I keep Fudging Interviews...

[HellFrost666]

Over the last few months I've been lead to believe I don't interview very well for jobs. Maybe it's because employers are pickier then they used to be. I say this because the last time I looked for a job (a few years ago) I don't remember having this much trouble interviewing.

 

I have enough common sense to know there are some things a person should never do/say during a job interview... But obviously I am missing something somewhere.

 

The last interview I went on was for a job washing dishes. The first question the guy asked me: "Are you familiar with upselling?" I told him "No, I am not familiar." And he explained it to me. I was sitting there thinking 'Why the hell does a dishwahser need to know this? That's something a waiter needs to know.' I could tell that was what blew it for me right then and there. I just knew I wasn't getting the job because I couldn't answer that question. The rest of the interview was just a formality at that point.

 

All that aside... I have an interview on Wednesday that I really don't want to blow it on. This is for a job that I actually want, not some kitchen job I only applied for out of desperation.

 

Does anyone have any advice about this? I don't expect you guys to know what I am doing wrong because you don't see me when I am interviewing for a job. But obviously in this market I am not that good at it.

[hidden_kitten]

The upselling bit does sound really weird, could be because they actually wanted someone they could put out front incase they had a day with low staff, rather than getting in extra waiters. I knew someone who was just meant to be on the housekeeping staff at a hotel and the manager kept putting her on reception!

 

I'm aware from your previous posts that you're not originally from the US (I think that is where you are now..?) so not sure where you previously studied, but do you have access to a careers counseller that could coach you on your technique? In Britain I know there are helplines for this sort of thing as well, but don't know how helpful they are..

[HellFrost666]

I do live in the US now. I actually wonder if it's my accent that keeps turning people off. I live in a really close minded part of the country where people have opinions about foreigners. Even though I've lived here over a decade, that doesn't matter.

 

I can't afford to pay a career counselor.

[orchidrose]

Could you try doing a mock interview with a friend? They could probably point out anything very obvious that might be holding you back, either in your answers or your body language.

 

The best thing you can do in an interview is be confident, but never to the point of arrogance. A little confidence can get you a long way. Saying "I'm not familiar with it" is fine, but it all hinges on how you say it.

[HellFrost666]

I could try that...

 

I've been in a management position before and had to interview people. But I didn't get to make the decision on who to hire. There were some things that I didn't like to see during an interview. And that's helped me a little. But I have no way of knowing what someone else is looking for.

 

Obviously there is something I am doing wrong. I just need to find out what that is.

[bluelava1]

well employers may be a bit pickier at this point in time because they can be. what aneffigy said makes sense- the whole look confident without looking arrogant thing and when u don't know the answer to something, the way you say it may have a big impact.

mock interviews too may help, as they may better be able to point out where you could improve

[RelaxByWater84]

I would do tons of research about the job for which you are applying and then some. This could help you.

 

About your accent, is it difficult for people to understand you or do they have to listen carefully to you to comprehend your message??

[HellFrost666]

I would do tons of research about the job for which you are applying and then some. This could help you.

 

About your accent, is it difficult for people to understand you or do they have to listen carefully to you to comprehend your message??

 

It can be... I've had people tell me they can't understand me before. It's usually older people that tell me that, I've noticed. The last temp job I had involved talking on the phone a lot. And people complained to my boss that they couldn't understand me all that well on the phone.

 

I've lived here long enough that my accent has thinned a little. It was really thick when I first came here... it's still very obvious though. And I also know a lot of people find my accent annoying. It's not like a British accent that Americans just love.

 

Doing a lot of research on the job is a good idea too. This is a job in my field, but it's at a place I don't know much about. Knowing a lot about the place could help me a lot too.

[Taikero]

Research the company. Ask questions about the company when in the interview, like "Where is the company headed? What is the company doing to grow?" Ask SPECIFIC questions about what you personally would like to know more about the company as well. If you can, research the people who will be interviewing you. If you can find their Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter account(s), you can gain a wealth of knowledge about them and incorporate that carefully into the interview (use an analogy for something that involves something they like). It's sneaky and underhanded, but it works. Knowledge is power!

 

Prepare yourself beforehand on things you know you will be asked, especially if interviewing for a job that requires more mental effort than physical effort. Don't be afraid if you don't know something, just come right out and say, "I'm not sure/I don't know. Could you explain that to me?" then make sure they know you understood what they said.

 

Arrive half an hour early. Calm yourself. Relax. Mull over what you need to know for the interview but keep it light, don't stress. I like to take some time to use positive reinforcement with myself, saying things out loud such as, "I like interviews." "I'm good at interviews." "I will get this job." "They're going to like me." This helps me get into a frame of mind where I feel confident. Of course, you have to say it like you mean it and believe it. I also sometimes do some light stretching pre-interview. You may find walking around helps also, though I don't personally do that.

 

Head into the building 15 minutes before the interview, and by the time you find the receptionist or whoever you need to talk to to find the interviewer, it's usually 5-10 minutes before the interview and you already look extremely punctual.

