On how I can improve on my interview skills?? Or where I can go 2 get help on this?? I just dont have any skills whatsoever in this!! I have been on lots of interviews but I always seem 2 fail!!

A case in point is when we first arrived back in the UK from the USA, I went for an interview at a grocery store(cos I was on Jobseekers Allowance which is only paid 2 u if u are looking for work). And the person who conducted an the interview told me there and then anything and everything about the job, then she asked me if I had any questions and I said no,cos she covered everything I needed 2 know in the first 10 minutes!! The thing is, for example, u cant ask what the firm does cos u can see perfectly well what it does being a grocery store!! It doesnt take a rocket scientist 2 figure out what a grocery store does!! Unlike if u were applying for a job at a manufacturing firm then u could ask what the firm manufactures, is there chance for transfers to other branches, etc.

Also, I think one of the reasons is that I am not an easy person 2 draw out!! I am fine online, but in real life I kinda withdraw into myself!! And in interviews I tend 2 hold back and remain very deep in thought, mainly thinking about problems I have at home or other worries, so really my heart and mind is not fully with the interview!!

I really want help in this as I would love 2 get a job!!

¤
[Edited 2/25/05 1:12am]

OK then!! I'll talk about Prince all the time on the next interview I go 2!!!

Will that get me in?????

1) Make eye-contact (but don't stare )
2) Smile- like u just made a new friend or sumfinz!
3) Be disciplined in your thought-mode and think about da job you are going for and any positive aspectz it may have (even da $$$ but don't express dat 2 much i say )
4) Be friendly yet proffessional (don't blab on if they ask you "so tell me a bit about yourself" )

Yup! And dress spunky too, they like that

lilmissmissy said:

They sure like that unless you're being interviewed by a woman

Good luck Gold

Gold319 said:

Erm... No

RocknRollisalive said:

Well I was told 2 b meself!!!

Gold319 said:

Not by me make up a act Gold more chance you get a job

AndGodCreatedMe said:

Even woman like it!! I get complimented on clothes n stuff they like it- and it'z a female bonding thing too i guess hehe.

Gold319 said:

In a way, yes.. you should try to be yourself in as much as the way you speak and act... if you are yourself then you feel more comfortable.

Saying that, the interview situation is also a game. The people/company doing the interviewing are trying to impress you and want to show themselves in a certain light... you have to bear this in mind and do the same.

No matter how nervous or uneasy you feel, to them you must appear to be the most confident person in the world...

So... a little bit of an act is good... but never lie

lilmissmissy said:

I was thinking abt that yesterday I wish more females would think like that, but some bitches nasty looks and all

really don't understandz that....for some reason that 'z' should not be there

RocknRollisalive said:

That is so true about not lying!! How can I sell myself when deep down there is nothing 2 sell??
Also I have no CV, because I havent worked in 16 years due 2 being a stay at home mother, and other people have told me 2 make up one, but I cant put ficticious jobs in it, because what about if they decide 2 contact these "jobs" for references or whatever and they find that these "jobs" dont exist???? Thats me straight out the door!!!!

That doesnt leave a very good impression does it???

Gold319 said:

No, you can't make up jobs.... and you ahould mention the fact that you have been a stay at home mother but you must also try and sell any other stuff you were doing at the time... think!!!

Did you do an voluntary work in your community, or at the church or anything like that? Something that would show you were trying to keep your hand in at something... there is nothing wrong with that.

Unless of course you have done nothing.... but then I assume that the type of jobs you are applying for would reflect that... it's not like your applying for jobs that are way above you is it?

AndGodCreatedMe said:

I know!! IT'z <-- a shame dat it can be a bitchy thing!! I think sometimez it reducez down 2 how confident they are or how confident they are feelingz. Most women who feel confident wif themselves are not afraid to compliment another gal and indulge in dat female bonding thing, and otherz get frustrated and just perhapz think 'da nerve of her!'

Okay, i make an exception with abbreviationz- hyphernated wordz are especially partial to da 'z' factor

In my experience, it's always good to see the interview as a deal negotiation instead of a cross-examination. You have to show them what you have to offer, sure, but they have to show you what they have to offer as well. Two parties are trying to agree. It's not just one party scrutinizing the other.

If you bear this in mind, you will appear more confident, competent and interesting. You will probably ask more questions and inadvertantly show that you are excited but also realistic about the job. Nobody wants to hire someone who doesn't even ask about the salary out of fear of becoming a hassle. They want someone who knows what they want and what they can do, someone who is confident enough to speak to them as if they were an acquaintance; with respect but also in a friendly, conversational tone.

