Comments on: Embarrassing Things I’ve Done When Looking for Work

By: sacados

sacados — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 07:39:52 +0000

Back when I was a nervous, inexperienced student looking for a publishing job, I had THE WORST informational interview ever.
I got connected with a woman who was an assistant at a company that handled international rights/marketing for books. She was fairly entry-level, so she set me up to talk to her boss as well.

The conversation went something like this.
Me: So, what part of your job do you enjoy the most?
Boss Lady: I don’t enjoy it at all.
Me: …..
Young Assistant: Really? You don’t?
Boss Lady: No.
Assistant (a bit desperately, trying to be helpful): OH, but you know there’s (A, B, C) — that’s great right?
Boss Lady: Not really.
Me: …

She also told me that the best advice she could give me was to go back to the US and look for a job (this was Japan). Because “Japan still has lots of gender discrimination, not like America. You might not like it. If you try and work here, you might end up hating Japan and then what would you do???”
Me: Um, I don’t really think that would happen but if it does, I guess… I’d leave?

To be fair, I don’t think she was trying to be mean. I think she just has one of those brusque, dry personality types that ironically I would probably quite enjoy in a boss, but which is absolute *murder* on your nerves in an interview.

By: sventurata

sventurata — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 01:12:01 +0000

@stuffisthings Try being the friend everyone sends resumes to “because you’re so great at editing these.”

# of jobs this skill has landed me: none.

By: selenana

selenana — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 00:47:40 +0000

@stuffisthings @Michelle and all y’all:
You guys can have my job. I am using Excel right now and I have no idea what you are talking about.

By: julebsorry

julebsorry — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:27:37 +0000

@Trilby I agree – HR people SAY “Oh, we like to see personality!” but this has not been my experience when interviewing. People, it’s a trick!

I put on my most polished, professional, and enthusiastic version of myself. This self is not authentic (I am all these things, but way amped up for interviews) but HR people have NO WAY of knowing that (if they think they do, they’re wrong, b/c I’ve fooled ‘em before, lol).

In fact, I often will mimic the speech and body language patterns of the interviewer (not in a gross way, but in a “they lean forward, you sort of lean forward. They lean back, you lean back” way. This is an old sales trick to gain trust). So, the interviewer thinks, “Wow, what a great gal!” when I’m really just working to project themselves back on themselves, lol.

By: nonvolleyball

nonvolleyball — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:08:30 +0000

@josefinastrummer also, because no one else has addressed this…it’s orange juice, right?

(also-also, this was great.)

By: Trilby

Trilby — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 21:42:05 +0000

@vunder If you were interviewing me, you would be impressed by my intelligence because I would follow everything you say with keen interest and a friendly demenor. Add to that, I would say things, but not stupid things. I would not put my foot in my mouth. And you would hire me. I have been hired by many an experienced HR person.

By: Worker Parasite

Worker Parasite — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:42:52 +0000

@josiahg This! Build a template or two with a poorly documented macro and you are set so long as nobody else can understand your Excel crazy.

By: vunder

vunder — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:31:43 +0000

@Trilby While it makes sense to err on the side of not saying the wildly wrong thing, I actually like to see something authentic from a candidate. If a candidate fails to express a genuine-sounding affection for the things he or she claims to know and like, I’m not going to hire that candidate for the job. I’m much less interested in highly polished people than I am in people with a sense of focus and engagement and a point of view.

By: josefinastrummer

josefinastrummer — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:08:27 +0000

@bgprincipessa Yes for mean girls and criers! The world needs both!

By: josiepagne

josiepagne — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:49:04 +0000

when interviewing for my current publishing job, my future boss asked what i was reading. i knew this would be asked, but hadn’t really thought it through before the interview, so i truthfully answered, “undress me in the temple of heaven.” (a phenomenal book, by the way) it’s a travel memoir that’s not overtly sexual, but the second it was out of my mouth, i realized what it sounded like. he of course had never heard of it and then i had to hurriedly explain myself which was a rambly mess that included comments like “amazon picked it as a good book!”