So i'm graduating from university this June and have my first two job interviews planned the next week. Some sound advice on to-do's and not-to-do's? Interesting job interview stories? What questions can i expect? What are the correct answers? And how in the world will i ever cope with working 8-10hours a day and gettting out of bed at 8a.m. every goddam weekday?

Mayb i should just do some silly specialisation and be a student for another year

* wear a suit

* don't use slang

* never ask about salary until a job offer is made

* play up your skills but don't deny your weaknesses. make your weaknesses sound like
skills as well.

* send a 'thank you' note afterwards

* GOOD LUCK!!!!!

* you'll do fine.

Well they always say, "Ask me a question" which can be a fucker.

When they ask you your weaknesses, never, ever say, "I'm a perfectionist". Everybody says that and it pisses them off. They're looking to see that you are able to recognise any faults you may have and are actively working to remedy them.

I've been asked my position on euthanasia and abortion before, so nothing is sacred in interviews.

Hope all goes well. Oh, and getting up and going to work every day is shit, there's no two ways about it. Shame it has to go on for 40-45 years, but there you go.

TheFrog brought up another good point. do some research on the company you're interviewing for so that you have some questions to ask them. this makes you look interested in the position.

TheFrog said:

But i am a perfectionist. Really


Can they do that? I thought personal questions were off limits at job interviews


It won't go well, i can feel it...

* wear a suit
check

* don't use slang
check

* never ask about salary until a job offer is made
check

* play up your skills but don't deny your weaknesses. make your weaknesses sound like
skills as well.
too complicated. will just lie.

* send a 'thank you' note afterwards
check

* GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Thank you!!!

* you'll do fine.

SpcMs said:

Don't you have any other faults? (I mean, don't tell them you're a crack addict or anything).




It surprised me a bit, which presumably was the idea. They may ask these types of questions to see how well you can balance evidence and come to a reasoned conclusion. Depending on the job you're going for, that demonstrates nous and logical thought processes. It's only happened once to me, mind. Current affairs and politics are definitely possible though.



It'll go great. I can feel it.

TheFrog said:

U Think i should tell them about the Org?

SpcMs said:

Never know...you might be interviewed by an orger.

As for the weakness thing (which at my company they call "developmental needs") what I always do is mentoin what one is, and then talk about what I've been doing to better myself at it. An example would be;

"Well, one thing I'd like to develop are my time management skills. I almost always complete my work on time, and let my superior know in advance if I need an extension, but sometimes I end up working extra, or more than I thought necessary as I near my deadline. I have been working towards improvement in this area by setting mini-deadlines for myself, scheduling specific time to work on prpjects and making myself stick to those. That has been helping me over the last few months."

Something like that.

TheFrog said:

i don't know about outside of the US, but inside of the US we have illegal questions that an interviewer cannot ask and that you do not have to answer. questions about your age, marital status, whether or not you have or are planning to have children, and your politics are among them.

SpcMs said:

no shaking! just

JasmineFire said:

Wow, no i'm not actually sure of the legalities (which i should be, for obvious reasons). I've been asked about my opinion vis-a-vis the UK adopting the Euro as well as the questions I mentioned above, and every form i've ever filled in has required me to submit my age and marital status. I guess the UK must be slightly different. Interesting...

TheFrog said:

the logic that surrounds the american standards is that one could be discriminated against for his or her views on certain issues, age, marital status, ect. so they shouldn't be a part of the hiring process. when you hire someone you are hiring that person based on qualifications alone. I also think that companies didn't want to get sued. if someone did not get hired and during the interview that person was asked their age, they could say that they were unfairly discriminated against because of their age. liabilities. i think.

TheFrog said:

We can only ask questions of age as it pertains to child labor laws, as in we can ask "are you at least 18" or "are you at least 16", but beyond that we cannot ask age or marital status during an interview. Once you are offered a position, then of course birth date, marital and parental status could all be a part of info you give your employer when filling out the necessary forms for tax purposes, but we cannot ask before you are offered a position, so that one cannot be discriminated against based on the info.

JasmineFire said:

I'm not an employment lawyer, but my understanding is that most "illegal" interview questions aren't per se illegal to ask. Rather, asking them invites a discrimination claim down the road, and if that happens, the employer will have some explaining to do.

I have been told, though, that the Americans with Disabilities Act does forbid the asking of some disability-related questions.

Anyway, I once had an interviewer look at my wedding ring and ask if I was married, which I was at the time. I answered the question because I don't think being married is often held against male applicants; if anything, it might be seen as a indicator of maturity.

As for planning to have children, a colleague of mine told me that twenty years ago, it was not uncommon for law firms to ask female applicants, "Are you on birth control?"

My advice based on experience is to be clear in your own mind what you really want to do after you graduate and then do your upmost to achieve it. In this sense, make plans as early as possible. Like for example not limiting yourself to applying for just a few appealing career prospects apply for as many jobs as there are out there which you think will suit you, even if it doesn't appear like it on face value. I'd also start applying early for posts and graduate training schemes as competition for places is extremley competitive in many fields. All this is obvious of cause but I hope it somehow serves as a little reminder. Good luck SpcMs.