Job Interviewing - Do's and Don'ts

[Cool Chris]

Best job interview answer ever (not technically a job interview but I think it qualifies).

https://youtu.be/PM9iK8Gp-rk

[lordxizor]

My position at work is about to be expendable soon after my company has been acquitted.  I'm contemplating whether to look for other jobs this month or until like they inform me that my position is going to be terminated in like 30 days months from now.

Probably will have to look for a new position now, but after being here for like three years on my first job ever and done good enough work, I don't know if I'm ready to leave yet although I do feel like I've made it as far as I can go and probably want to see what else is out there to give me a better fulfillment on everything.

start looking now. No reason not to.

[lordxizor]

Slept on the offer I got yesterday and I'm going to decline. I was supposed to come up with a counteroffer number that would get me to accept and I couldn't come up with one. Even if I asked for a crazy big number, I would still have been reluctant to take the job. My gut is telling me that it's not the right place for me. So, time to start applying for other jobs again!

[lordxizor]

I have interviews today and tomorrow with one of the biggest companies in my industry for a position that would be a big challenge and huge step up for me. I sent info to the recruiter I'm working with on who I'm interviewing with and he came back to me saying "wow... those are some really heavy hitters in the industry" so now I'm freaking nervous as hell about this. I really want this job. It sounds awesome and the company is great. But I feel a little under-qualified and I know that I won't be able to fudge my way through the technical stuff based on who I'm talking to. I'll be honest on what I don't know, but stress that I'm looking for a challenge and want to learn. I have a few hours to collect myself and be ready. Thankfully it's a video interview, so at least I don't have the drive there to stress out during.

[cramx3]

Good luck but I do wonder how hiring will work in the current environment.  One of my friends accepted an offer for a new job but when he asks them about the current situation with the virus, they aren't giving him all warm and fuzzy responses and now he isn't sure.  I mean, if you leave your job and the place you go to sinks cause of this, you might be screwed.  Who knows, but "stay frosty"

[lordxizor]

Good luck but I do wonder how hiring will work in the current environment.  One of my friends accepted an offer for a new job but when he asks them about the current situation with the virus, they aren't giving him all warm and fuzzy responses and now he isn't sure.  I mean, if you leave your job and the place you go to sinks cause of this, you might be screwed.  Who knows, but "stay frosty"

Yeah, the interview was already changed from in-person to video conference. I'm certainly not going to quit my current job until I have assurance that I will actually have a job ready for me. I work in the medical device industry and and this one of the biggest companies, so I have no worries of them going under or even having to shut down because of all the Covid stuff.

[cramx3]

Good luck but I do wonder how hiring will work in the current environment.  One of my friends accepted an offer for a new job but when he asks them about the current situation with the virus, they aren't giving him all warm and fuzzy responses and now he isn't sure.  I mean, if you leave your job and the place you go to sinks cause of this, you might be screwed.  Who knows, but "stay frosty"

Yeah, the interview was already changed from in-person to video conference. I'm certainly not going to quit my current job until I have assurance that I will actually have a job ready for me. I work in the medical device industry and and this one of the biggest companies, so I have no worries of them going under or even having to shut down because of all the Covid stuff.

Oh yea, I guess their business is booming

[lordxizor]

Arg... The job got offered to an internal person. Really bummed. I had great interviews and was super excited about the job. Even the recruiter I was working with was pissed about them passing on me.

[Orbert]

Sorry to hear that.  Stuff like that is so annoying.

The company I work for has a policy that any job vacancies have to be posted publicly, even if everybody in the department already knows who the best person is for the position and/or is going to get it.  The corporate line is that we don't want to limit ourselves; there's the possibility that someone from outside could be perfect for the job.  Yeah, that's possible, but it also means that lots of people apply for jobs that realistically they never had a chance at because everybody already knew who was going to get it anyway.  I've applied to openings elsewhere in the company, and eventually stopped after someone told me point blank that most of the time, it was a foregone conclusion.  I would think that a lot of places operate this way.

