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Thursday, February 10, 2022
How to ace the dreaded job interview
nypost.com: Job interviews aren’t like first dates. If you flub a question, you can’t recover with winsome charm and by picking up the tab. Maybe it’s not game over, but don’t be that person who flounders.
This article was quite helpful as I’m preparing for some mock interviews in our production planning class and I’d like to be as prepared and confident as possible when those interviews happen so that I’m on a good foot to begin real interviews in the near future when I begin looking for jobs. One thing that struck me about this interview is how it makes interviews really seem like performances both on the part of the interviewer and the interviewees. The interviews keep asking questions that they don't actually want the answer to, like the questions about weakness and past conflicts, and they ask them while expecting that the interviewee will flip it in a way to serve themself. And, of course, the interviewee is never expected to give a truly honest answer, only what will make them look good and get the job. I get that you should be trying to get the job in an interview but the amount of twisting the truth that is socially acceptable is shocking.
This article brings me back to my interview for CMU. I don’t remember the details but I think this article does give very sincere advice on interviewing. The questions mentioned here are very common and I’ve seen many interview-related articles online talk about them. Personally, I think the hardest things are to sound confident and actually understand the question being asked. The reason why they are hard is because I’m not used to ‘bragging’ about myself and showing off my skills. At the same time, it is difficult to tell what the interviewer really wants to hear – what are the hidden implications behind the questions asked. As Jeremy said, there are questions that we all know you’re not supposed to answer truthfully. The article suggests to be honest but turn the question to your own advantage. So I think it would be very helpful to go through related jobs you’ve done before and pick out points that could be advantageous (at the same time reflect on what could be done better).
I haven't had many job interviews in my career as a staff carpenter for both summer stocks and regional theaters. Most of the questions they listed in the article was mostly for like corporate jobs, but a trend I've noticed in theatre is that it's mostly from word of mouth and the connections you have to the organization or company. Like I'd be one hop and skip away from a company because my boss worked at the same summer stock as the TD who is hiring. It's a small ass world out here and every time you work somewhere you have to think about how the people around you are just more connections to the next job you have. Maintaining professionalism with coworkers and colleagues is the most important thing now and being kind to others so that way like, if you suck at your job, someone still might hire you because they heard you were great to work with and you can learn.
Albeit strict, this article is generally helpful when it comes to job interviewing. The last time I remember reading something like this was around the time of Carnegie Mellon University portfolio checks. I have a very vivid memory of saying that my parents “did not want me going to a conservatory program” at my interview and then immediately catching what I said and following it with “except for CMU haha.” Elevator pitches are definitely something I personally need to work on and the tip that saying “make it memorable and natural, as if explaining your career to someone at a dinner party” really helps. Another tip I found extremely useful was the section about asking questions. I always brush it off by saying that the interviewer covered everything even though I know they want me to inquire further. Learning to speak up and ask about something I need to know is on the list for my next potential job interview.
My experience has been pretty different to this article and I think that is for a variety of reasons. Firstly, as an artist the jobs that I have held that are pertinent to my prospective industry haven’t been traditional, nor do I want them to be. For me, it is a priority to stay relatively unprepared in terms of thinking out every question, not only because that is how I think and speak best, but also because the flaws make me human and hopefully approachable. Additionally, I think the only way to improve your skills for ‘acing job interviews’ is to practice. And by practice, I do genuinely get into a room and try to get a job you want, mock interviews don’t hold real stakes and often they can be more intimidating than the actual situation. How do you prepare for a fake interview on top of preparing for a real one?
I personally found the tips in this article super helpful. I know that I tend to ramble or say too much when faced with broad questions like those given in the article, but having tips that help me to ground my answer in something concise and effective is super helpful not just for interviews but for my communication in general. It's also nice that it focused on both common and more unique questions, so as not to just contain info that any other article on job interviews would contain. The question about the pandemic was surprising to me, because I hadn't even considered the fact that the pandemic had completely spun the workplace on its head, and fundamentally changed the way that many employees and employers approach their work. I'm glad that it seemed to emphasize being honest, rather than trying to lie or skirt around the truth to hype yourself up because I've definitely been given advice to say whatever I needed to to get hired, advice that I have always wondered how that person ever thought it would work in a real workplace.
