I had my first job interview today....

...and it went terrible. I thought I would of breezed through the questions, but there was a lot of "Um"'s and "I don't know"'s being tossed around. I'll take it as a lesson learned.

So how did it go? I'm looking for a change of scenery myself...

reply to post by pityocamptes


Sorry, I hit 'enter' prematurely. It went bad, imo.

Lol usually whenever I get questions like that I find myself talking my way out of it.

For example:
Employer: ] " So what are your flaws or weaknesses?"
Me: "My ... flaws? Hmm .. (dramatic pause), kryptonite. I tell ya man that stuff kills me!"
Employer: Har, Har, Har!! But getting back to the ...
Me: "Sorry to inturrupt but I would like to know what your flaws are sir".
Employer: "Uhhhh....Uhhh....Uhhh....."
Me:"Did I mention I have some college education?"
Employer: "How interesting! Tell me more!"



Gotta play it sly sometimes!

My first job interview went horrible but I got lucky because they were desperate.. since then ( 1998 ) I've been the interviewer for quite a while and just recently ( 2007 ) got to be the interviewee again... it definitely helped me!

It can be tricky, sometimes people can pull subtle tricks or ask surprise questions just to see how you react.. literally seeing if you cave under pressure.. I did that to my interviewees quite often.. asking complex mathematical questions, not caring if they were right or wrong.. just seeing how they reacted.. or impossible riddles made up on the spot.. In my line of work you can't just go by the book, you have to be able to improvise under pressure so someone who panics or gets nervous when faced with an unknown question would be a problem ..

Knowing that helped me be confident enough for when I was back in the interviewee chair ..

I don't think you should ever tell an interviewer what you think they want to hear, be honest.. try to be relaxed.. it's ok to pause and think just don't pause and think for 10 minutes.. don't look around the room.. be aware of your body language.. don't be over excited or too much in the "aim to please" attitude.. don't call too soon after the interview to follow up, if they are interested they will follow up with you .. if you don't hear something in a week then it doesn't hurt to call in .. don't e-mail because that to me sounds like you're not very serious about the position.. consider calling or even dropping back by..

depends on the job interview .but i would just lie about some of the questions........just remember you got to sell yourself to the employer.

Good luck wit it hope it goes well for ya......welcome to the real world of work.

Originally posted by anon102
Lol usually whenever I get questions like that I find myself talking my way out of it.

For example:
Employer: ] " So what are your flaws or weaknesses?"
Me: "My ... flaws? Hmm .. (dramatic pause), kryptonite. I tell ya man that stuff kills me!"
Employer: Har, Har, Har!! But getting back to the ...
Me: "Sorry to inturrupt but I would like to know what your flaws are sir".
Employer: "Uhhhh....Uhhh....Uhhh....."
Me:"Did I mention I have some college education?"
Employer: "How interesting! Tell me more!"

Gotta play it sly sometimes!

Usually it's safe to answer these things seriously .. you never know when these questions might come up so it's always good to think about them, these are some common ones! .. even potential CLIENTS sometimes ask these questions =)

My way personal flaws were crafted to sound like strengths.. for example I might say that one of my flaws, and it is a flaw.. is that I'm a perfectionist and I tend to follow a project through until I think it's completed to specification, I don't like to cut corners.. another flaw is that I don't like to leave projects incomplete which means I sometimes stay up until 1am on something, if not later.. those are examples of flaws where you can see the down side to it but the dedication to your work is admirable.

Originally posted by thedevos1
depends on the job interview .but i would just lie about some of the questions........just remember you got to sell yourself to the employer.

Good luck wit it hope it goes well for ya......welcome to the real world of work.

The danger in lying about questions is that if you land the job and it ends up being something long term, it could very well haunt you later.. my first job landed me in a team where everyone was close and became friends.. if you lied in your interviews it would no doubt come out in the end.. besides, who'd want to lie to get a job? ultimately you want to be in a job you like and are comfortable with... you can use humor to deflect a bit, but too much of that makes it obvious you're skirting around..

