at 11am and 1pm, today, I took the subway to 2 interviews in manhattan ny (retail store, and office job with a staffing agency). I think i appeared nervous, though I tried not to. and I might have answered some questions not that greatly. anyway I hope I passed at least 1 interview. theyll call me tomorrow or day after.
How can I seem less nervous or appear to struggle with the right words during interviews? Also, where can I go to get free rehearsals to practice so I have less chance of getting questions that stump me?
the job types that I most likely will be interviewing for are electronics sales and office jobs. im not good at anything else though Id try them if I have no other choice.
tia
P.s.: I need a job so bad that honestly I was even thinking of begging on my knees for him to pass me on that interview or bowing at the end of the interview. i dont know would that be a really stupid or bright idea?
and when he asks me "do u have any questions?" what should i say?
if worse comes to worse I failed the interview, can I re-interview there again later?
Message edited by: pyee01 on 2009-11-10 12:05:43 CST
do you say "never mind" or "I meant to say" a lot, like how your edit your posts?
no, i try to speak clearly and with confidence.
I never said never mind or I meant to say. I just stuttered with synonyms: "what type of expereince do u have? I have lots of customer service experience in a retail setting helping customers. So, I am very comfortable with this stores environment...setting."
and when he asked me "why do u want to work at my store? I forgot to mention how its "THE grandest store." Instead I got caried away on "the company's "firsts"." ("First to do .....")
so basically I dont know if did well or poorly and if Im worrying needlessly or not
yes I tried practicing my skills with mommy but she didnt prepare me enough. can one prepeare enough for a interview?
Message edited by: pyee01 on 2009-11-09 22:32:26 CST
You are expected to be a little nervous in an interview, so don't worry too much about that. Prepare some answers for the standard interview questions (you can find these on various job search websites), so that you at least nail those questions when they come. Be knowledgeable about the company you are interviewing for and how exactly your skill set will be of value to that specific company. Don't be afraid to take a moment after a question is asked to think through it and compose your answer, interviews are not OT you can't go back and endlessly edit your replies. When an interviewer asks if you have any questions, ask some questions. Saying no makes you seem disinterested in the company and the position. Again, a job search website will help you to start thinking about what kind of questions would be appropriate to ask.
It is a little worrisome that you don't know how you did. It is usually pretty easy to judge how an interview is going by body language, the kind of questions being asked, the length of the interview, and any other number of things. Every time I have gone on an interview I have known whether I felt it went well or not. Of course just because I felt it went well didn't necessarily mean I got the job. I have never landed a job from an interview I felt went poorly though. This is something you need to seriously think about as it is the only way you will get better. One of the first things I will do after an interview (well perhaps after taking a shot of booze) is to write down my thoughts about the interview and what I thought went well and what I need to improve for next time. For me at least, if I don't do it immediately after I tend to forget some of the details of the interview (I blame it on my body coping to a high stress circumstance).
Message edited by: JorgeBurrito on 2009-11-09 23:18:09 CST
u r the only person who really knows you are nervous.
when i interviewed people in the past (and i have done lots of them), i was always okay with interviewees being nervious. it never bothered me and i took it into consideration (in a good way) when someone didn't respond quite "perfectly".
Message edited by: WhoIsThat on 2009-11-10 02:17:53 CST
BTW: what happened with your other job? The one that they hired you as an office manager (medical billing?) and were paying you about $10 an hour, way below market rate. I think a little update is the courteous way.
Message edited by: katx on 2009-11-10 06:31:07 CST
JorgeBurrito said:You are expected to be a little nervous in an interview, so don't worry too much about that. Prepare some answers for the standard interview questions (you can find these on various job search websites), so that you at least nail those questions when they come. Be knowledgeable about the company you are interviewing for and how exactly your skill set will be of value to that specific company. Don't be afraid to take a moment after a question is asked to think through it and compose your answer, interviews are not OT you can't go back and endlessly edit your replies. When an interviewer asks if you have any questions, ask some questions. Saying no makes you seem disinterested in the company and the position. Again, a job search website will help you to start thinking about what kind of questions would be appropriate to ask.
