of research into the organization anyway, and general questions about work environment seem to be dead ends. How important is this part? Should I have some scripted Q's ahead of time? Should I just ask about their specific experience and try to get the interviewer to talk about himself? If it wasn't covered in the interview, I always ask what their goal for this position is. I want to know if they want someone who's going to grow and move up in the organization. I sometimes also ask what their favorite part of their job is. I feel like that can be really telling of organizational culture. You could also ask (if it hasn't already come up) why they're hiring someone. This could also be telling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 If they ask you for your biggest weakness, don't say "I am a workaholic and it sometimes tends to get in the way of my own awesomeness." To that question, I usually answer, "I get quite impatient with the fact that usually the entire workplace is so much less intelligent than I am, and can't keep up with me. So my goal is to become more patient" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizz Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 If the interview is going well and I feel like I have a good rep ore, on the biggest weakness question, I answer kryptonite. You want Superman and that's my biggest weakness. It usually gets a laugh and a "good answer" Everyone knows your not going to really answer truthful on the question, so this shows you have a sense of humor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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