Job Interview In Two Days -- Tips?

[manasecret]

I've got my first job interview pretty much ever Thursday morning. I've had the same job since my senior year in high school, and kept it all through college and immediately after college. Along the way I was promoted and did more and more, to the point where I'm pretty much on top of the heap here. But it means I never had an interview for a job. I have had a couple other interviews, but for less critical things.

So, I'm nervous! I try not to be, but just can't help it. I'm preparing -- reading the company website, getting advice from everyone and your grandma on the internet, getting sample questions and working out some general answers in my head. But it's nerve-wracking. The CEO, President, and two managers will be part of the interview.

But I'm trying to remember, that I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!

Any tips? How would you answer some of the questions, such as --

What is your greatest weakness?
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten Years?
What do you consider your two or three greatest accomplishments?

[Jason1]

I have never had a good answer for the "greatest weakness question" I will be curious as to what others say.

As for "Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years" I always say something along the lines as working for a company, possibly this one, where I can continue to learn new skills and work hard to advance within the company.

For 2 or 3 greatest accomplishments, that shouldnt be too hard. Graduating college, and the like.

[Teuthida]

Originally Posted by manasecret

What is your greatest weakness?

"Kryptonite." And then immediately bend a steel bar. Works every time.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten Years?

"According to my last time travel trip..."

What do you consider your two or three greatest accomplishments?

"Did you not see me bend that steel bar? And I time travel for goodness sake!"


Eh, just be honest. What's the job if I may ask?

[Typhoid]

I've never been asked any of those questions for any job interview.
All the interviews I've had have just been hanging out with the employer getting to know eachother, and seeing if you actually get along.

My advice would be to just not panic. Just chill out, be yourself. You don't want to get hired on the basis they think that you think you're infallible. If you have a flaw, say it. Just answer everything legitimately, and be yourself. If they don't hire you because you were acting like yourself, fuck 'em.

[Xantar]

What is your greatest weakness?

Any counselor will tell you never to answer this question honestly. I actually have done just fine by saying up front that I'm very blunt. But if you want a good compromise answer, try something like, "I know from prior experience that (insert menial task like filing or answering the phone) is not my favorite part of the day. I understand it's an important part of the job and I will do it, but I can't tell you in all honesty that I'll greatly enjoy it."

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten Years?

You're only in your 20s, right? Then the correct answer is, "At this stage in my life, anything could happen." Of course, every interviewer already knows this, and the point of the question is to find out if you have ambition and where you are likely to direct it. A pretty reasonable answer would probably be, "In five years, I could be in graduate school looking to go further in this field." Or, "I see myself in a position of responsibility supervising some other employees."

What do you consider your two or three greatest accomplishments?

Sorry. Can't answer that for you. It's completely individual and personal to you. The best advice I can give is that at this point in the interview, you have probably been asked, "What is your greatest strength?" So pick some accomplishment that reinforces that.

My last tip is to be candid and be yourself. That doesn't mean you have to spill all your shameful secrets, and it doesn't mean you shouldn't try to present the best side of yourself. But at the end of the day, you're not going to deceive them outright about anything, and you shouldn't really try. Interviewers usually appreciate it if they get the sense that you're being honest and straightforward with them. And if they don't, maybe you wouldn't have fit in so well with that company anyway.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Jason1

I have never had a good answer for the "greatest weakness question" I will be curious as to what others say.

There are only a couple good ways to answer this. And trust me, I've interviewed a ton of people. The best way is to turn your weakness into a strength. You have to say something like "I'm a bit of a perfectionist, in that I probably go over my work too many times to make sure it's accurate." Don't say you don't like to answer phones if that's part of the job. Honesty is not always the best policy.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Xantar

You're only in your 20s, right? Then the correct answer is, "At this stage in my life, anything could happen."

I disagree with this, too. Anyone who tells me they want to leave to go back to school or they want to be a teacher is basically shooting themselves in the foot. We want people who are going to be committed to working here; it takes too long to train people. We actually had a girl tell us she wanted to be a teacher but wasn't able to get a job in that field. Of course we aren't going to hire her, because she's just going to bolt when when she finds what she really wants.

[Teuthida]

Originally Posted by Neo

There are only a couple good ways to answer this. And trust me, I've interviewed a ton of people. The best way is to turn your weakness into a strength. You have to say something like "I'm a bit of a perfectionist, in that I probably go over my work too many times to make sure it's accurate." Don't say you don't like to answer phones if that's part of the job. Honesty is not always the best policy.

That was my first thought but figured they'd expect a canned answer like that. "I work too damn hard." "I have a compulsion to get along with my coworkers." "I tend to do whatever my boss tells me too. I sodomized an ostrich at last job. I'm that obedient."

