Interview the second
This was another job I didn't think I wanted: The guy sends me an email offering me a telephone interview on Thursday morning, 7.30 am.
[7. 25 am Wednesday morning]
Phone rings
Me: [yawning and grumbling out of bed, all the way to the phone] "Uh, hello?"
Bloke: "Hi! This is Paul! Could I speak to Jay please?"
Me: [not happy, still not awake] "Speaking."
Bloke: "I'm calling from x software. We arranged this tele-interview via email? I'm sorry I'm five minutes early calling you, you sound a bit surprised?"
Me: "Yeah, I am. You're not five minutes early, you're a day and 5 minutes early!"
Bloke: "But I'm sure.....Oh my God....Sorry Jay, I really must apologise. I don't know how that happened. Sorry"
Me: "It's ok. I look forward to speaking to you in about 24 hours?"
Bloke: "Yes! Certainly! Sorry again"
[Thursday Morning.] Just some highlights.
Bloke: "So, imagine you've discovered a co-worker behaving inappropriately. How do you react to that?" (TT was really surprised I didn't get asked this one at the last interview, apparently it's a classic question here)
Me: "I ran my own business. Everyone I employed was interviewed by me. Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to employ people that would act inappropriately around me?"
Bloke: [after period of silence]"Ok. Let's rephrase it then. Can you think of a time that a client behaved inappropriately?"
Me: [thinks for a moment, then:] "Good question! Much better! I once had a client that used to call me all the time for progress updates on his project. He'd often call really late in the evening or at weekends. He was so awful my girlfriend nicknamed him 'DickFace'. That was too much info wasn't it?"
Bloke: "No, no, it's excellent!"(I can tell he's trying not to laugh) "So, how did you handle that situation?"
Me: "The next time I came home from the pub, about midnight, I called him on his home number and gave him an update on the progress of his project. He told me that now wasn't an appropriate time to call and I replied "Glad you know how it feels" and then invoiced him at double my normal rates. That's not what you wanted to hear is it?"
Bloke: [openly laughs]
-final situation -
Bloke: "I can tell that you use humour to put people at ease. Has your use of humour ever backfired on you?"
Me: "Nope"
Bloke: "How about now? I'm a little annoyed that you're not taking this seriously?"
Me: "Yeah, but it's not backfiring on me cos I can do the job, I can get the job, I'm just not sure if I want the job. So it's not really backfiring is it?"
He offered me a job paying more the H Comms. I'd say the moral of the story is "be yourself" at interview. If you think the questions are bollocks then tell them so.
Since this "finding work" thing is so easy I may leave it a while longer...
posted by Only me @ 12:32 pm
7 Comments:
I wish finding work were that easy for me. Your interview skills cracked me up!
Thank you sir, kind comments indeed! Finding work can be that easy for you, I promise. Just remember to think "They want me more than I want them" before you go into the interview.
Imagine the tables are turned. Imagine you're interviewing them to see if the job is suitable for you. They respond to it!
My VH1 is only here because of my job - and it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm sure men screaming with logs are more entertaining at times. And thanks for the comment.
Telephone interviews can be tricky. It's remarkable that most companies don't have it half as together as one would think! :P
Behavioral questions are horrid sometimes... always bs'd my way through them. lol. Congrats on the better offer, though! Congrats that you had the balls to be yourself (you discovered the "secret" - coming from an HR Lead on hiatus, too)!
dillon: Believe me, aboroginal music isn't all it's cracked up to be. And seeing their private parts jiggling around in ill-fitting underwear isn't overly pleasant either...
heidi: I had real fun with that one... as soon as I'd decided I didn't want the job! It's gone further now though because they appeared to give an even better offer. I'm just about to post about it.
I always treat interviews 'backwards' - as if I'M interviewing THEM. I spend most of the interview trying to think of something stunning to say when they conclude and ask me if I have any questions for them. Most interviewees say, "Oh, no, thank you," but it's good to ask them things like, "So, how many people do you fire or lay off every year?"
goblinbox: or perhaps "Yes, when do I start?"!
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