I am going in for a big interview tomorrow with a major medical device and pharmaceutical company. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous because its a total career change and it could really open up new doors for me as far as salary and advancement are concerned. So I've been reading up on the company and looking over my own resume to make sure I'm prepared to talk about anything on it. Making sure my suit looks good, getting a haircut, etc. Focus: What are some interview stories, good or bad that you have experienced and what did you learn from them? Did you end up getting an offer? Alt focus: Interview tips that might be helpful in general to all of us. Maybe some insight from the side of the employer.
I had a great interview for a post college job before I graduated, until I realized I went through the entire thing with my fly open. I wear boxers without a button on the flap, so its hard to say if whether Mr. Winky made an appearance. I eventually got that job, then two weeks before graduation I was laid off due to the Recession before I even started. I had to take a job at Staples EZ Tech (their version of Geek Squad) for 2 months. I went to that interview in a full suit and tie. The look on the hiring manager's face was priceless when I strolled in there like that. Way over dressed, way over qualified. I ran that tech shop like a well-oiled machine. In a serendipitous twist of fate, 5 years later that job that laid me off before I started is now a client and they take my team's on advice business strategy. Yay. Bump.
My SIL had a pretty good answer for this, she used to say she over-prepares. Makes sense, doesn't sound too fake and gets them to move on to the next question. Sounds way better than, "I care too much"
So I've been on a few of these but not all of my recommendations are going to apply to your field. I know fuck all about the medical field, so omit as you see fit. I'm an IT Director for a lobbying firm and the people I work with and for have some of the largest egos known to man. They maintain very little technical knowledge, but certainly don't let that stand in their way of having an opinion. Here's the thing - you need to be able to craft that feeling of simpatico during the interview. You know that feeling on a first date where you and her just seem to click? That's what you're after. Panel interviews can be a bit more challenging, but you need to channel that inner douche bag and come across as dominant yet open to input. - Maintain eye contact - Wear something you feel good in - Caffeinate as needed - Balance hungry yet not desperate. ...and most of all, give the impression you are more than happy to walk away if its not a good fit. I don't care if you're living on the street, spin up a tale of independent consulting and sell it like your life depends on it. When I sat for my current position, I had been lounging around in my boxers, getting high and watching South Park reruns for the last six months. This is obviously not what you're going for. If you're currently employed, tell your interviewer you're happy where you're at, but this opportunity with XYZ firm was too good to pass up and you figured what the hell and applied on a whim. Your current (or former) boss is your best friend - you watch his/her kids and take their sailboat out on the weekends and would take a bullet for them. People love to feel special, so I don't care if your interviewer is a 900lb she-beast. Compliment the shoes, say something nice - if you don't walk out of the interview feeling like you need a shower, you haven't done your job. Match your interviewer's style. If your interviewer is being a massive showoff, you better act amazed. If your interviewer is reserved and polite, maintain your diction and watch for queues for when to shut the fuck up. If you get one that is just there to drill you into the concrete...I don't know. I've walked out of interviews for not solving problems on the spot. Consider this, if they're behaving like this in front of company, imagine what they're like on the day to day. This is your one shot to serve as a walking advertisement for yourself, so leave your modesty pants at home. Did you increase sales across the board 15%? - you're damn right you did. Did you revolutionize you industry with tactics only known to you? - absolutely. Imagine being someone else and trying to sell you as a product. Your results may vary.
Have something to ask when they get to the end of their questions and ask if you have any questions for them. Questions like 'Can you describe the corporate culture?' or 'What is the corporate mission statement and values?' are relevant to 'fit', and that's what interviews are all about. For the biggest weakness question, choose something that has a concrete solution that you've implemented. For example, I interviewed a research candidate who said hers was that in the past she'd get too focused on needless details and spend too much time on them. To solve the problem, she'd create a timeline of what was actually necessary and how much time each step should realistically take. If she found herself going over that amount of time it prompted her to ask where she was spending it, and if it was really relevant to what she was working on. Everyone gives this question a bullshit answer, but I'm looking less for what the answer actually is and more for the 'don't tell me you have a problem, tell me you have a problem at least a potential solution' philosophy.
I got googled once during an interview and made to defend something I wrote about getting laid. Later he called me a rebel without a cause.* One interviewer started by pointing out how similar my name is to that of a famous prostitute.** *Got the offer **Did not get the offer
Wow, that's something I've put a lot of thought into before coming in today so I'm glad you asked. I've found I can be a bit too focused on getting a project completed before I leave for the day, almost to the detriment of my personal life. I find it hard to leave something not accomplished and dread not having a clean desk coming into the office tomorrow. I've overcome this by scheduling my personal life a little more effectively and allowing enough time to work though a difficult problem. Now that I think about it, do you guys have a standing policy on weekend office access? I've found it really helps to come in when no one is around and think through an issue I may have had difficulty with during the week. I disgust myself.
