Ok. Well, it is possible that time factor may be an issue. I was pretty stunned to learn that the weeks I earned enough that I didn’t collect the money weren’t added onto the end to extend my benefit period.
Didn’t get it. Got down to two candidates and they picked the other guy.
I thought the chap from the agency was being a bit cagey with me on the phone - I think things must already have been moving in that direction behind the scenes.
I’m pretty sure the hinge factor here was the in-person interview - I was conscious that I can be a bit gabby and excitable sometimes and I think I overcompensated, coming across as quiet and reserved.
Still, it proves that I can reasonably reach for a position like that one.
Keep reaching Mangetout, you’ll get there and beyond.
The same for all of you, never underestimate what you’re really worth and keep reaching for it.
(Dear Og that sounds pappy, just do your best and a little better, all my thoughts and good wishes go with you, I’d offer you all jobs but I notoriously underpay, overwork and exploit everything my employees have to offer. It does help them build charactor though.)
I’m so disappointed for you Mangetout. 
Yeah, I need to spend a little time kicking myself, then pick myself up and redouble my efforts. I’m disappointed, because it was an exciting, rewarding position, but what’s done is done and I just need to learn what I can from the experience (and I do think I know where I went wrong, so it’s not entirely wasted)
I’ve put my CV out to a few more agencies this evening, we’ll see what tomorrow brings…
I had my first phone interview, and don’t think I did very well. I think my ignorance about the department I was applying to was too obvious, and the scale of the job was way beyond what I had anticipated.
This was, I thought, a job of managing a staff of 3 who support the Chair of the department at a medical school. And it is, but this department also runs 27 medical clinics and a $65 million annual medical practice, which was news to me. I got the impression that the interviewer didn’t believe my experience in a vastly smaller pond would scale up all that well.
But I will learn early next week whether I will move on to the next step, an in-person interview.
Just had an ideaI’d like to run by you folks - not sure if it’s sensible or not.
I was thinking about the applicant’s questions session that typically comes toward the end of interviews - I’m wondering if this would be a good or bad thing to ask:
"At this point, what, if any, are your reservations about my suitability to fill this position?"
-The idea being not to walk out of the interview leaving any unexplained gaps or doubts.
What do you think?
On the positive side, just about any question you can ask in the post interview gets points. It shows a variety of positive attributes (thoughtfulness, creativity, insight, initiative, curiosity about the position, etc.) and can help round out your interview performance.
On the negative, the question basically calls into question your applicability. Perhaps the interviewer has no current reservations but by the nature of your question starts second guessing themselves and gives more critical marks than they would have anyway.
Also negative is the possibility of no useful feedback. The interviewer might not have any current reservations against you until they hold you up against the other applicants. At best an interviewer may simply say “None”, at worst they may turn it around on you and have you start picking apart your own position. Although this might not be as negative as I thought: “I’m not sure just yet. You tell me Mr. Tout, what are your reservations about your suitability for this position.” Fine if you are prepared to continue with your sales pitch, not so much if you are caught off guard.
So there’s 1 for, 1 against and 1 relatively neutral opinion. Sorry I can’t say one way or the other but perhaps I’ve offered some points to contemplate.
My girlfriend and I had a long phone chat yesterday night. I think we both acknowledged that the only outcome of or relationship is going to be splitting up.
She absolutely, positively cannot leave Cleveland. She’s still in grad school, and has family-related obligations; even after graduation, she’s not going to leave. I absolutely, positively must leave Cleveland if I’m ever going to find work in the urban planning field.
Thank you, former employer, for destroying my life. Broken relationship, an albatross of a house in a market where nothing is selling, ruined finances … thank you. Thank you, the only place I had an interview with in four months, for hiring someone that was less experienced than me, and then hiring another planning firm to complete their comp plan because that planner had no experience with comprehensive planning - something I could have done in house had you hired me.
I hate that. I absolutely hate that. I’ve been getting three to four hours of sleep m ost night, staying up worrying and finding my thought process to be spinning in an infinite loop over job woes. I got a sample of Lunesta, recommended by a psychiatrist, to try to knock my circadian cycle back into check again.
