There was a conversation yesterday regarding employment interviews. I didn’t have much input, but I did think about it. My thoughts wouldn’t have been really accepted, so there really wasn’t much point in bringing them up.
Today I’ll put those thoughts to digital paper.
Most interviews really don’t have much to do with the skills that you’ve put down on paper. For the most part, they’re going to assume you’re not lying about your qualifications. Background checks and past employment history usually bear out your experience level. And in fact, you probably got the interview because you’re one of many who are at least as qualified as you. So, why did they want to interview you? To see if you have the right mindset, the right set of communication skills, the right attitude to fit in to their organization. Of course they’re going to ask you about your past experience. To me that’s just a topic of conversation that will open you up, to see how you interact with people.
I think most of the interviews where the person was trying to overimpress me with their accomplishments didn’t get hired. Also the ones that were so aggressive that as a manager I was worried about constant jockeying for a higher wage/position. While ambition is good, it’s not a good plan to tell your interviewer that you’ll be running the company one day. Especially if we were hiring a technician. We were looking for a technician, not someone who was going to be riding our ass so that we could see how much “better” they would be in a promoted position.
I’m not going to ever say that I have interviews nailed – but I’ve got a good idea how to approach them in the future. The last interview I had resulted in my current job.
Sometimes that’s why you’ll see people who may be less qualified get hired – because they approached the interview as more of a social interaction test rather than an opportunity to list your accomplishments.
Yes, it’s pretty cliche to have a leopard print jacket – but I dig it (I also include this photo with every resume I send out).
I don’t know that your opinion is off point at all. In fact, I attribute the fact that for every job I was interviewed for, only one has not resulted in an offer for employment. I believe that to be personality driven moreso than my qualifications. They knew my qualifications going into it.
I agree with you and feel you’re totally on point.
The job I didn’t get, I would have never socially fit in. Nor was I qualified enough to take the position anyway. Just kinda proves the point.