My response to that is "define weakness". I've had a 20 minute conversation around just that, giving examples of what they perceive as a weakness and showing that it is actually a strength for the position they're hiring for. Might not make me everyone's best friend, but it gets the job done, and done well. More often than not they've not given any thought to it whatsoever and ask it only because it seems like everyone does. So yeah, my biggest weakness is not being afraid to call people out on shit and not being political. My biggest strength is in not giving a shit. Never underestimate the power of not giving a shit.
The pharmaceutical sales rep jobs that I have interviewed for ask a LOT of the canned, scripted questions, so google some lists and figure out how you want to answer them if that is the field you are interviewing with. The last interview I had was not bad at all. They described the job at length and asked me a few softballs, like what kind of management style I had experienced and which I preferred, where I see myself with the company, how long I planned on staying (what a shitty question--but I believe they see a revolving door of employees for this position), and what I disliked most about my last/current job. I have only had a handful of interviews so I am not a seasoned, polished interviewee, but like el husband said when I was about to simultaneously shit my pants and vomit the night before the interview--just be yourself. Waitressing fucking sucks but it has made me very easygoing around strangers and I give off a likeable, agreeable aura. Play to your strengths.
I saw this posted somewhere else before (Reddit, I think) where a someone suggested you go out and make embossed business cards that simply state "My preparedness is often interpreted as arrogance." Just pull out the card and slide it to them.
My consulting interview was with my old supervisor, who I adore. After we went over my skills and all, he pulled up some movie clip on his laptop and asked me to watch 5 minutes of some old pirate movie and tell him what was wrong with it. When I told him the pirate patch changed eyes halfway through, he offered me the job.
This may seem like a no-brainer but ask if there is mentorship involved in the position and room for growth as well. It shows the interviewer, who may be your potential boss (maybe not in a pharm rep interview mind you) that you have ambition, want to learn and be better. Another important question to ask, that many don't consider, is why was the position vacated and how long was the last person in the position. Don't be bashful about it, you want to know what you are walking into. You could be working for the world's largest flaming asshole and he/she may chew people up and spit them out on a regular basis.
The guy I currently report to and I have talked about this before. I have always thought it was an Interview Amateur Hour question, yet he always asks that question and listens to the response. His reasoning? He wants to hear if they can actually come up with something. Not just the clichéd "I'm a perfectionist so sometimes that's hard to deal with" or other bullshit "I'm probably TOO awesome" answers, but something that convinces him they're at least a smidgen insightful and can admit they aren't perfect. He firmly believes that if a person cannot come up with one simple weakness, then they aren’t nearly insightful enough or honest enough with themselves for him to trust.
For me, I get all of that from asking technical questions, because I do hire for technical positions predominately. It's a given that nobody knows everything in technology, and the more experienced you get the more you realize how much you don't know. I will flood candidates with questions about tech that is all over the map, and get a feel for how they're answering. The straight up ones will come out and say, "I have no idea what that is", or "I've heard of it, and think it's similar to ____, which I happen to know a fair bit about", or "sounds like something fun to learn", etc. In short, they'll be up front and have no problem admitting they don't know anything about it. And that is the right answer. Then you get the ones that will try and either answer the question with something that is not at all related thinking that any answer is a good answer, or they try to bullshit you into thinking they know what they're talking about. Those are the ones that I like to pull on the thread until the sweater is unravelled. That is a line of questions that are relevant to the job and gets the same information out of the candidate, without making you (the interviewer) look like a tool. Because so many people seem to forget that the interview is a two-way event... I'm judging and evaluating you just as much as you are me, so if you come at me with a bunch of mindless drivel there's a good chance I'm not going to want to work for you. Happened to me a while ago when I was being interviewed to head up an architecture division at a bank.... they interviewed me and started giving me a bunch of tests that were not at all relevant... as in intern-level tech exams. I looked at the first one and said, "I'm not doing this". "Why not? Everyone does them". "Right... so they're useless. You're not hiring for a generic, junior level position, you're hiring a director of online architecture, so ask me relevant questions. If you ask me simple, irrelevant questions it's a waste of my time and tells me that you're either playing games, or you don't know what you're doing, or you don't know what the position actually does, and in any of those cases I'm not interested in working for you." "But, everyone has to write that test... it's like a rite of passage." "Thanks for having me out, but I'm not interested." And I left. A few days later on the HR Director called me to debrief, "you looked like the perfect candidate". Yep, well, I don't play games and I'm not going to jump through arbitrary hoops to get the job. A week later she called to say that she'd discussed it with others and came around to my way of thinking, and asked if I'd be interested in meeting again for the position, but by then I was hired into my current gig and declined. In the end, so many people that interview others for a job have no fucking clue what they're doing, but think that they've magically obtained some sort of psychological evaluation capability that allows them to get some sort of deep insight into people based on nervous answers to inane questions. It's bullshit. Unless you're a trained interviewer, stick to the basics, and just read the person's behaviour in the process of asking those basic questions. Then realize that it's probably one of the most stressful times of their life, and cut them some slack.