My last day is a week from today.
One of my irons is getting pretty hot and I may have good news within the next 4 weeks. I’m keeping it to myself for now, so that I do not jinx it. But I’ll report at the end of September.
Thanks for your very thoughtful analysis - what I’m aiming for is a way to try to catch anything that might have been omitted in the natural course of the interview - I reckon I could probably script a frank and useful reply to the comeback about my reservations - I am going to be applying for jobs that stretch me, so I can be completely honest about this, and say something to the effect that I realise I’m reaching, but I’m looking forward to it and that I feel I do my best work in such conditions - so not a reservation as such, although it might appear as one at first glance.
During the interview, you might consider asking them if you’ve answered their question after you give an answer. You’re soliciting on the spot feedback and can make a mid-course correction.
Got a voice mail on my cell phone from a number that I didn’t recognize. I perked up for a minute.
Called voice mail, and it turned out to be … a recruiter from Primerica. Probably got my resume from Monster.
Folks, I’m an URBAN planner, not a FINANCIAL planner. Even if I was in finance of some sort, there’s no way in hell I’d work for Primerica.
Hell, I’m a software developer and I get calls about being a financial planner. They apparently just call everyone.
Yeah I get insurance ones too. Sorry I’m out of sales these days.
My husband recently updated his resume on Monster, and he’s gotten no less than 4 emails from people saying they were really interested in speaking to him based upon his qualifications and experience. All were insurance sales. My husband is a mechanical engineer. He has been a mechanical engineer for close to 20 years. His only sales experience was working in an auto parts store as a teen, and that doesn’t appear anywhere on his resume. :rolleyes:
I get them, too. My resume says nothing about sales and I have no desire to get back into sales, yet I still get the calls and e-mails. Every so often I send back a reply saying, “Sorry, not interested.” Does anyone know about the ramifications of flagging the e-mails as spam?
I haven’t had a chance to check up on the whole thread, but at a scan, it looks like a run of mediocre to bad luck. Hang in there, Dopers. Ours will come.
Me? I was up for a Lab Asst. Job at a Metal Institution, but it turns out a Phlebotomists license is fiendishly difficult to get, and it’s a job requirement. Worse, for me, a national examination won’t accomodate medicine legal only in CA.
But, I interviewed for a County Job, administrative work at a campground. Real big campground around Lopez Lake. And, during a day that mostly dealing with a court filing, I spotted a ‘help wanted’ sign for a Pizza Delivery Driver. I had my day-bag with me, which has all the info to be hired on the spot, and I was. (Well, I took a trip to the DMV for my driving record, but I was going there anyway for to do an address change.)
I’m also hassling AZ for a UI claim, they’re still processing it, cuz I have been working part time, petition signature gathering. Ultimate warm body job.
So, I gotta go in for some orientation, better jet.
May some of this kind of luck rub off on Y’all.
-KLF
That’s pretty much how I feel about my current job, which I only took as a result of losing my old job. I’m not really worried about losing my new job. In fact, I’m pretty much ready to quit, pretend it never happened and move on with my job search full time. I think my bigger fear is NOT looking for a job and working with these loser for the next 30 years.
By the way, EVERYONE gets the financial planner / insurance sales job calls. Basically the way it works is they pay you a pitiance until you pass your Series 7 or whatever and then set you lose to find your own clients. Most of the crappy ones don’t even give you Boiler Room style qualified leeds. You are expected to go bother your friends and family for money or something.
It’s a good question but I would rephrase it to something like:
“Based on what we have discussed, do you feel there are any critical areas where another candidate might be more qualified for this position?”
It changes the focus from your negatives to someone elses “more positives”. That way you can elaborate on how much more awesome you are in those areas.
For me, the trick is always getting the interview. Once I get a face to face, I can usually close the deal about 25% of the time. Conducting probably about 200 interviews and post-interview discussions (not counting job fairs) at my last job really gave me some insite into the whole process. Remember that the interviewer probably doesn’t want to be there. They are looking for that person who they will just click with who sounds like he will fit in and succeed in the organization.
The frustrating part is waiting for the calls back or the long silence between activity.