I disagree with this, too. Anyone who tells me they want to leave to go back to school or they want to be a teacher is basically shooting themselves in the foot. We want people who are going to be committed to working here; it takes too long to train people. We actually had a girl tell us she wanted to be a teacher but wasn't able to get a job in that field. Of course we aren't going to hire her, because she's just going to bolt when when she finds what she really wants.

I dunno. The last time I had to answer that question I was truthful and now I'm about to attain what I said I would be doing five years from then. Of course there was no way I was going to stay at that crap job for five years. I think I lasted five months. But yeah, if you really want the job, lie like crazy. If you want to be a teacher or go back to school, lie and you'll still get the job. How is that better? Why would you prefer someone who lies that they want to stay there but will bolt at anytime as opposed to someone who's truthful and you'll know exactly how long they might be there for?

Then again I'm biased against jobs that interview you like that where you can easily be replaced and they care more about your personality and compliance than your work. I liken it to a beauty pageant without the swimsuit competition. I suppose you need that though if don't have prior experience for the job you're applying for.

[manasecret]

Sweet advice guys. I am very impressed. And Teuth, with your nerd cocktail articles and your posts here, I have come to the conclusion that you are a comedic genius.

I'll edit this post with more thoughts in just a minute.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Teuthida

If you want to be a teacher or go back to school, lie and you'll still get the job. How is that better? Why would you prefer someone who lies that they want to stay there but will bolt at anytime as opposed to someone who's truthful and you'll know exactly how long they might be there for?

Well either way the person's going to leave, right? As an employer, I'd rather them tell me up front. But from your perspective, you don't want me to know that you're going to bolt. So LIE, LIE, LIE!

[manasecret]

Well that was a long minute... Sorry I didn't get back two days ago! I ended up preparing and writing answers all that day, in between getting my stomach out of my throat.

So, the interview is over... aaaaaaaanddd...

It went well! It's all almost a blur at this point, but going in I was hugely nervous from the build-up. The same day as my last post, I found out it was a joint interview with five people, including the CEO and President.



But the president put me immediately at ease. They started the interview by describing their company and history, and he was an amicable guy, so it was a great relaxing start. Also, the CEO wasn't there and wasn't going to be there for most of the interview!! So a big weight off right up front. It let me be myself and confident.

Two biggest pieces of advice that I got which worked amazingly:

1. Make three key talking points that you know the company wants in that position. And the amazing part is that you don't even have to guess what those are, the company will tell you themselves! Before the interview, ask the H.R. person or whoever you're in contact with, what are the three key things needed to be successful for this position. Think about how you can provide those three key things, fill it out with examples, and focus on those. So if you get thrown a curveball that you're not sure how to answer, you can always work it back into your talking points. Kind of like politicians do. Very effective.

2. In the same email with the H.R. person, ask who will be involved in the interview. Then do as much research as you can on them. I wasn't a big fan of LinkedIn before this interview, but I am now. They specifically said they were impressed that I knew quite a lot about each of them and how they got to their position. The best part for me is that it simply brought these guys with big titles back to earth, because I found ways I could relate to them. It turns out the President started as an intern at the company in college, and worked his way up from there. That is pretty much exactly how my career has gone, so I had an immediate connection.

So, I'm hopeful about my chances, but there were certainly some things I could have answered better or done slightly better in the pseudo-code test. I'm supposed to find out in a week or two....

[BreakABone]

Since this thread is here, just set up a phone interview.

I've never done one of those before (properly anyhow, I've had "interviews" over the phone but generally as a way to set up another interview) so how is that different?

[manasecret]

Never done one, but have read some advice on it. Biggest advantage you have on a phone interview, is that it's open-book. You can have as many sources as you need right in front of you. This apparently can also work against you if you don't take advantage of it, because at the same time they may expect you to have all your sources in front of you.

Update on my interview: I was interviewing for a software engineer position. Turns out within two hours of the interview ending, they sent me an email saying they all discussed that they think I would be a better fit as a support engineer for them, also an open position. A strange place for me to be in, because I would really like to work for the company, especially as a software and/or electronic engineer. And I've always thought of support engineering as engineering lite. Would it be challenging enough for me?

I spoke to my dad about what he thinks about support engineers since he has a long history in an industry of engineers, and he says it can fall into two categories -- one where it really is engineering lite, just basically answering the exact same questions from users over and over, or on the other hand having a large rewarding influence, where you get to pass on the user's needs to really affect a project. Or some such.

[Vampyr]

I'm currently working as a software developer at Dell. One of the most important things to do in an interview for a software development position is to talk about projects you've worked on in your own time, to show you're passionate about programming.

I didn't have to write any code in my interview, though. Seems like it would be stressful.

[gekko]

Pseudo-code test? Were you going for a programming interview? Those are generally a little different than interviews for other careers.