Don't think that you're a stranger trying to become a colleague. Think that you're already a colleague negotiating a deal.

Hope that helps.

catharsis said:

Wise wordz!!

lilmissmissy said:

abt your language

But i understand what you're saying...the more confident you are abt yourself...blablabla...
Maybe it's silly but when i zee someone (male or female) and they're wearing sumthing (trying to adjust ) what i like I just zay it but the looks you getz

Oh wellz I'm not gonna chancez my behaviour becauze of thoze uninsecure ppl


I think I likez you

AndGodCreatedMe said:

You know whatz!! Screw da lookz u getz I sayz IF they're given ya da lookz they've got major polez up their u know whatz!! It'z a form of what i call emotional constipationz

I likez ya too babez!!

Gold319 said:

You know Gold I really do not understand you at all. You sit online for most of the day (and then moan you are withdrawn in real life - I wonder why) yet you cannot load up Google and simply type "interview skills" or something of that ilk. You have this fantastic reseource called the internet yet you do not use it, hardly resourceful in my opinion.

Why don't you go to the Job Centre and ask them, it bemuses me why you come onto a Prince message board to ask about interview skills.

If you don't know any questions to ask then make some up beforehand, doesn't matter if you are not interested in the answer, they don't know that and it shows you have done your homework (Hmmm why am I being nice - nurse - the screens)

Gold319 said:

It's not WHAT you have to talk about , it is HOW you talk about it.


Here;s what I mean:


You say you haven't worked, you've been a stay at home mother.


I say, put it like this:


You made a conscious decision to not compromise on your children's well being, so dedicated yourself to that until such a point where the kids no longer need that around-the-clock care and you can take all the organisational skills and multi-tasking that you have used so well with the kids and translate it to the world of work and get out there and not let these golden skills go to waste.




See? It's all about SELLING

lilmissmissy said:

lmao I know and some days I do thinkz fuckz you but other dayz I thinkz WHY?

AndGodCreatedMe said:

I knowz! I knowz!!!
I get tempted 2 blurt outz "I AM NOT AN ANIMALZ!!!" and "4 FUCKZ SAKEZ WHAT IS WRONG?!"...instead i make a face which sayz all these thingz wifout sayin emz!!!

lilmissmissy said:

And what is that in English?

Also another thing is and I am embarrassed 2 tell people this, but I have a slight speech impediment, stemming back 2 my childhood and teen years!! Back then it was far worse than it is now and when I speak normally in normal everyday life u wouldnt know I had one and I can carry out normal conversations, but in nervous stressful situations my speech impediment comes out a bit!!

It is a God-given miracle it suddenly dissappeared during my late teens and 20s without the help of speech therapists or anything!! But it does occasionally come out in certain stressful and nervous situations!!

starbass said:

men

lilmissmissy said:

Lovin' all the Zs!!!

What's that, like a Scrabble thing or something? Do you get extra points for Z instead of S....?!

Gold319 said:

Hey, we all have our flaws... just don't dwell on it... if it's not a problem for you, it won't be a problem to anyone else... its about confidence.

If only the perfect people in the world could find employment, there would be a lot more of us looking for work

RocknRollisalive said:

Heh heh, you said it, pal!

It's about thinking on your feet when you go to an interview.
You have to adapt to the situation, if you are interviewing
for an exec position in a large corporation it is obviously
different to an interview at your local Mrs Miggins pie shop.
It's ok taking advice on what to say and what to wear but it
has to be right for the situation and job!! So just a little
common sense goes a long way (this is where we may be running
into trouble!!!) Firstly you have to think if i where interviewing
me (as someone else) would i give me the job. What kind of
person would i give the job to? You have to connect with the person
on a personal level. All of the jobs i have had ive managed to
connect with the interviewer and talked around the job discussing
things like what their hobbies are, what their golf handicap is
(and i hate golf) how many kids they have etc etc. If it is obvious
that you are either qualified for the job or you have the drive to learn
the job and be successful then its the other things that count.
If you have no social skills and have issues with your speech then
this is what is going to let you down, people will be very reluctant
to give a job (no matter what the job is) to a misfit - someone who
does'nt fit into the workforce and their current staff. It would be like
putting a rusty cog into a clock when the clock needs a smooth shiny
well running one. See what i mean - you need to be the right fit - and if
youre not then do something about it - make yourself fit. If you cant do
this then im afraid you wont get a job. EOS
[Edited 2/25/05 5:08am]
[Edited 2/25/05 5:09am]

So if youre looking for a job does this mean youre staying in the UK now?