Very worried and nervous about group job interview. (team building nightmare)

I have an upcoming group interview at an Old Navy store. I wouldn't worry normally, but I'm anxious about the possibility of "team building" activities, which is code for forcing people who don't know each other to interact in ways that are uncomfortable, such as "getting to know you" games. I guess I'm not as nervous about possible team building things as I am about the possibility of something like this: link removed

I mean if they need to do a go around the room and talk about yourself thing, that's fine. What I can't deal with is "find a partner, ask them something, talk to the group about them." I'm so scared of that crap. The interview is going to be three hours long, I worry it's going to include that kind of stuff and it's making me almost physically sick.

Would it jeopardize my job if I did poorly, didn't do it at all, or lied and made up a fictional person? I really can't stand this thought.

Will stupid team building crap weigh that heavily in their decision of who to hire?

you can't ask to be excluded from something like this, nor talk about a fictional person. working in these kind of jobs requires you to interact with people, thus they may test you on your communication/ social interaction. Why hire someone who is afraid of talking to people in these kind of jobs?

I think you should consider this as a good learning experience to overcome your fears.

if you have to talk to someone and ask them, stick with really simple questions (even if you consider them small talk). You don't have to figure out their deepest secrets.

ask them their name, where they grew up, if they have family - all easy things to talk about.

I find it comical that Old Navy does this. Old Navy! I hate that store.

To your original question, if they have that as part of the process, of course they probably use that info when considering hiring.

I also should say that I have four and a half, yes, that's four and a half--years in retail. I am perfectly capable of talking to customers, and dealing with my coworkers. My record says it all. I am an experienced retail employee and can work at Old Navy with zero problems interacting with anyone.

If they honestly overlook MY employment history because I don't want to do a team building activity that makes me uneasy, and instead hire someone who does well in TB activities but never worked a day in retail, I don't know what to say.

It's not as though they'd know if I said "the person I interviewed is trying for a degree in fashion design, has three dogs, etc" Who is honestly going to call me out? And if they do, I'd just say I didn't know what tf they were talking about.

In other words, I certainly can make up someone. Or I can say something vague that could be about anyone in the room, like "This person is eager to work at Old Navy to build valuable retail experience, and has lived in (the area I live in) for a few years now and loves the fall foliage."

If other people can fake nice, I can fake facts.

I guess what I'm asking is would Old Navy really look at my employment record, my lengthy experience and job skills, and not hire me because I screwed up at some dumb group activity?

First don't worry about th job there is a beautifuL quote which. Says if you want to. Know something is. Yours Or not just SET IT FREE if iT came back to you it is yours if not it has never been youRs to start with...second we attract what We are..we don't attract what we want...be cool anD peaceful..

I'm not as nervous about possible team building things as I am about the possibility of something like this: link removed

i think that sounds like a rather extreme example to deal with an uncooperative person like this. if i had to interview someone like this and then report back, i'd say, "This is Tina. She wants to work at old navy because she likes their clothes. she's very shy and doesn't like to talk much, but i can tell from her manicure that she is a creative person.' so, whatever, problem solved.

job interviews are not fun for anyone - the interviewer or interviees!

Yeah, team building events suck.

Just make up stuff! It's easy! Whenever I was asked a question during a group activity (definitely not an interview) that I didn't really want to reveal, I just made up stuff. I mean, it's a team building activity. No one remembers those and no one else wants to go to them (it's true) so it's just BSing until the end of it. Just remember that. It's not an interview.

Overall, I doubt you'll have to do much though. They aren't going to take you on trips with people or anything like that. You may not have to do anything at all!

i think that sounds like a rather extreme example to deal with an uncooperative person like this. if i had to interview someone like this and then report back, i'd say, "This is Tina. She wants to work at old navy because she likes their clothes. she's very shy and doesn't like to talk much, but i can tell from her manicure that she is a creative person.' so, whatever, problem solved.

 

job interviews are not fun for anyone - the interviewer or interviees!

Nope. I would be the girl in the example I gave. And I'd be really pissed if some person who didn't even know me called me shy to a group of strangers. Not cool. Not cool at all.

I completely relate to that girl and I imagine she must have been panicking. He was an insensitive self centered ******* trying to further his own interests.

Yeah, team building events suck.

 

Just make up stuff! It's easy! Whenever I was asked a question during a group activity (definitely not an interview) that I didn't really want to reveal, I just made up stuff. I mean, it's a team building activity. No one remembers those and no one else wants to go to them (it's true) so it's just BSing until the end of it. Just remember that. It's not an interview.

 

Overall, I doubt you'll have to do much though. They aren't going to take you on trips with people or anything like that. You may not have to do anything at all!

I am just hoping that specific example from yahoo answers that I gave does NOT happen. I can deal with the going around the room crap, or even other team building crap, but not things where you have to initiate something.

The idea that some jerk would call me shy and thus mess up my chances of getting the job is really kind of infuriating. I also know that many people deliberately try to sabotage others at group interviews. Not me. I'm good. I have 4.5 years retail experience, I know who I am and what I can do, I don't need to compete with anyone and I'm not going to fight with total strangers. That's crap.

I'm going to go with making stuff up. Probably the best thing.

Also (sorry I can't edit my posts) that guy showed that he's actually NOT a good employee. He DOESN'T work well with others--he dislikes people who aren't fake like he is. Anyone whose personality differs from his is a problem in his eyes and that doesn't bode well for him dealing with more reserved/shy customers or coworkers...so if I was hiring manager it would be a major red flag, especially if a prospective employee was putting another down by calling her shy or saying she doesn't talk much, or generally saying anything else about her that our society perceives as negative.

