Job interview follow up and other "peachy" news.

[cassanova]

They have 2 rounds of interviews. I do not think I'll be making the cut for the 2nd round. I've never had an interview like this in my life. Three men asking me questions from about 4-5 double sided pages about various things ranging from teamwork & leadership abilities, constructive criticism (how I can take it), how I'd handle certain situations, such as seeing a client that has alcohol on their breath, their gate is off, etc, etc., how I advocate certain programs like AA, certain mental disorders, and a host of other things, like critical thinking, and when was the last time I read a scholarly book, magazine, or article.

A decent portion of the questions dealt with things I have no or minimal experience with. I've never worked in a residential treatment facility, nor have I knowingly worked with mentally ill people. So I'm sure they were put off by more than a few of my answers to those questions, especially the one's where I said "I don't know," too. There were other questions I was asked, that I knew the answer too, but drew a blank and or didn't word the best of ways. That was due to being nervous. Hopefully, the 4 letters of recommendation I gave them will help convince them to get to the next phase of interviews and ultimately hire me.


Now in a nasty twist of fate, when I got to work today, my boss called me into his office & decided to let me go. For some reason, he thinks that because I interviewed with another company, I'm unhappy with my current situation. Though I am, unhappy there, I tried to explain to him that I submit the resume before I started working for him, and thought the professional thing to do was still take the interview. Didn't matter to him though, because he let me go anyway. He's also been telling the staff for a few months, that budget cuts were coming down the line. I was the last one hired, so I assumed I'd be the first one to be let go anyway. So I'm not all that butt hurt about it.

But I'd still appreciate it if you guys would pray for me to land this other job, or do whatever it is you do to help send luck other peoples way.

PS: To those of you that said "cut the hair." I'm glad I took that advice. This company is one of the more professionally dressed. They also do a lot in the public eye, so after learning that today, I know the long hair would've been a no go.

[MatticusMania]

Good luck, man!

[Phil Smith]

Wow, what a catch-22, the growing trend is that companies won't even consider you for employment if you don't have a job.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by Phil Smith

Wow, what a catch-22, the growing trend is that companies won't even consider you for employment if you don't have a job.

I've heard that from others too. Even heard that some job adds have been saying things like, "If you've been out of work 6 or more months, you need not apply."

As for the catch 22. I'm actually okay with it. I was being underpaid, and I don't really subscribe to the mindset of "any money is better than no money." Because that not only sells out me. It sells out everyone else trying to make a decent wage, by encouraging employers to keep underpaying people. The one that just let me go, didn't offer any benefits either, no even paid vacation, no sick days, no nothing. (The no benefits thing around here is another trend I've noticed.) The place I interviewed with today, has a very nice benefits package, that actually floored me after hearing about it.

[MJ5150]

I got stuck in one of those interviews for an IT job with the State of Washington. After over 20 minutes of bogus questions like "what would you do if you caught a financially desperate co-worker eating someone elses lunch from the break room fridge?", I let the panel of interviewers know I'd rather not work for them and walked out. One of the guys then told me I would be removed from consideration for future employment opportunities, and I said "thank you".

-Mike

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I got stuck in one of those interviews for an IT job with the State of Washington. After over 20 minutes of bogus questions like "what would you do if you caught a financially desperate co-worker eating someone elses lunch from the break room fridge?", I let the panel of interviewers know I'd rather not work for them and walked out. One of the guys then told me I would be removed from consideration for future employment opportunities, and I said "thank you".

-Mike

I commend you for telling them that, and think more people need to do the same when it comes to employers.

Some of the questions they asked were to field my character, knowledge of mental health/substance abuse, etc, which would all tie into the job somehow, but like your situation, most had little to do with the job, and were primarily seeking my opinion.

EX: One was how I feel about pharmacology in the use of mental health/substance abuse. I can't prescribe meds to clients, so as far as I'm concerned, it's a moot point about how I feel about it.

If I'm granted the second interview, I get to look forward to 3 different people giving me the 3rd degree for another 1.5 hours, but with completely different questions.

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I got stuck in one of those interviews for an IT job with the State of Washington. After over 20 minutes of bogus questions like "what would you do if you caught a financially desperate co-worker eating someone elses lunch from the break room fridge?", I let the panel of interviewers know I'd rather not work for them and walked out. One of the guys then told me I would be removed from consideration for future employment opportunities, and I said "thank you".

-Mike

Yeah, that happened to me too once. They were grilling me about actionscript (the script for Flash) as if I could recite code off the top of my head. Finally, I said, that I'm confident in my abilities and I know that I can work in the position if you hire me, if not you're welcome to fire me, but I'm not going to sit here, and let guys just grill me for an hour on code. I then stood up to leave. I felt like I had come in the middle of some kind of office political turmoil that I wanted no part of. They said, that if I walk out this door, I won't get this job. I responded that it was pretty evident I wasn't getting it anyway, so let's not waste anymore time. I left at that point. The called me about a month later to come in for another interview and I declined. Company went out of business two months later.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Yeah, that happened to me too once. They were grilling me about actionscript (the script for Flash) as if I could recite code off the top of my head. Finally, I said, that I'm confident in my abilities and I know that I can work in the position if you hire me, if not you're welcome to fire me, but I'm not going to sit here, and let guys just grill me for an hour on code. I then stood up to leave. I felt like I had come in the middle of some kind of office political turmoil that I wanted no part of. They said, that if I walk out this door, I won't get this job. I responded that it was pretty evident I wasn't getting it anyway, so let's not waste anymore time. I left at that point. The called me about a month later to come in for another interview and I declined. Company went out of business two months later.