[axeman90210]

Yeah, my company has something similar. A lot of times when you get promoted you don't actually get directly promoted. The easier way is usually for them to create a new job opening for the position they want to promote you to, and then you apply for it and get it. But even if the opening was created specifically to promote you they have to leave the job posting up for at least a week.

[millahh]

Ok, after personal shit hiatus, I'm back!

Lordx, sorry to hear they passed you over, but it does sound like you interviewed well, and I hope you can take something from that.  Way back in the day, I started this thread from experiences interviewing people who were terrible at interviews at relatively senior levels. So, even if this one didn't materialize, you should still fell confident about the next opportunity, you are well ahead of a lot of people.

And yeah, the internal candidate thing can suck.  For us, we fulfill the letter of the requirement...if there is something where there is someone internal already picked, we post it for five days, then close it. That checks the box of posting it publicly but keeps the hassle to a minimum (and we also aren't leading anyone on).  I've also seen what axeman describes...promotion and HR politics elude me sometimes.

My situation is about to get interesting.  My employer is about to get gobbled up by one of the two big Chicago pharma companies (not Orbert's current one), the close is now expected in May.  And, I've requested the severance package (culturally, the new company would be a terrible fit for me and there would be now growth opportunities).  So now I'm networking, talking to recruiters, and preparing to interview, all virtually (and I'm going to have to start cutting y own hair, which will look GREAT on skype calls!). On top of this, it's the first time I will have (knowingly) interviewed in 15 years; then it was PhD entry level, now it's potentially VP level.  So, I really have no idea what I'm doing here. Overall, I'm feeling ok about things, but I also now that reality hasn't quite set in yet.

One of the decisions that I'm facing is what the next role looks like.  On one hand, there is a small company I've started talking to that would be a hand-in-glove fit with so much of my experience, to a point where I suspect I know some of their business better than they do; it sounds fun and exciting, and I would want to interview with them just to figure out how they are tackling certain regulatory and reimbursement challenges.  On the other hand, I could try to catch on some place doing something where I have some recent experience but is still outside my comfort zone (gene therapy), and will offer a much better long-term trajectory for me.  Unfortunately, I can't do the first then the second...going to the "comfortable" company would be a one-way valve, away from gene therapy (which is the wave of the future).  I know the "hard" path is the right one...it's appealing to know that I could walk in some place and instantly be a rock star, but I'm guessing the shine would wear off in a year, and I'd wind up regretting it.  Sigh...

[lordxizor]

Lordx, sorry to hear they passed you over, but it does sound like you interviewed well, and I hope you can take something from that.  Way back in the day, I started this thread from experiences interviewing people who were terrible at interviews at relatively senior levels. So, even if this one didn't materialize, you should still fell confident about the next opportunity, you are well ahead of a lot of people.

I happened to drive by the office where I would have worked yesterday and I was super bummed again, but I did actually get a pretty big boost to my self esteem through the whole thing. I got really positive feedback on my experience from the hiring manager and one other person I talked to. I took it as being sincere since there's no reason to praise someone in an interview just to make them feel good. The fact that through two months of passive job searching I've been runner up for two jobs that I would have accepted and declined an offer from a third company, I feel pretty good about my ability to find a new job this year. Though the lockdowns and stuff throw a wrench in things. I'm going to continue my passive search for now. I'm in a stable job despite the craziness and get a massive bonus (assuming my company doesn't decide to be shitty and withhold it due to all the turmoil despite the fact we're doing just fine) in two months. I'm feeling pretty confident all things considered.

Best of luck in your search! Sounds like you're sitting in a good position as well.

[jingle.boy]

Sorry to hear that.  Stuff like that is so annoying.

The company I work for has a policy that any job vacancies have to be posted publicly, even if everybody in the department already knows who the best person is for the position and/or is going to get it.  The corporate line is that we don't want to limit ourselves; there's the possibility that someone from outside could be perfect for the job.  Yeah, that's possible, but it also means that lots of people apply for jobs that realistically they never had a chance at because everybody already knew who was going to get it anyway.  I've applied to openings elsewhere in the company, and eventually stopped after someone told me point blank that most of the time, it was a foregone conclusion.  I would think that a lot of places operate this way.

