Originally posted by: habib89
that's an interesting tactic.. do you think it would work even if you weren't very experienced? say you've got about a year of experience in the field and your'e looking for another job? cause it sounds like you have experience and that they would WANT you to join them, therefor you can position yourself like that...
Yes I think it would work if you're not experienced. What if I find out through my questions that it is expected that I will be working on weekends for free if things aren't done on time and I don't want to work weekends? Now I know. I interviewed at one company and one of the people told me that if I came to work there that I'd be expected to relocate every couple years or I wouldn't advance. I didn't like that, so I didn't bother continuing the interviews there.
Looking for a job or not, you want to position yourself as someone they want and that they might not get. We all want what we can't have. I want a new Ferrari. I don't have one. If I had one, I probably wouldn't want one. If I went to buy one and the guy told me that depending on the type of person I am that they might not sell me one, then if I really want it, I'll be more determined to get it. Same applies for employement.
I used this tactic to apply for jobs I didn't really want. I was bored for a year at a job so I messed around with my resume and I went on numerous interviews, which is how I developed my resume and my interviewing strategy.
I like the take-away technique. Always keeps the ball in my corner. That way if they extend an offer that they know upfront that I might not accept it. Especially useful if you are interviewing at more than one place.
i don't know that it's so bad to ask about salary and vacation days or even benefits.. at my last interview, they asked me what sort of salary i was looking for.. i asked about benefits and paid vacation... so i guess it sorta depends on how casual the interview seems..
Those questions are fine, if it's the right time to ask them. I'm talking about, "tell me how your company is positioned in the industry; it's competitors, the stock price..." Who gives a crap? Not me. Will that matter if you get the job or not? No. Of course, it's all relative to what you're applying for. I'm assuming that most people here are applying for entry level positions.
If I was hiring and someone asked me about my competitors and such, I'll ask them why they want to know when I'm hiring them to take care of my mail and to take out the trash. What they should ask is, how often would you like your trash picked up? Do you want your mail opened or unopened? What things about the last person did you like? What did you not like?
Those questions show you understand what your place is, you're asking as if you already have the job. Plus, you can find out what their expectations are. Let's say they mention that the one thing they didn't like about the previous person is that they always left a few minutes before 5pm. Now you know ahead of time to say because the boss is watching.
I always find that once I am on a friendlier level with the interviewer, which this does, that I can ask them about salary and find out if it is realistic to get raises. I've had people tell me about their work history there and what to expect, how to get raises and as far as people complaining about not getting a raise. Rather interesting in an interview to have someone tell you that.