I dunno.. we always tended to hire those that were painfully honest and down to earth, those employees lasted longer and had a better working relationship with our teams

Anyway .. I've posted enough here in this thread, GOOD LUCK!

Its just something you get the hang of with practice, but it never gets easy. My last interview was (uknown to me at the time) with a panel of 4 interviewers, I walked in the room saw them and actually said "aw f***". I didnt get that job for some reason,

wait till your 1st job......hahahahhahahaha its gonna suck

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I'm usually pretty anti-social when sober, so... I don't know, it didn't go well for me. Never had the gift of gab, but when faced with the situation again, I'll be more prepared.

reply to post by AmrikazNightmar3


Stick at it mate. Don't let this put you off.

You will get there in the end , the main thing is to stay positive.
I find a few deep breaths before really calms me down.

reply to post by tombangelta


Cheers, mate!

reply to post by AmrikazNightmar3


Best way to prepare for an interview is to read up on standard interview questions and prepare your responses before going in.

Here are some tips:

1. Always dress conservative for an interview - the majority of businesses are conservative.

2. Research the company you have an interview with and know the products they manufacture and sell.

3. Always look the interviewer in the eye when greeting and shaking hands.

4. If they ask for a weakness always turn it into a positive like the previous poster who mentioned about being a perfectionist.

5. When they say "tell me about yourself" they want to know about your education and skills and how you can benefit their company if they hire you. Don't tell them your life story .

6. If they ask you when you could start, always act eager to start at any time.

7. Always, always be positive, don't talk negative or talk negative about the company.

8. Dress according to the type of job your interviewing for. Cover-up any tattoos!

9. Don't be a wise as$ or cocky, it's a sure way to lose the job.

10. Shut your cell phone off before the interview.

11. Be ready to talk about your last job in case you were fired. Most will call if you are a final candidate.

12. Be 10 to 15 minutes early for the interview.

13. Always be friendly with the secretary (don't over do it) sometimes they can help influence the decision.

14. Make sure you follow up by sending a thank you letter to the interviewer for giving you a chance to talk about your qualifications for the job. (These little things have a an impression on interviewers and make you stand out among the rest).

15. I'm not just giving you pointers, it's coming from someone who had to interview many young people like yourself.

Good Luck young man, the more prepared you are the better the first impression.

Ahh man I hate them so much, I always do badly in interviews, too nervous.
Worst part is when they say "Tell me about yourself".

I have it down now though, (I went on a jobseekers training course).
This could be helpful: "I'm hardworking, trustworthy and reliable, I enjoy learning new skills and improving on my existing abilitites".

As other posters have said, turn a weakness in to a positive, ie. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist".

Don't put all your eggs in one basket, get a business directory and send CV's to anyone and everyone.

Good luck in your job seeking.

Originally posted by AmrikazNightmar3
Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I'm usually pretty anti-social when sober, so... I don't know, it didn't go well for me. Never had the gift of gab, but when faced with the situation again, I'll be more prepared.

I'm similar, but now i'm a night porter in a Hotel.
Got a chance at this position because my Brother is a Chef here.
Thats another thing, one of the best ways to get into an interview situation is by word of mouth.
Friends or friends of friends can be the key to finding a position.

reply to post by Chukkles


Thanks... That was the first question they asked and it went downhill from there. I had no idea what to say. Hopefully, things work out.

Most of all be yourself.

Honestly.

If this means you are a person that curses and makes innuendos in your interview, that means you should be interviewing places that want you to curse and make innuendos... provided that is truly who you are.

I have done many interviews, on both sides, and I can assure you that you will find far more satisfaction in a lower paying, but better fitting, role if you are honest.

Namaste my friend. I wish you the greatest of luck combined with perseverance in your search.

So now that you have some great advice, I just want to say good luck! It can be intimidating at first, but the person interviewing you puts his pants on one leg at a time too.