Jerb Interviews....

[s0me0nesmind1]

So I recently made a thread previous about how I quit my jerb. So since then I have been applying/interviewing for tons in the meantime.

The one thing I can hands-down say is that... Holy shit interviews are a fuckton easier for me now. I remember when I was fresh out of college or just past my first job... In both cases, I was always applying for shit that always seemed way out of my league - mostly because the qualification listings are always ridiculous for jobs.

Now? I have big names under my belt and job interviews are now the equivalent of shooting shit and just casual chats with people. Then by the end they tell me I would make an awesome fit. Previously I would have sweaty palms, heart palpitations, and be nervous as crap. Now I'm as casual as can be.

What's everyone else's experience with interviews? Still running nervous or over the years have you gotten a lot more comfortable?

 

[brianmanahan]

same experience, last job interview i went to was a breeze because i'd spent 10 years doing almost every esoteric programming language thing they asked me about. 10 years before that i was nervous because i knew almost none of that.

of course, i'm not working for a FAANG company or anything like that. i hear they're a lot harder to get into. but i wouldn't try anyway because there's no way i'm moving to silicon valley or seattle for a job.

 

[lxskllr]

I've never had an interview to speak of. They were all a few minutes or less. The last one was back in 1989 :^D

When I was unemployed for awhile, I think the computers selected me out, and I never got as far as an interview. I was applying for various tech positions, from IT to medical. If I *had* gotten an interview, I think I would have been stressed cause I don't know much about either field. Not like they were difficult though. Just entry level stuff. I just wanted a way to pass the time and make a couple dollars. Glad I never got a job. I could be stuck in a box right now, dealing with bullshit by imbeciles. I don't think I'd like what I thought I wanted.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I've always found interviews to be more casual and less formal for me, I just got lucky I guess.

Oddly enough my most formal/stressful interview was for a janitorial position for the school board. The interview took place in a fancy board room with really long table, I was at one end, and there were no less than 3 high end people at the other end each asking questions. Principal, school board superintendent and building superintendent, or something like that, I don't recall, I just remember they were high end people and I was surprised at how formal the whole thing was. The job itself was easy going though. The interview felt super overkill for someone that will be scraping gum off from under desks. lol.

My current job was the easiest interview. Got an email from the boss, he was surprised I applied, but happy to have me on his team, and asked when I can come over to see him. I went, he gave me a tour of the building and let me sit in the office for a bit to talk to everyone else and get a feel for the job. It was pretty much implied from the start that the job was mine. To be fair I was the only internal applicant. Best decision I ever made tbh, I love this job. I mean, the job itself is kinda boring, but the hours are great, and the stress level is fairly low, and the pay is good. I can't make more money than I make now at this company unless I was to go into management.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Interviews are pretty easy when you have skills and are in high-demand. Most interviewers are pretty cool, but many years ago I had a couple of assholes who, after I went through 4 rounds of interviews with various people, decided to play games with me and were exceptionally rude. I won’t tell the whole story here again unless someone really wants to hear it (you can search for it here, as I have posted it before), but suffice it to say those two jackasses got the ass kicking of their lives at the end of the interview and the image of their jaws hitting the ground makes me so happy that I’ll never forget it.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

same experience, last job interview i went to was a breeze because i'd spent 10 years doing almost every esoteric programming language thing they asked me about. 10 years before that i was nervous because i knew almost none of that.

of course, i'm not working for a FAANG company or anything like that. i hear they're a lot harder to get into. but i wouldn't try anyway because there's no way i'm moving to silicon valley or seattle for a job.

Won't lie - part of it is definitely my last 2 employers being a Big 4 accounting firms. Plenty of the jobs I apply to now have "Big 4 experience" listed as their "nice to have" listing.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Interviews are pretty easy when you have skills and are in high-demand. Most interviewers are pretty cool, but many years ago I had a couple of assholes who, after I went through 4 rounds of interviews with various people, decided to play games with me and were exceptionally rude. I won’t tell the whole story here again unless someone really wants to hear it (you can search for it here, as I have posted it before), but suffice it to say those two jackasses got the ass kicking of their lives at the end of the interview and the image of their jaws hitting the ground makes me so happy that I’ll never forget it.

