[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL, you guys are counting talking over the phone as an interview?

When I worked as a consultant, I did a lot of phone interviews for the companies I worked for. Typically, one or two of us would interview someone in the areas that we had expertise. Only after they'd passed the phone technical interviews would they get a face to face with one of the principles. It's a lot easier to do phone interviews than to get 3 or 4 people together who all have full time jobs scattered over a metropolitan area.

 

[sejarzo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonelkernel8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...... One of those interviews didn't even happen, I showed up and they didn't even have anyone prepared to interview me. It was a joke.

I showed up at a Fortune 500 firm about 200 miles away one morning, only to find that the HR lackey totally forgot to send the agenda to 2/3 of the people who needed to interview me that day. Some had taken the day off so it wasn't even possible for them to reschedule their day and work me in....but at least they had an excuse. One guy worked me in, and seemed confused by most of my answers....until he said "Are you this guy?" and showed me someone else's resume.

The one that really frosted my patootie was flying somewhere for what was supposed to be a final interview, and upon arrival, being told that because it turned out to be a nice day, the site manager decided to play golf instead. However, the rest of the folks would still complete the face-to-face, but I would have to come back again if I wanted the job. OK, the interview went great, I'm asked to come back again, make arrangements to take the day off work and fly down there again about 10 days later......but the night before, the HR guy calls me and says that due to downsizing at another site, the job is going to a current employee being displaced, so sorry!

I have seen it all when it comes to bad interviews, it seems--but sometimes, no matter how badly you want or need the job, bad interviews are often a very realistic indication of what is valued at a firm.

 

[DNA Doc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL, you guys are counting talking over the phone as an interview?

I had already responded to this, but just wanted to expand on my answer that "any time you are in contact with a prospective employer it is an interview in the sense you are being assessed", with an example.

In my field, there are a few professional organizations to which everyone belongs. One of these has a series of very active mailing lists. There are many people who post to these listservs that I would never consider hiring based on the unprofessional way in which they conduct themselves (juvenile behavior, openly discussing what should be confidential information, etc).

Now, these people are not necessarily looking for a job at the time they post, and I'm not necessarily looking to hire anyone then either, but they've made an unfavorable impression on people who, perhaps one day, could've been useful to them. This impression is not easily dismissed, and ultimately, this can cost them.

So I'll write it once more for emphasis:

Any time you are speaking to someone connected to a potential employer, you are being assessed, whether or not either party is consciously aware of it.

I actually know a few people who did not get jobs because prospective employers did not like the results of a google search on their full names. This was never the stated reason, of course, but it's often very easy to read between the lines.

Anything you say/write/do can and will be held against you.