Hi all,
Just got back from the worst job interview I ever gave , it was for a role that I would have killed for in London, It would have gave me a huge amount of valuable experience, looked to be fantastic work culture, very good pay etc. I had already had a phone interview last week that went great but today I just choked, a sputtering idiot that I would not have hired myself. I guess I wanted the job so bad my nerves took over and I just could not articulate my past work experience and then became so self aware of this I panicked and it just got worse. So gutted!

I just wanted to know if anybody else here has suffered this kind of disappointment interviewing before?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-04-23 23:07 by Ket.

Oh, sorry to hear. I have always done well on interviews but I do have experience interviewing people who choked. It probably isn't as bad as you think. Make sure to follow-up with them, as I said, it probably isn't as bad you think and you may have a chance to redeem yourself!

Yeah, sure.
I sometimes walked out and started to realize what I had wanted to say but forgot and what bullshit I sometimes talked. Very annoying, but I guess you learn from such an experience as well. Sorry to hear it went bad for you!

Yes, but I think you need the same attitude as a buddy of mine. He likes to turn the tables. Just as you said, you wanted the job bad but thats the part you take up a notch.

What he does say at the phone interview stage is ask for 'equal time' to question them. What's the pension plan like? And my perswonal favorite "so, how long will it take me to get your job". This has a two fold advantage, first it puts them in the hot seat, chances are they can not quote you pension particulars. Second it shows your not just some job hungry guy, you have plans to move up, work with me or get off the pot attitude.

He has never lost an interview, has made his oun ticket all his life. You may not get the job but you can leave feeling superior or crushed?

i just hate being at the whim of others. i've had great interviews - some that last literally hours and hours where we're buddies by the time it's over - and i still have not been offered the job.

i know the feeling of having to talk to a crowd or be on stage otherwise and focusing on the dynamics rather than on what i'm saying - not good. i hate public speaking but had to do it a lot in graduate school. i was always OK with what i was saying but i hated questions from the audience because you can't be completely prepared and some issues are so complex, it's hard to know where to start and how to summarize. i recently went off on a tangent when interview by a film student. we decided not to use that part. however, he was quite happy with other answers which i thought were not as concise as i'd like them to have been.

my professor always says "answer the question they should have asked". i tried it last week when i was interviewed on public radio and the question was unclear. instead of asking him to repeat it, i talked about the things i had planned to talk about. the interview never aired, though bits of it were posted on the guy's blog the next day.

i've also worked for such insane control freaks that i'm happily my own boss now. no more living for the weekends...though the money isn't steady, at least i can take off for stones shows when i want!

Been there, done it, beat myself up over it for weeks etc., but most importantly, I learned from it.

NEVER, repeat NEVER take it as rejection or as some kind of failure on your part, regardless of how downhearted, downbeat and depressed that you might feel. It is just down to a technique that you will attain through practice.

...and remember that failure is not falling down...it is not getting back up again afterwards!

Call soon and admit that you were not on top of your game and ask if it would be possible to have another interview. They may find your honesty charming.You have nothing to lose!

TrulyMicks makes a good point. Often when we have to perform orally like on a job interview or doing public speaking and think we have done horribly it often isn't as bad as we think it is. I used to hate doing oral reports in high school. I would often skip the assignment at the expense of my grades and actually dropped a class halfway through out of fear of public speaking. Remarkably I do pretty well on interviews since I am able to find that zone where you can bring out the best in yourself for the short time that the interview lasts.

Some advice for what it is worth;

- Don't overrehearse. Don't read twenty inverview books and have a response for every possible question. You may come off as someone who has read twenty interview books as opposed to someone who is shooting from the hip.

- As someone else mentioned, ask your share of questions. It keeps you off the hotseat for a little while and also shows your interest in the position and company.

- Try to schedule interviews as close to each other as possible (consecutive days if you can). Practice helps and if you bomb one interview you may do better the next day.

- If someone asks you what movie character you are most like (this happened to me on an interview) do not say Hannibal Lecter lol.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-04-24 04:20 by FrankM.

Yeah that's good...like someone mentioned...call back or send an email saying that you would like another chance. Make them aware that you are genuinely enthusiastic about joining their company...that's something they might appreciate.

Yeah, I can totally relate. I recently had a job interview in Sri Lanka, which I have wanted for years...and got the impression I was sure win for it. And on reflection just didn't give it my all. I think subconciously I had some reservations about the job and didn't present as well as I could have...

..... just strole in and asked em, 'when do i start?'

This should make your day

...now THAT is brilliant!!!

sorry to hear -
move on, take it on the chin- it's all experience.

Hey just be yourself. Your personality and experience will shine through. I went for an interview recently with a top notch estate agency and thought I'd blown it coz I was so nervous. I really wanted the job. I won through in the end when I gave them my acheivements and showed them "thank you" letters from my customers. Truth be told I didn't get the job because they decided not recruit as the housing market has gone south here in Blighty.

NickB

You can't always get what you want.....

www.myspace.com/thesonkings

I once came late to such a hullabaloo. Not good.

For my current job I remember I was so nervous that I almost fall over the lady who interwied me, hit mi knees with her desk, well, the interview wasn't even started and I felt like just going back home to lick my wounds.

This lady was so professional that she, with me knowing or noticing calm me down with small talk and then started the interview...Was lucky to be hired.

learn from it, ket....

something similar happened to a good friend of mine and she just wrote or called them and explained honestly why she presented herself so badly, and thet she has alot more to offer. she got another interview and got the job.
TRY IT...nothing to loose.

I'm always more afraid of getting the job, so I've had plenty of cringeworthy interviews.

I appreciate all the encouragement and advice, I will take it to heart, Thank you all very much!!!!