You almost have to have a fine balance of the cockiness though - Otherwise HR and manager are going to lowball your pay... There is a nice delicate balance that you have to be specialized in knowing whats too much and what is not enough.

 

[Red Squirrel]

One thing I have been lucky is never had to do the multi tier interview BS. I'd hate that crap. Stop playing games. Do you want to hire me, or do you not want to. I just want a straight answer so I can keep looking if I need to.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

One thing I have been lucky is never had to do the multi tier interview BS. I'd hate that crap. Stop playing games. Do you want to hire me, or do you not want to. I just want a straight answer so I can keep looking if I need to.

What do you mean? As in you've never had to do more than 1-2 interviews?

Every single job I've ever had has honestly had 3 interviews minimal for me. Maybe that's just a US thing though, I'll be honest, I kind of hate it too because it really just boils down to "Is there someone with a different personality type that doesn't identify with yours"

 

[Red Squirrel]

What do you mean? As in you've never had to do more than 1-2 interviews?

Every single job I've ever had has honestly had 3 interviews minimal for me. Maybe that's just a US thing though, I'll be honest, I kind of hate it too because it really just boils down to "Is there someone with a different personality type that doesn't identify with yours"

Nope was always just 1 interview. Is it actually common to do multiple interviews?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Nope was always just 1 interview. Is it actually common to do multiple interviews?

Oh hell yes man. In 'Merica we have at minimal 3 interviews, often times even more.

The first is typicall the HR shield. The first interview is with HR to eliminate idiots - even though the HR themselves are idiots. Then comes manager #1, followed by senior manager #2, senior #2, etc.. etc...

I've never had less than 3 interviews in my life I don't think.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow that's brutal. Here everyone is just in the same room. Usually HR, your potential manager, maybe his manager etc. Though a lot of jobs it was also just your potential manger and that's it.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Wow that's brutal. Here everyone is just in the same room. Usually HR, your potential manager, maybe his manager etc. Though a lot of jobs it was also just your potential manger and that's it.

Well that maybe part of it as well, were getting to a point where more interviews are over the phone or on Skype.

For example, the ones I'm interviewing for are for remote positions. The nearest office is 4 hours away, but they have clients that need to be served in my city - so they don't mind if I work remote in my city.

Honestly I doubt they are ever going to interview me in person, the most it will be is over Skype with a camera (wihich even that I doubt they will enforce).

 

[purbeast0]

Interviews now are more about me interviewing a potential company I want to work for rather than the other way around. I've had plenty that I can tell within like 10 minutes that it's not a place I want to work for just based on things I can pick up culturally. I'm not job hunting at all right now but there was a point I was talking with a lot of remote companies but nothing ever came of it because not many companies can afford me, and once we get to the salary expectations, things usually went south from there. A few didn't but I ended up not getting those positions unfortunately.

 

[KB]

Last interview I went on, the interviewer was selling the company to me more than I was selling myself to the company. Me getting the job seemed like a done deal, so it felt good. I just hope it lasts like this. I saw the 2002 - 2003 recession when things changed quickly.

 

[clamum]

Not every place has 3 or more interviews. My current job was one interview and the job I had two jobs ago was one interview. My last one was two different "rounds" (first one over phone, next one in person and it included a hands-on coding problem with a developer rather than the manager I had been talking to).

I had one interview at Epic Systems in Madison, WI after I graduated that was one of those hundred-round interviews where you talk to a building full of people and take tests and shit. I'm glad I never got the job; I've heard it ain't such a great place.

 

[Scarpozzi]

The job interview that landed me my first real career job was: "Hey, what are we getting for lunch after this?"

It took more work to transition out of IT-proper to something more functional, but everyone says they're sunk without me doing what I do. It beats being on-call 24/7/365 too.

 

[snoopy7548]

Where I work we do a phone screen and then an on-site interview. The on-site starts with the HR person, then it's your direct manager and one or two team members who asks technical questions and gets a feel for you, then it's the manager that oversees the whole team that your group is a part of, then HR comes back and closes.

This takes place in a glass-walled conference room, so I always see what's going on when I walk by. Usually the direct manager is looking at his phone the entire time while somebody else asks the technical questions, which I think is incredibly rude and unprofessional. Freaking kids these days have zero respect.