7 comments:
This article was quite helpful as I’m preparing for some mock interviews in our production planning class and I’d like to be as prepared and confident as possible when those interviews happen so that I’m on a good foot to begin real interviews in the near future when I begin looking for jobs. One thing that struck me about this interview is how it makes interviews really seem like performances both on the part of the interviewer and the interviewees. The interviews keep asking questions that they don't actually want the answer to, like the questions about weakness and past conflicts, and they ask them while expecting that the interviewee will flip it in a way to serve themself. And, of course, the interviewee is never expected to give a truly honest answer, only what will make them look good and get the job. I get that you should be trying to get the job in an interview but the amount of twisting the truth that is socially acceptable is shocking.
This article brings me back to my interview for CMU. I don’t remember the details but I think this article does give very sincere advice on interviewing. The questions mentioned here are very common and I’ve seen many interview-related articles online talk about them. Personally, I think the hardest things are to sound confident and actually understand the question being asked. The reason why they are hard is because I’m not used to ‘bragging’ about myself and showing off my skills. At the same time, it is difficult to tell what the interviewer really wants to hear – what are the hidden implications behind the questions asked. As Jeremy said, there are questions that we all know you’re not supposed to answer truthfully. The article suggests to be honest but turn the question to your own advantage. So I think it would be very helpful to go through related jobs you’ve done before and pick out points that could be advantageous (at the same time reflect on what could be done better).
I haven't had many job interviews in my career as a staff carpenter for both summer stocks and regional theaters. Most of the questions they listed in the article was mostly for like corporate jobs, but a trend I've noticed in theatre is that it's mostly from word of mouth and the connections you have to the organization or company. Like I'd be one hop and skip away from a company because my boss worked at the same summer stock as the TD who is hiring. It's a small ass world out here and every time you work somewhere you have to think about how the people around you are just more connections to the next job you have. Maintaining professionalism with coworkers and colleagues is the most important thing now and being kind to others so that way like, if you suck at your job, someone still might hire you because they heard you were great to work with and you can learn.
Albeit strict, this article is generally helpful when it comes to job interviewing. The last time I remember reading something like this was around the time of Carnegie Mellon University portfolio checks. I have a very vivid memory of saying that my parents “did not want me going to a conservatory program” at my interview and then immediately catching what I said and following it with “except for CMU haha.” Elevator pitches are definitely something I personally need to work on and the tip that saying “make it memorable and natural, as if explaining your career to someone at a dinner party” really helps. Another tip I found extremely useful was the section about asking questions. I always brush it off by saying that the interviewer covered everything even though I know they want me to inquire further. Learning to speak up and ask about something I need to know is on the list for my next potential job interview.
My experience has been pretty different to this article and I think that is for a variety of reasons. Firstly, as an artist the jobs that I have held that are pertinent to my prospective industry haven’t been traditional, nor do I want them to be. For me, it is a priority to stay relatively unprepared in terms of thinking out every question, not only because that is how I think and speak best, but also because the flaws make me human and hopefully approachable. Additionally, I think the only way to improve your skills for ‘acing job interviews’ is to practice. And by practice, I do genuinely get into a room and try to get a job you want, mock interviews don’t hold real stakes and often they can be more intimidating than the actual situation. How do you prepare for a fake interview on top of preparing for a real one?
I personally found the tips in this article super helpful. I know that I tend to ramble or say too much when faced with broad questions like those given in the article, but having tips that help me to ground my answer in something concise and effective is super helpful not just for interviews but for my communication in general. It's also nice that it focused on both common and more unique questions, so as not to just contain info that any other article on job interviews would contain. The question about the pandemic was surprising to me, because I hadn't even considered the fact that the pandemic had completely spun the workplace on its head, and fundamentally changed the way that many employees and employers approach their work. I'm glad that it seemed to emphasize being honest, rather than trying to lie or skirt around the truth to hype yourself up because I've definitely been given advice to say whatever I needed to to get hired, advice that I have always wondered how that person ever thought it would work in a real workplace.
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