Do employers really think applicants are that stupid that when we decide to terminate the interview, we don't realize the job will no longer be ours? For the life of me, I can't understand why they'd (employers) think someone is still interested in the job if they terminate the interview before it's over.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Good luck bud!

I've had a few horrible interviews in my limited time!

A 4 hour interview with who would have been my immediate bosses and the head of department.

A 1 hour interview with who would have been my immediate boss and the medical school board (7 people in total).

Neither were all that much fun!

[Munjibunga]

I wouldn't worry too much about your "I don't know" answers. If they had pages of questions, one of their objectives is to get a good estimation of your capabilities. If you could answer every question, then the interviewers might fear for their jobs. It's like a test in school. If every student gets them all right, the test sucks.

When I interviewed people, I'd generally make the questions increasingly difficult, covering ethics, interpersonal skills, business practices and hypotheticals that may be way beyond the requirements for the position. I needed to know if the person was overqualified. I would MUCH rather have someone say, "I don't know" than subject me to a monumental snow job. And trust me, a good interviewer has a well-calibrated BS meter.

[Kitsapbass]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I got stuck in one of those interviews for an IT job with the State of Washington. After over 20 minutes of bogus questions like "what would you do if you caught a financially desperate co-worker eating someone elses lunch from the break room fridge?", I let the panel of interviewers know I'd rather not work for them and walked out. One of the guys then told me I would be removed from consideration for future employment opportunities, and I said "thank you".

-Mike

At my work, we have someone that does that. Not that he's financially desperate - but that he just doesn't "like to go food shopping..."

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I wouldn't worry too much about your "I don't know" answers. If they had pages of questions, one of their objectives is to get a good estimation of your capabilities. If you could answer every question, then the interviewers might fear for their jobs. It's like a test in school. If every student gets them all right, the test sucks.

When I interviewed people, I'd generally make the questions increasingly difficult, covering ethics, interpersonal skills, business practices and hypotheticals that may be way beyond the requirements for the position. I needed to know if the person was overqualified. I would MUCH rather have someone say, "I don't know" than subject me to a monumental snow job. And trust me, a good interviewer has a well-calibrated BS meter.

I'm not worrying about it at all anymore. What's done is done, and what will be, will be. It's all out of my hands/control now, so worrying about it won't do anything other than add unnecessary stress to my life.

I didn't BS them, so their BS meter shouldn't have gone off. I'll admit, I could have and should have been more articulate on a few answers, but I certainly didn't BS them about anything. When I provided an "I don't really know" answer, or one that I said "I think it depends on the situation," I'd follow up with something like "I suppose I could try doing.... and if that's wrong, I'd expect one of my seniors to correct me, so I don't make the same mistake twice."

[gnjpowell]

How did your existing boss even know about the interview? One NEVER EVER talks or mentions this sort of thing till AFTER you have accepted an offer AND have a start date for the new job...

[Selta]

Originally Posted by gnjpowell

How did your existing boss even know about the interview? One NEVER EVER talks or mentions this sort of thing till AFTER you have accepted an offer AND have a start date for the new job...

This is where I'm confused.

[MatticusMania]

Clearly, there is a rat in cassanova's midst!

[KingRazor]

They're shutting down my department at the company I work for. Tried to transfer to other departments but have been denied each time so far due to lack of knowledge/experience in those areas. Hoping I find something by the first of November (last day for this department).

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by gnjpowell

How did your existing boss even know about the interview? One NEVER EVER talks or mentions this sort of thing till AFTER you have accepted an offer AND have a start date for the new job...

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

This is where I'm confused.

Ever think that maybe when I was on the phone with this company, they asked me if I was currently employed and if so, where? It's not an uncommon question. Perhaps they also asked me to email them a more recent copy of my resume, that included my current job and it's contact information? Maybe, when I called my boss to tell them I'd be late that day, I told him the truth, rather than lying to him. There are few ways he could've found out.

In this case, when they were first called, to screen me for an interview, they asked if I was employed. So, I told them. I also told my boss, they wanted to meet with me, when I called to tell him I was going to be late that day. He would've found out anyway when they called him to verify my employment there.

I don't really care, I tell people like it is, and have told more employers than not that I have an interview. This is the first and only time it's ever come back to haunt me. However, most jobs that I submit a 2 week notice too after being given a start date, have politely told me to finish out the day and not come back.

On a side note, he did write a very nice letter of recommendation for me. Something he didn't have to do.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by cassanova

I really care....

You and the boys from FNM: Faith No More - We Care A Lot - YouTube

Bonus question.....what TV show uses that song during the opening and closing credits?

-Mike

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

You and the boys from FNM: Faith No More - We Care A Lot - YouTube

Oops, meant I don't really care.

Bonus question.....what TV show uses that song during the opening and closing credits?

-Mike

That show would be Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.

[MJ5150]

BONUS prize to cassanova. You are the TBOT "/<ew/ dewd of the day, 10/14/2011".

-Mike