Last week in desperation I applied for a job and was called in for an interview.
The vibe was relaxed and friendly. My interviewer had all sorts of questions for me about all the places I've lived. Oddly enough, he was fascinated by the southern states in the US. "Is it really as crazy as they say?"
"Um, well, it depends on where you go."
All the chit-chat now completed, he got down to the questions. We were rolling through them without a hitch.
"What is it that you want to achieve from your work?"
"I love working with people: meeting their needs, interacting with them, achieving common goals together."
"What would your family and friends say about you?"
"That I'm a good listener and that I would go out of my way to help someone."
"What is an area in your life that could use some working on?"
"Um ... err ..." Which do I say? "Can we come back to that one?"
As he asked me other questions, I answered "People, Customer Service, People ... Did I mention people?"
"Ok, now back to the question we skipped. What is an area in your life that could use some working on?"
"Um ... well ... perhaps ... (I should have thrown in a Miss Teen South Carolina 'such as') err ... (Oh! and then it occurred to me!) Administration! I could grow more administratively ... (gasp! my eyes got big with the realization of it all. I laughed out loud.) That's bad, isn't it? (laughter) This is an administrative job I'm applying for, after all."
I left the interview laughing and shaking my head. Ah, sure I could type in data from invoices all day as well as anyone else, but I wasn't fooling anyone, that job just wasn't meant for me. How much will I laugh if I actually get hired for it?!
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8 comments:
yes, the south IS crazy... you gonna take the job if you get it?
No, I'm sending the interviewer an email today to tell him not to bother with considering me. It wouldn't be fair on the company. I need to go to Sydney for a week in November and then will be away much of January and preparing to move the beginning of February. If I could get some casual/part-time Christmas season work that would be ideal. But this position was full-time/permanent.
lol Christine!
The "What area do you need to work on" is a pretty standard interview question - it's good to have a prepared answer.
One way to deflect it is to say something like -
"In the past, I've struggled with x, but I feel I've made good progress with that issue."
a friend of mine had been told in a performance review at an old job that she showed 'too much initiative'.
so she always used that one when 'what are you weaknesses' came up in job interviews.
LOL
yeah, perfectionism is a good "weakness" to have ;) although, probably depends on which type of job you're going for.
Hey Christine, can I just say that if you're out for customer service work... I would highly suggest you don't go for the commonwealth bank (they are vodafone hire pretty regularly) - they're absolutely awful! I did manage it for 5 months but that was only for the money.
I hope it goes well though. I guess with Myer gone, that's one major source of Christmas casual work ruled out.
oops, anon was me
Commonwealth bank is apparently good for the cash, but they do push you to sell some stuff. The money is sweet as though, according to several friends who've worked there.
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