 

Also, I don't care what you're interviewing for, wear a button up shirt (undershirt is also recommended), a tie, dress shoes, and khakis at a minimum. Keep the shirt white if you don't know what you're doing with color matching, and the tie should not be black or have fancy designs. When in doubt, go with a blue tie for a non-management role and a red tie for a management role. Always go with a silk tie.

 

And for goodness sake, be presentable elsewise. Shave, get a haircut, shower thoroughly, use deodorant, DO NOT USE cologne or if you do as minimal as it gets. Aftershave is fine if you keep it light. They want to get to know you, not smell you, good or bad.

 

Above all, believe in yourself. They already think you were good enough to interview. Now all you have to do is reaffirm that belief and start working for them!

[abitbroken]

It can be... I've had people tell me they can't understand me before. It's usually older people that tell me that, I've noticed. The last temp job I had involved talking on the phone a lot. And people complained to my boss that they couldn't understand me all that well on the phone.

 

I've lived here long enough that my accent has thinned a little. It was really thick when I first came here... it's still very obvious though. And I also know a lot of people find my accent annoying. It's not like a British accent that Americans just love.

 

Doing a lot of research on the job is a good idea too. This is a job in my field, but it's at a place I don't know much about. Knowing a lot about the place could help me a lot too.

 

If people cannot understand you - then its not discrimination. An accent is easier to understand when someone is in front of you than on the phone because they have body language and facial expressions to rely on and things just sound different. There are classes you can take that help folks with their accents. You don't lose your accents entirely, but helps with problem areas so you are understood more clearly. A lot of times schools that teach ESL have classes like this. On the other hand, i benefited by stuff like that when I was learning a second language - it helped me sound less like an American who had one year of language study under her belt even if my vocabulary was limited.

 

Also - yes, the upselling question could mean they are looking for folks who aren't going to be dishwashing forever and eventually desire to be waitstaff, host/hostess or cooks or to bus tables.

[HellFrost666]

 

Also - yes, the upselling question could mean they are looking for folks who aren't going to be dishwashing forever and eventually desire to be waitstaff, host/hostess or cooks or to bus tables.

 

It's probably better he didn't hire me then. I have absolutely no desire to be a waiter. I know I couldn't do it. I don't have the patience. The first time someone yelled at me they would get a drink dumped in their lap and my middle finger in their face. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration... but I just don't have the patience, lol.

[orchidrose]

It's probably better he didn't hire me then. I have absolutely no desire to be a waiter. I know I couldn't do it. I don't have the patience. The first time someone yelled at me they would get a drink dumped in their lap and my middle finger in their face. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration... but I just don't have the patience, lol.

 

Just a thought: do you think the fact that you couldn't care less about the job and would even dislike it shone through in your interview? Believe me, I'm totally with you (I waitressed once for a summer and dropped a tray in someone's lap), but sometimes employers can read that on your face and in your responses from a mile away.

 

Again, it's about balance - you don't have to be super, over-the-top enthusiastic about a job you don't or even do want, but you need to come accross as deserving of it and interested in it.

[HellFrost666]

I never said I wouldn't like the job. I just got fired from a corporate job and I really don't want to re-enter the corporate world. Also, I am going back to college to work on another degree in September, so a low stress, low responsibility job is probably better for me right now. I've been a dishwasher before. I really wouldn't mind doing it again. I just have no desire to wait tables.

 

I won't lie though... it is out of desperation that I keep applying for kitchen jobs. A kitchen job is not any dream job for me, but I am at least getting called back by these places.

 

The job I am interviewing for on Wednesday is in my field, but it's not corporate.

[OntheWire]

If your native language isn't English, you should capitalize on that...especially if it's a rare language that not many people speak. I see ads all the time wanting bilingual people and not just for Spanish or Korean.

[orchidrose]

I never said I wouldn't like the job. I just got fired from a corporate job and I really don't want to re-enter the corporate world. Also, I am going back to college to work on another degree in September, so a low stress, low responsibility job is probably better for me right now. I've been a dishwasher before. I really wouldn't mind doing it again. I just have no desire to wait tables.

 

I won't lie though... it is out of desperation that I keep applying for kitchen jobs. A kitchen job is not any dream job for me, but I am at least getting called back by these places.

 

The job I am interviewing for on Wednesday is in my field, but it's not corporate.

 

Can I ask why you got fired from your previous job? Might be relevant to your interview issues.

 

Saying that you wouldn't like it and coming accross (through inflection, body language, etc.) are totally different things. Of course you know better than to say you'd hate it and you're just applying to make some money, but often times we betray our emotions through our voice and our bodies more than we think we do.

[abitbroken]

Another thing about upselling - maybe because of your experience, and the way you put yourself together for the interview, maybe they felt you were qualified to do more. Or they just wanted to see if you were a team player and could think on your feet and at least understood the jobs of your coworkers. Or they wanted to see if you were interested and motivated.

 

The role of the dishwasher isn't always low stress - you might have to hurry up and bust things out sometimes. If the kitchen is very busy, you can't let them run out of things. And if you see plates, etc, with messes on them you might get aggravated. And you have to deal with coworkers too.