It is a little worrisome that you don't know how you did. It is usually pretty easy to judge how an interview is going by body language, the kind of questions being asked, the length of the interview, and any other number of things. Every time I have gone on an interview I have known whether I felt it went well or not. Of course just because I felt it went well didn't necessarily mean I got the job. I have never landed a job from an interview I felt went poorly though. This is something you need to seriously think about as it is the only way you will get better. One of the first things I will do after an interview (well perhaps after taking a shot of booze) is to write down my thoughts about the interview and what I thought went well and what I need to improve for next time. For me at least, if I don't do it immediately after I tend to forget some of the details of the interview (I blame it on my body coping to a high stress circumstance).
well said
in addition, i'd like to say that the more you interview the easier it gets. or at least it becomes more fluid. and it's often a numbers game - as in you have to apply for x number of jobs before you get an interview, and you have to go on y number of interviews before you get a job offer. so keep applying and interviewing.
katx said:BTW: what happened with your other job? The one that they hired you as an office manager (medical billing?) and were paying you about $10 an hour, way below market rate. I think a little update is the courteous way.
oh yeah. i forgot to fill in on that.
I lasted a little less than 2 months (from 9/1/09 to 10/23/09). Although it was very boring, I tried to keep the job. I always reminded myself not to watch porn, or visit certain sites, and be a good worker. But I was really inefficient getting prior authorizations (PA#s) and signatures from doctors and hmos (who took forever to provide me the missing data to complete a case), checking the cmn status, and preparing invoices for patients partly because the phone hold time was forever. I suck at multitasking and organizational skills. In the end, the manager let me go because I didnt have enough efficiency. No biggie though because I didnt enjoy it. honestly I felt it was just busy work day in and out, although the manager seemed nice.
I coudlnt defend myself because I admit I sucked in that position.
Oh well
good thing is he said he would be willing to consider me for a technical job at his firm later, and would be willing to give me a good referral
before taxes, I got $400 weekly, but I always worked an extra .5 or 1 hour after my scheduled ending of the shift to show my diligence. Unfortunately it didnt matter much in the end. whatever
Message edited by: pyee01 on 2009-11-10 11:57:04 CST
handyguy said:I went for a sales interview once. I know that they want persistent people as they make the best sellers so I was very persistent.
Please explain how were you very persistent. Did you apply over and over to the same job and location in order to speak to the same interviewer over and over, after you realized you failed the first interview attempt?
im thinking its actually a good idea to interview over and over with the same interviewer. im not being funny or sarcastic
Message edited by: pyee01 on 2009-11-10 12:04:12 CST
it's always good to follow up with the person who interviewed you. during the interview, you can use some humor and ask when you can start when they ask if you have any questions (this would be after asking other questions, and showing an interest in the position). later on follow up with them thank them for the interview and say something that indicates you remember them. at some point it's ok as well to ask for the job. not straight out necessarily, but ask how you did and indicate that you're interested and are anxious to get started. not anxious like "i need a job" so much as "wow, that job is so interesting that i'd like to do it."
morecowbell said:it's always good to follow up with the person who interviewed you. during the interview, you can use some humor and ask when you can start when they ask if you have any questions (this would be after asking other questions, and showing an interest in the position). later on follow up with them thank them for the interview and say something that indicates you remember them. at some point it's ok as well to ask for the job. not straight out necessarily, but ask how you did and indicate that you're interested and are anxious to get started. not anxious like "i need a job" so much as "wow, that job is so interesting that i'd like to do it."
id like to follow up with the person who interviewed me but heres the issue:
The store will open on friday. There is no store phone number yet except for his cell phone. All I know is the address, and that the construction workers are still putting up the windows. there are 2 floors
I did ask when I can learn of the result and He said he would talk to the other managers before calling me in 24-48 hours. Can I call him first to ask for an update? Im not sure if hed take it good or bad
Ok. Ill remeber asking "this job is so awesome. I'd love to begin it." when I go there next time.
Message edited by: pyee01 on 2009-11-10 12:04:30 CST
im thinking its actually a good idea to interview over and over with the same interviewer.
lolwut? If an interviewer didn't like you the first time why would he want to interview you again? Unless they ask you back for a followup interview (which usually will be with different people than your first interview), interviews are one and done situations, no second chances.
P.S. send the interviewer a thank you note at the store address. Don't call him yet, give them a chance to contact you like they said they would.
Persistence in this context means following up an initial positive reaction with other contacts. You can send a thank you note; "Hi, thank you for the opportunity... I really enjoyed... If there's anything I can..." You can also call. Leave a polite voicemail if you can't reach them directly.
Look at it as getting the most out of the time and dry cleaning costs you invested in the initial interview. The object is to keep them aware of your availability, not to pester them with your need for work. That way you stand a better chance of being called back in when they decide to narrow down the field.
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