Agreed... I suspect this is pretty standard in any industry / market.  Still annoying as shit.  Even worseso when companies actually interview outside candidates when the hiring manager has zero intention of extending an offer.

[Lonk]

Most places have the 3-candidates rule, meaning you have to interview at least 3 candidates before making an offer to anybody. That means that even if you are planning to make an offer to an internal candidate, you need to find 2 other people to interview for no other reason than to hit the minimum 3-candidate (some people count phone interviews on this). With that said, it is still pretty annoying. Last time I was interviewing for jobs, it was so demoralizing to interview for a place, only to learn the next day an internal candidate got the job.

With the current situation, I am honestly considering leaving my current position. I know the timing is not right though, so I will hold on until later in the year when things start to settle.

[axeman90210]

Looks like I have I guess an interview pre-cursor tomorrow. I put in an application at another bank about two weeks ago and just got an email today from a recruiter who works at the bank to set up a call to "discuss the position with me and see if there's a match". From the sound of it I'm expecting to just be speaking with HR so it shouldn't be too long or in-depth of a conversation.

[millahh]

Looks like I have I guess an interview pre-cursor tomorrow. I put in an application at another bank about two weeks ago and just got an email today from a recruiter who works at the bank to set up a call to "discuss the position with me and see if there's a match". From the sound of it I'm expecting to just be speaking with HR so it shouldn't be too long or in-depth of a conversation.

Awesome! Hopefully it's a fruitful call. Video or just audio? I'm likely going to start having these soon myself, and I'm in fear of what I look like on video after a couple of months of DIY haircuts.

I've made up a whole list of typical interview questions for senior/exec roles, and am going to be working through my responses, so I can be better prepared and in the right mindset.  It's gonna piss down rain tomorrow anyway, so maybe that is my project.

[Stadler]

Scroll back; if memory serves, Adami and I gave some really helpful tips for interviewing. 

Seriously, good luck to both of you.  I hope the calls go as you hope them to (Millahh, I don't know if you actually have a call pending or not, but either way, if you're preparing, good luck). 

[millahh]

Scroll back; if memory serves, Adami and I gave some really helpful tips for interviewing. 

Seriously, good luck to both of you.  I hope the calls go as you hope them to (Millahh, I don't know if you actually have a call pending or not, but either way, if you're preparing, good luck).

Thanks!  Nothing pending just yet, had a couple of solid networking calls, but waiting to pull the trigger on applying and trying to have interviews until I know what my fate/timeline looks like at my current gig (good chance I know by the end of the week, we'll see).

[axeman90210]

Looks like I have I guess an interview pre-cursor tomorrow. I put in an application at another bank about two weeks ago and just got an email today from a recruiter who works at the bank to set up a call to "discuss the position with me and see if there's a match". From the sound of it I'm expecting to just be speaking with HR so it shouldn't be too long or in-depth of a conversation.

Awesome! Hopefully it's a fruitful call. Video or just audio? I'm likely going to start having these soon myself, and I'm in fear of what I look like on video after a couple of months of DIY haircuts.

I've made up a whole list of typical interview questions for senior/exec roles, and am going to be working through my responses, so I can be better prepared and in the right mindset.  It's gonna piss down rain tomorrow anyway, so maybe that is my project.

Just audio for this one. I definitely will need to see to my unkempt facial hair if this proceeds to a video conference call or something

Scroll back; if memory serves, Adami and I gave some really helpful tips for interviewing. 

Seriously, good luck to both of you.  I hope the calls go as you hope them to (Millahh, I don't know if you actually have a call pending or not, but either way, if you're preparing, good luck). 

Thanks Stads. Expecting to at least make it to a formal first round interview because my resume fits the job description perfectly.


They didn't ask about salary history, but there was a mandatory field for salary expectations. I put down a number that would be a little over a 35% raise for me, and while I know that I won't definitely get that if this goes well it's at least in the ballpark enough not to scare them off.

