Job Hunting Advice!
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@Copa – I’ve had four interviews in the last week and a half – some I’ve done on my lunch break and one of them I had a “chiropractor appointment.” Which I totally did, later in the day, so sorta the truth.
I also agree that the cable guy/furnace repair/internet fix appointment has worked for me too. Good luck!
Relevant to your interests Copa: https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2017/feb/09/top-10-cv-buzzwords-how-to-avoid-them
It’s scheduled for 1, so I’m going to “have a doctor’s appointment.” I do have a legitimate, recurring medical issue right now that will make people uncomfortable to hear about if I am asked what the appointment is for. I seriously just hate lying.
Most people don’t bother with lunch breaks where I am — we just stay at our desks for 10 sad hours per day since we’re all so busy — so if I disappear for an hour and a half-ish for lunch, it’d be super out of character. I also have an unimportant conference call at 1 that shouldn’t be difficult to get out of if I give the lead a heads up and an apology, but I’d need to have a reason that’s more legit than hanger.
Even though this job isn’t what I’ve been primarily targeting, I’m actually super excited for the possibility of it. So, fingers crossed!
So as I prep for Wednesday, I thought I’d ask: what’s the most difficult/surprising question you’ve been asked in an interview? I’m trying to prepare answers to likely questions, and hearing what you guys have been asked before may help me think of some ideas in case I’m asked anything I’m not expecting. 🙂
The company is similar to the one I left last spring, and even though I got that job, my final interview there with the executive director was just TERRIBLE.
In my interview with the HR director, she asked me about my personal development plan and what next I wanted to work on. I had absolutely no idea…
Ummm… I’d be interested in hearing people’s responses too, as I have interviews this week and am doing the same thing. I had a guy get really aggressive with asking me the NAMES of the clients I work with at a certain company, and it was weird. But thank god no off the wall questions like what would I do on a reality show.
Not a question that I encountered, but the weirdest question my sister ever had in an interview was something like “What are five words that describe you that start with the letter D?”.
That is so Dumb.
Dertermined, Dedicated, Detail-oriented, Decisive, oh and I’m kind of a Dick.
The second most surprising question I’ve ever been asked was back in November: What types of decisions do you struggle with the most in the workplace? In hindsight, this one isn’t that “out there” but in the moment I Just couldn’t think of a good (or even genuine) answer in the moment, and naturally an honest and acceptable answer dawned on me as I was going home.
The most surprising question went something along the lines of this:
Executive director: How long have you been at your company?
Me: About 2.5 years.
Executive director: So you’re a job hopper. Why should I hire a job hopper? Why would I hire you if you’re only going to stay 2.5 years?He also asked me if I knew why his office was decorated with zebras. I said no. It’s because he’s a Big 10 football ref, and he gave me a hard time for not putting two and two together.
This is with the director at the organization I left last spring. He liked to intimidate people during interviews to see how they react. Everyone at the company had horror stories from their interviews. Since Wednesday’s company is similar, I’m a little nervous it’ll be another similar personality and experience. I’m super excited about this job, moreso than the two recent interviews I’ve had, so it just feels like there’s more on the line this time.
Also, if asked why I left the job last spring, there are two truthful reasons:
– I wanted more responsibility and broader experience, and I just wasn’t going to get that if I stayed put.
– I was concerned about the company’s longer-term future and started seriously job hunting when they announced they were considering breaking the lease on our office space and having everyone work remotely.Is the second reason inappropriate to bring up in an interview when the companies do similar work and are a part of the same industry? (It’s legal-related, and it’s no secret that the legal industry has changed, but I don’t want them to worry that I’d leave quickly.) Both reasons combined are the genuine reasons I left, but I likely would’ve stayed longer if I hadn’t been worried about the company and my future there. (I’ve kept in touch with my supervisor and asked if anything ever came of that and he said no, that the whole breaking the lease thing was yet another scare tactic by the same director who liked to intimidate interviewees. Add that guy to the list of reasons I left.)
I think if someone is actually trying to intimidate you just to put you on the spot and observe your behavior, it’s less important what you actually say, and more important that you stay pleasant and calm and unrattled. Like if I were at a client, and someone asked me to guess why they had zebras everywhere, I’d probably just smile, pause, think about it for a sec, see if anything came to mind that was related to their products or advertising, and then lean forward and say, still with a smile, “I’m not sure, but it’s fun! Tell me more about it.”
Re: your two reasons for leaving, I think both are ok. With the first one, of course you’ll want to get more specific, in ways that relate to the job description. With the second, you could frame it as, the office seemed to be closing, there was uncertainty, and it seemed like a good time to explore what might be out there. I think maybe you could just focus on building out the first point though, may not even have to mention the second.