 

If your native language isn't English, you should capitalize on that...especially if it's a rare language that not many people speak. I see ads all the time wanting bilingual people and not just for Spanish or Korean.

 

Yes. I have seen jobs wanting Spanish, Mandarin, Korean and all sorts of stuff. Most of the time though, the job is a receptionist at a doctors office, etc, that wouldn't be low stress.

[HellFrost666]

If your native language isn't English, you should capitalize on that...especially if it's a rare language that not many people speak. I see ads all the time wanting bilingual people and not just for Spanish or Korean.

 

If there was a market for that in my area, I would have already tapped it.

 

People keep suggesting that... but no one around here has a need for someone who speaks my language.

[OntheWire]

If there was a market for that in my area, I would have already tapped it.

 

People keep suggesting that... but no one around here has a need for someone who speaks my language.

 

So get out of there.

[HellFrost666]

Can I ask why you got fired from your previous job? Might be relevant to your interview issues.

 

Saying that you wouldn't like it and coming accross (through inflection, body language, etc.) are totally different things. Of course you know better than to say you'd hate it and you're just applying to make some money, but often times we betray our emotions through our voice and our bodies more than we think we do.

 

 

 

This thread explains why I got fired. This is the real reason. I was told a completely different reason, and a completely different reason is on paper in their records. But my old boss was a loose lipped drunk.

[HellFrost666]

So get out of there.

 

Yep, it's so easy to do that with no money.

 

Also I am in a five year relationship with someone who has a reason to stay here.

[HellFrost666]

 

The role of the dishwasher isn't always low stress - you might have to hurry up and bust things out sometimes. If the kitchen is very busy, you can't let them run out of things. And if you see plates, etc, with messes on them you might get aggravated. And you have to deal with coworkers too.

 

 

I am well aware of this. I've been a dishwasher before. I would take my most stressful night washing dishes any day over doing the corporate thing again.

 

And honestly, this thread isn't even about the upselling thing or why I applied for a job as a dishwasher. I just used that as an example of how I screwed up an interview. Now I am wishing I would have left that out of my original post since that's what most people here want to talk about.

[orchidrose]

I am well aware of this. I've been a dishwasher before. I would take my most stressful night washing dishes any day over doing the corporate thing again.

 

And honestly, this thread isn't even about the upselling thing or why I applied for a job as a dishwasher. I just used that as an example of how I screwed up an interview. Now I am wishing I would have left that out of my original post since that's what most people here want to talk about.

 

That was the example that you gave us, and it was the only one. We're trying to help you based on that example. Is there another that you think might be representative of how you feel you're messing up in interviews?

[HellFrost666]

That's the only time when I knew I blew it for sure on that one question. I could just tell by his reaction. I thought it made a good example because I really don't know what the expectable way is to answer a question when you don't know the answer.

 

I think that steered this thread in the wrong direction because more people are telling me where I should apply for jobs and more attention is being paid to why I went for a dish job. And then I have people trying to explain to me what it's like washing dishes. I did it for over a year when I was a teenager. I know what the job is like, I've done it. It was that reply that annoyed me more then anything else.

 

As far as other times I think I messed up... I don't really know. It was obvious that one times that not knowing what upselling was killed any chance I had of getting that job.

 

There was one time when someone asked me why I devote my time to working in an animal shelter and why not a homeless shelter. I told her because I've always liked animals. (while leaving out the fact that I don't really like many people...lol) She kind of gave me a weird look when I gave that answer.

 

I really get nervous with the really generalized questions. Questions like "Tell me about your experience." There's so many things I could say there... Or questions like "What did you do at *company x*" That seems like such a simples question... but since my last job was a corporate job, I did a lot of things. So I never really know what one thing to focus on the most, and that's always the job I get asked about.

 

And I don't like questions about things I didn't like "Tell me about a job you didn't like and why you didn't like it." etc... Because it seems like there is no positive way to answer those questions. And I know one thing to do while interviewing is be as positive as possible.

 

The biggest one though... this is the question I can never answer right. Why I got fired from my last job. I don't write on applications that I was "fired." I write that I was "dismissed." And I've been telling people that I was "not suited for the position" when they ask me. For some, that answer is enough. Some people want more details, and I just never know what to say.

 

These are the questions that really seem to bug me.

[HellFrost666]

I am fortunate enough to know the name of the person who will be talking to me. I just googled them and found twitter, myspace, facebook and linkedin profiles.

 

I have absolutely nothing in common with him. I know this is the same guy too. He lives in my town and he has a pretty unusual name. I have nothing in common with this person at all. He's a big fan of Pop music (which I hate.) and fanatically follows sports (which I care nothing about.)

 

He did go to the same college as my girlfriend though.

[jengh]

What do you wear to interviews? I know enough about you by now to know you're very intelligent and surely qualified for these jobs... Could it be your appearance? Obviously, an employer would never say it is because of discrimination but you said you're from a close-minded area... if it's anything like my area, if you're not a bible thumper who would never show an inch of skin, you're unlikely to get hired. Of course they'll come up with 9374 OTHER reasons, but you know what I'm getting at.