Honestly if someone had the audacity to call me shy when they don't even know me, I'd say "excuse me, what he meant to say is that I have nearly five years of retail experience."

no need to get upset about a situation that hasn't even occurred (someone saying that you are shy in this kind of setting).

from an employers point of view, if I have 2 people with long track records for the job they are applying for, I need to find something to differentiate between them and make a decision, thus i guess those kind of 'exercises' may help with this.

as said earlier - instead of considering this as an unfair obstacle (you are not singled out, the whole group is going through this0 see it as an exercise to interact with people, even if you don't want to

The reason that doesn't work is because being good at team building exercises is NOT a predictor of success at a retail sales job. I'm excellent at retail jobs, but terrible at team building exercises. Someone who didn't hire me because of that would be throwing away my skills and experience. That's not a good hiring strategy.

It may not have happened yet in this case, but I have had people who didn't really know me calling me shy. It's tiresome.

Team building activities are NOT a good method for finding good employees, and may in fact assist in finding plenty of bad ones.

It is unfair. What do you mean see it as an exercise to interact with people?

in another thread you said that you don't like small talk and (independently), that you have social anxiety, and that you don't have many friends either - thus why not use this setting to get more comfortable with talking with people.

instead of working yourself already into a negative frame of mind, why not take this as an opportunity. You may actually like one of the people there.

People all competing for a job don't usually like each other, which is unfortunate. I wouldn't be opposed to making friends, as unlikely as that is, with one of the other people, but most people are there just to get a job and step all over other applicants...lol.

Also, sorry for my language. I'm working on dialing down my sailor mouth. I had one slipup in this thread.

The reason that doesn't work is because being good at team building exercises is NOT a predictor of success at a retail sales job. I'm excellent at retail jobs, but terrible at team building exercises. Someone who didn't hire me because of that would be throwing away my skills and experience. That's not a good hiring strategy.

 

It may not have happened yet in this case, but I have had people who didn't really know me calling me shy. It's tiresome.

 

Team building activities are NOT a good method for finding good employees, and may in fact assist in finding plenty of bad ones.

 

It is unfair. What do you mean see it as an exercise to interact with people?

I think it could be an excellent predictor. They want to hire people that can get along with each other and create the type of environment that they're looking for in their store. If they see that someone doesn't mesh well with a group, they'd be less inclined to hire that person.

I got along very well with my coworkers at my last retail job. It's not about "not meshing well" Throwing strangers together in a stressful situation doesn't simulate a work environment.

It's not about not getting along with people, it's throwing people who don't know each other together in a situation where they're all desperate to land a job. You have people who react by withdrawing, others who react by stepping on others. If being shy is undesirable, well then, so is being a loudmouth who has to belittle others to get ahead.

On another note, I would be somewhat okay if the team building activities happened during training, or during some time when the employment HAS been offered, not when it's merely a possibility.

i don't know why you are so worried or upset about all this - it hasn't even happened yet. if they do start a team building exercise, you always have the option to walk out and find a new company to interview with.

as an employer i'm interested in figuring out which potential employee is stress resistant.

I understand that you find these situations stressful - yet that doesn't mean that it's unfair that these situations exist. Life is stressful and we all need to learn how to deal with it, especially in professional settings.

Now now, no need to get yourself bent out of shape over something that hasn't even happened. Take a deep breath and remember that no imaginary guy has actually called you shy during your future job interview.

Contrary to what you seem to think, the overwhelming majority of people aren't trying to throw you under the bus during a group interview. Every single experience of that sort that I have had was actually quite a bit of fun. Perhaps because I don't leave my house with the preconceived idea that people are intrinsically mean and out to get me.

The fact of the matter is that you are being interviewed for a position within a team, and as such you simply need to demonstrate that you are friendly, approachable, helpful and generally pleasant to work with. Any team manager worth their title will be looking for such qualities over however many years of experience operating a cash register you can claim. Nobody wants to be stuck with the highly strung lady that takes everything personally.

Also, consider that team building exercises rarely consist on that specific example you posted - I mean, it hardly builds anything, does it. The ones I have gone through have always included working together in a small group to put something together - a sketch, a short presentation, a song even, and in one particularly idiotic case, a house made of paper and paperclips. So in short...

1) Be prepared to be unprepared. Be open-minded and flexible, and remember to have some fun.

2) Leave harsh judgements at home. Nobody is a jerk and nobody is trying to sabotage you.

And there you go. Problem solved.

as an employer i'm interested in figuring out which potential employee is stress resistant.

 

I understand that you find these situations stressful - yet that doesn't mean that it's unfair that these situations exist. Life is stressful and we all need to learn how to deal with it, especially in professional settings.

Stress resistant human. Is that like purple grass? Or an unsalty ocean?

I speak jive, experience should be the MOST important factor. I get along with others in a work setting. I have nearly five years retail experience. I am almost certain I will have the most experience of anyone else in the group. That's all that needs to be said.

I am not highly strung and I don't take everything personally, and I don't think everyone is out to get me. Way to make assumption after assumption.

I speak jive, experience should be the MOST important factor.

but that's not up to you to decide, it's up to the hiring manager. in your position, all you can do is turn down the interview if you don't like their process. you're not in a position to change old navy's hiring procedures.

Experience is the most important thing. They can't hire someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Also, I have nothing about me that's SO awful that my experience is outweighed. I am uncomfortable talking to people I don't know out of context, which is what team building crap IS.

I can talk fine to strangers who are customers. I was fine working with coworkers. The problem is, these are NOT going to be my coworkers. These are going to be people who want to get a job, some of whom will do unsavory things to get it, and those things could be directed at me. It's not a positive situation.