I keep Fudging Interviews...

[HellFrost666]

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.

 

You don't live too far from me. So where you are is probably similar.

 

It depends on the job. For the kitchen jobs and the factory jobs I always just wore jeans and a plain black shirt.

 

For the more professional jobs (which I have ruled out at this point) I've always dressed nice. I know it's hard to believe, but I clean up pretty well.

 

One thing I never do is go to an interview with my hair down. It's always in a pony tale.

 

None of this has worked so far... maybe next time I'll go walking in with my hair down and all over the place and in my Iron Maiden shirt. (exactly how I look right now, lol)

[orchidrose]

Thanks for updating the thread. Sorry if my reply seemed nasty; I just thought it would be helpful to know more in order to steer the thread more in the direction you hoped for.

 

A few thoughts:

- Work on getting more comfortable with "tell me about your experience" and "what did you do?" Those are questions that you will be asked at EVERY interview (as I'm sure you've experienced), so if you tackle those first, you'll have 'em down AND you'll be more confident in all of your other answers. In terms of what to answer with, doing your research on the company/position beforehand will work wonders. If the position involves a lot of writing, emphasize your writing experience in your old position. If it involves people skills, talk about how you worked with customers. You get the idea. Of course, make sure to get at the main tasks of your position, but pull out the pieces that are most relevant to your current job.

 

- It's great that you looked up your interviewer beforehand, but be careful about already going in with your own opinion of that person. It doesn't matter if he likes pop music or sports; I doubt he'll ask you about those. He's interviewing you for a job. If the topic of college comes up, you can mention that your girlfriend went to his alma mater, but the kind of music he listens to shouldn't matter.

 

- The "why did you get fired?" question is a very tough one. I think you're on the right track in not divulging exactly how thing went down, but saying you weren't suited to the position may not give enough information and may make people suspicious. Not really sure what a better answer is, though.

[HellFrost666]

I know it doesn't matter what kind of music he listens to. I just figured knowing a little about him personally might help me out.

 

Yea, I really am stumped about why I got fired. I was told when they fired me that it was because of poor work performance. (Obviously they gave me a better explanation then just that, but in short I did bad work,) Then I don't know if you saw the link I posted, but my old boss got drunk and told my girlfriend that he fired me because I wasn't social enough.

 

So... I can't tell them it was poor work performance, that would be really dumb of me. But then if they contact my old boss to see why I got fired, he'll tell them poor work performance, and I'll look like a liar. It just seems like there's no right way to handle that at all.

[abitbroken]

The point I was trying to make about the dishwashing job is that if you really just want a job, be open to what the interviewer sees you as in that company. Since jobs can be few and far between, you are more likely to find a spot somewhere if you are open. If someone really liked you but filled the spot with someone else, it will give them a chance to place you.

 

Anyway, with that being said, I agree being comfortable about open ended questions. Some folks think there are magic words here, but I find that honesty is the best policy. tell them you recently went back to school and what degree you are pursuing and that you are looking for a job to help support that goal. Focus on telling them past experience which show you are goal oriented. When an employer sees a student who is goal oriented, they have a feeling that they are not going to ditch the job after2 weeks because they have a long term goal of finishing school so want to keep their job to do so. Also, make it a point to find out about the company applying at before hand and figure out why the company is a good match for that. maybe the company has a good reputation and that is what prompted you to apply - or maybe you know someone who works there, etc. Interviewers don't like it when you haven't taken the time to learn what the company is about.

[abitbroken]

Well - don't list your old boss as a reference. Give them the number for the human resources department for employment verification. Unless you list your boss in your "references" section, they will most likely call the old employer to verify your employment dates, etc. In the section for personal and professional references - omit a contact from that job or ask a former coworker or other supervisor for a reference.

 

What was your exact job there? If it was very different than anything you have ever done, you can say you were laid off (i think you can use that term), that you were not a good fit for the department (i have to think of a better way to say it). Did you not have the proper training for the job? That might speak to not being a good match vs poor performance. Also, if you were let go in the first 90 days of employment - usually this is a probation period and they can let you go for any reason or no reason during that time sometimes. I wouldn't lie. I would be honest, but there are ways you can say the same thing without it sounded as negative. People lose jobs sometimes and if all your other reasons for not being at prior jobs is more positive (left for a higher paying job, relocated, laid off due to budget cuts, etc, ) for an entry level job it may not matter as much unless other candidates have a more spotless record). Some interviewees are more sympathetic if that one job you were fired at was you trying something different and everything else on your resume was in a different field from that one.

[HellFrost666]

Actually, my last job was in a field I've never worked in before. My job was Imagery Extraction Specialist. I worked there two years. They did train me... I was told it was bad work performance... in reality it was just because I wasn't social enough.

 

I don't use my old boss as a direct reference. But I know how my old employer handles these inquiries. If HR is called to verify that I worked there, they will put this guy through to my old boss. That kind of thing happened a lot there, because my old boss used to tell me about it.

[orchidrose]

Honestly, I think you're going to have a really tough time finding something with the issues with your last position. I read your post about what happened and I sympathize - it sounds like you really were let go for the wrong reasons. While many places don't need or place much weight on references, some do, and not having a strong one can really affect your chances.

 

It's been said a million times on this board, but the economy can make employers very picky. They often get hundreds of appilcants for one position, including applicants who are overqualified for the job and have stellar recommendations. It makes it very easy for them to look at someone who, to them, was fired, and say that they're not gonna take the chance.

[HellFrost666]

 

It's been said a million times on this board, but the economy can make employers very picky. They often get hundreds of appilcants for one position, including applicants who are overqualified for the job and have stellar recommendations. It makes it very easy for them to look at someone who, to them, was fired, and say that they're not gonna take the chance.

 

Wow, really? In 6 months of unemployment I had no idea. Lol...

[orchidrose]

Wow, really? In 6 months of unemployment I had no idea. Lol...

 

I'm trying to help and explain to you that what you think might be a personal problem of yours is in fact a systemic problem. I'm sorry that I continue to offend you.

 

Good luck.