[axeman90210]

So, I had my call last Tuesday with the HR rep and it went fine. He had one or two background questions about my resume, we talked some about my compensation expectations (he told me that the number I gave was within their range, with room on either side), and he explained that they were hiring people now and shipping them the equipment to start out remotely (and not just stockpiling hires to all start when the office opens again). When the call was ending he said he'd be in touch in the coming days to set up a half-hour interview with the hiring manager. Now it's been a week and I haven't heard back. Appropriate for me to reach back out on this point and see if he needs any further info from me?

[lordxizor]

So, I had my call last Tuesday with the HR rep and it went fine. He had one or two background questions about my resume, we talked some about my compensation expectations (he told me that the number I gave was within their range, with room on either side), and he explained that they were hiring people now and shipping them the equipment to start out remotely (and not just stockpiling hires to all start when the office opens again). When the call was ending he said he'd be in touch in the coming days to set up a half-hour interview with the hiring manager. Now it's been a week and I haven't heard back. Appropriate for me to reach back out on this point and see if he needs any further info from me?

It's worth reaching out, IMO. These things always seem to take longer than they should. It'd be nice for you to hear either way.

[Orbert]

Agreed.  Reach out. 

I'm never quite sure how to play it when this happens, but I usually go with something like "I'm just checking back, in case I somehow missed your call and didn't realize it..."  That way it's kinda your fault even if it's really theirs.  But it almost doesn't matter as long as you're not obnoxious about it.  They know what they told you, and they know they didn't call back in the timeframe originally specified.  It happens.  This at least lets them know you're still interested.

[millahh]

Agreed, that's reasonable.  That's part of what HR's job is.  Now, if it were the hiring manager directly, I'd say give more latitude...

[axeman90210]

Thanks guys. Thinking I'll drop him a note tomorrow during office hours thanking him for taking the time to speak with me the other night and seeing if he needs any more info from me.

[cramx3]

So my company has a hiring freeze and part of it is becuase there's an issue doing background checks right now? I don't know if anyone else heard about that, or maybe it's resolved now, but I wonder if that could be an issue with anyone really looking to change jobs right now. 

That's only part of the reason, the other is that they don't want to onboard people without giving the proper in person day 1 training.  Shipping out a laptop and stuff does work, but I guess they don't want to bring people in if they can't do it the way they feel is the right way. 

I think the reality is that business is slow and it's hard to bring on new heard count when we aren't really building the product at the moment like we normally would be.

[axeman90210]

Thanks guys. Thinking I'll drop him a note tomorrow during office hours thanking him for taking the time to speak with me the other night and seeing if he needs any more info from me.

So I emailed the HR guy on May 6th and had radio silence until the 18th. The HR guy got back to me last Monday apologizing for the lack of news and explaining that the hiring manager for the role had been in flux and did end up changing. He set up a half-hour phone interview with the new hiring manager for Friday afternoon, which I think largely went well. I dropped the hiring manager a thank-you email Friday night, and he came back with a one liner response this morning. I know he said he had more initial interviews lined up, and the HR guy had said there would be a series of second-round interviews as the next step (assuming I passed the first round). How long do I wait before following up with my HR contact?

[millahh]

Thanks guys. Thinking I'll drop him a note tomorrow during office hours thanking him for taking the time to speak with me the other night and seeing if he needs any more info from me.

So I emailed the HR guy on May 6th and had radio silence until the 18th. The HR guy got back to me last Monday apologizing for the lack of news and explaining that the hiring manager for the role had been in flux and did end up changing. He set up a half-hour phone interview with the new hiring manager for Friday afternoon, which I think largely went well. I dropped the hiring manager a thank-you email Friday night, and he came back with a one liner response this morning. I know he said he had more initial interviews lined up, and the HR guy had said there would be a series of second-round interviews as the next step (assuming I passed the first round). How long do I wait before following up with my HR contact?

My reflex would be to say to give it to the end of next week. It sounds like you were probably at the front end of the batch of candidates, so it gives them two weeks to complete the phone interviews and figure out who they want to get a better look at.    I gel like that strikes the balance of "assertive, but not a pain in the ass".  That said...I haven't been in on phone screen interview cycles, just the in-person stages, so feel free to take anything I say on this with a significant grain of salt.

[Stadler]

The new hiring manager throws a wrench into things.   I probably agree with Millahh, because of that.