What they're really asking with that question is "What is a weakness from your past and how have you worked towards self-improvement". As long as you begin "In the past, I..." and end with a way you're getting better, you're fine. Also, I have gone on 4 interviews in the last month, and no one has asked me that question. Focus: I have had 4 interviews in the last month, and they have all been on FaceTime because I live in PA and I'm getting interviews from NC. Finding an appropriate angle on FaceTime that doesn't make every flaw on your face extremely obvious is how I have spent the hour before each interview. Alt-Focus: Write answers to questions you think they are going to ask on index cards and practice answering the questions like you are not reading them directly from an index card. Have relevant questions ready for when they ask and if they answer those questions in the interview, tell them that. One shows that you have done your research and the other strokes the egos of your interviewers because they are "so informative". If it is the kind of job that has a particular product or concept, have a portfolio of your work for each person in the interview. Few people actually do this,oddly enough, and it will make you stand out. Above all else, go into the interview as if you are going in to have a chat with an old friend. Pretending you have known the people for years makes the process less stress-inducing.
So I have question that will is relevant to this thread. I got fired in mid July. The issue is alcohol related in that I had a long standing habit of getting drunk and not showing up to work. My boss did always say I was the best employee he had when I was there. I have since been to rehab and am looking for work again. My question is how honest should I be with prospective employers as to why I left my last position? It would be nice to use my last employer for a reference as it was my first job out of college.
What you're supposed to do with this is simple. You state something that can barely be perceived as a weakness then in the same breath talk about your implemented solution. Example 1 : "I used to have a problem with organization, but I've fixed it by getting a planner/using post it notes/etc." (Don't use organization, its a big deal, just an example.) Example 2: "I am working on being more concise in emails, for efficiency and readability. If time permits, I'll create an outline/bullet points of information I'm delivering, then flesh it out from there. I already do this for client/upper management facing presentations with great success, and applying that to lengthy emails has been helpful." No one has been hired or fired that I know of for being long winded, but at the same time, no one likes a long winded person. One other tip to help you stay relaxed. They need you too. Chances are in most jobs, the person interviewing you is currently doing your job and their job. They're looking for someone to help them out, maybe get drinks with after work once in awhile. Don't be scared to go off topic for a bit, just make sure you're the one to bring it back to the interview. *Shit looks like lostalldoubt has beat me to it as I was taking forever to post this.
So what you're saying is that if you show dick, you will get the job. Personally, I'm a huge fan of case-style interviews.I kind of think you learn dick-all about a candidate by asking them about their greatest weakness is, "tell me about a time you...", etc. That primarily gauges their level of preparedness for interviews, their ability to bullshit, and their ability to form a compelling narrative. Not useless traits, but probably not the best indicators of ability for most jobs. Even for ones that aren't technical per se, you find out a lot about how clever someone is. One question: what do you all recommend in terms of conveying the impression that you will be a speedy learner / capable employee for positions that require and/or prefer technical qualifications? If, say, the job will involve coding in a particular language that you're unfamiliar with, how do you credibly convey confidence in your ability to adapt/learn while also not lying about your shortcomings in that regard?
You may get some different answers here, but I'll chime in with what I would do. It never happened. The job, the boss, the incident, all of it - never happened. Fabricate a company, have a friend pose as your employer and provide a reference. Don't have any friends? No problem - there are a myriad of services designed to help as Google is your friend. Change your LinkedIn, setup a Google voice number for the shill company and hold whatever story you tell until the day you die or leave the company. If you make it your reality, aren't up for a security clearance and won't be working with children you should be ok. I don't know what kind of industry you're in or where you're located, but with the employment market the way it is, this better than being tainted by any sort of alcohol related incident, which in some circles, renders you unemployable. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, but employers are looking to avoid liability. If you inform them of a potential liability and they happen to have a stack of resumes, what would you do if you were in their shoes? Not a good liar? Then you're now looking for your first job out of college.
I wouldn't be too honest about that. Strikes me as a huge liability knowing you could fall down the rabbit hole again at any time. I would explain that you are a flawed individual who had some demons to work past, and turn your personal growth into a positive. Instead of saying that you like the sauce a little too much. Its not really their business anyway.