[Orbert]

Grrr.  That brings back some nightmares from when I was changing careers 20-some years ago.

My degree is in Math Education, and I had gotten riffed from my current job.  Last one hired, first one fired; that's how it works in education.  Anyway, I'd interviewed at a pretty nice school that had just built a brand new computer lab.  This was in the 90's when those were still kinda rare, and my minor in computer science qualified me to teach computer science.  I was one of two finalists for the gig at this school, and they told me that we'd both be coming back for second interviews.  Presumably with the principal or maybe assistant principal, as the department head was the one I'd met and who'd picked the two finalists.

I didn't hear anything for a week, then another week.  Meanwhile I interviewed with some other schools, but I finally called this one back.  Found out that they had a new principal, and he decided to do his own interviews, starting from scratch.  Also, he'd already done the interviews and would be making a decision soon.  Apparently I went from one of the finalists to not even considered, due to a change at the top.  Shit.

Sorry that this isn't really relevant, but I don't get to share that story very often and your situation reminded me of it.

[axeman90210]

Thanks guys. Just got contacted for another first round interview this afternoon. Not as excited about it just based on the job description, but even if it just serves as an offer I can use to get a raise from my current job I'll take it. The position I interviewed for on Friday I'd actually be fairly likely to leave for, depending on the number they'd offer.

[Stadler]

I'm rooting for you, Bill.  I hope it comes through! 

[Adami]

Forgot about this thread.

So, since COVID, work in universities has almost disappeared. My coworker and I are both looking for a university psychologist job in New York, and as of now, there's literally one university hiring, so we both went for it. We felt supportive of each other because it's multiple positions, so it didn't feel like strict competition. So he applied a month before I did and got the offer for an interview on a Friday. On that Monday, he told me, and I was worried that I just didn't get it. But then they called me Tuesday to offer me an interview.

He went a few days before me and gave me some info on what they asked, which was helpful to just make mental notes about certain things.

So we both have the first round interview. He said it went very badly for him, but I felt like it went fine for me. We're both told we'd hear by the end of the week.

So the next day, I get an offer for a second round interview. He doesn't hear back. I feel bad but we go on. Then later the next week, he gets the offer for the interview as well. Hurray! So then last Friday I had my 2nd round interview with the director, another area director, and a VP of student affairs. I feel the interview is mostly good, but the questions were insanely broad, so it was hard to get all the info in an answer and ended up rambling a lot. No biggie.

So I tell my friend about what it was like, what kind of stuff they asked etc, so he can be prepared.

Then he has his yesterday. Turns out it wasn't a 2nd round interview at all. They just redid the first round interview and didn't tell him.

Anyone heard of something like this? He's pretty upset and I'm feeling bad about it.

[Stadler]

I've not heard of that, but isn't that a good thing, all in all?  Doesn't he get another chance to get back on the track?  And now, since he's a little behind, he gets the benefit of your wisdom (seriously).   

It kind of evens things out for you two as well; I was kind of feeling bad for him, because you were a couple days behind on all things and so had an advantage.  This levels the playing field, though.  He's got your intel, but he's got the hurdle of a blown initial interview.   

In any event, here's hoping that both of you get an offer!!! 

[Adami]

I've not heard of that, but isn't that a good thing, all in all?  Doesn't he get another chance to get back on the track?  And now, since he's a little behind, he gets the benefit of your wisdom (seriously).   

It kind of evens things out for you two as well; I was kind of feeling bad for him, because you were a couple days behind on all things and so had an advantage.  This levels the playing field, though.  He's got your intel, but he's got the hurdle of a blown initial interview.   

In any event, here's hoping that both of you get an offer!!!

I think what made him upset was the lack of clarity or transparency. They didn't tell him that's what the interview would be, so he was expecting a totally different thing. I feel like they should have said "hey...so the last one didn't go so well, no big deal, why don't we meet again and try to see how much better things could be" or something. Instead he thought it was a 2nd round interview. He had to ask, mid interview, if this was a 2nd round interview and they just said no.

[The Walrus]

Stadler, please clear your inbox.