Based on your observations, how many interviews does it take to get an offer? I’m starting to feel like a loser since I’m now 0/5. The most recent treasury position manager hired one and needs two more over the next two months. They said they would keep my resume on file bla bla bla, but I’m considering that position dead now. I hardly think they’ll have my spin my wheels for a month before coming back with an offer. What is a good strong arm tactic for an offer? I’m a bit more introverted than most people, however I don’t have issues interviewing other than being nervous. Does anyone have some fighting words they used to seal the deal? Please Advise.
KJH, I have a different question for you. How are you getting interviews? Internet postings, cold-calling, networking? I started applying a couple of weeks ago and nothing is biting.
i was always bad at interviews in the beginning, used to get very nervous. practice definitely helped. i also started writing up my answers to sample itnerview questions and then i would practice saying it out loud. and i learned to talk a lot and give long answers to questions asked.
KJH, I wish I had an answer for you. Want to be a sales assistant at a broker dealer in Chicago? Not even sure if they are hiring. Sadly, that is all I have. I would recommend you though! Did you try the headhunters? Continue to work any connections you make.
Oh, what about toastmasters, maybe join them?
Sh!t, this position was pitched to me. The manager of the treasury department got my resume off the network drive and called me in. I skipped the HR dilbert interview and thought I had the position in the bag. The interviews I’ve had go back many months. Obviously I was not interviewing after March when crunch time came for Level 1. I get calls from Monster sometimes which are decent, otherwise I get interviews by hammering the job boards. When I see something I like, I apply. If I know someone at that firm, I email them and ask them to ping my name to HR to assist with getting my foot in the door.
amberpower Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oh, what about toastmasters, maybe join them? I have considered this. Not only would it be a solid network, but it would help me with my shyness I experience sometime. Granted I’m alot better now, I used to be very shy. To overcome that obstacle, I minored in communication studies in college which did wonders. It’s funny though, I can public speak pretty well and it doesn’t phase me. But approaching a girl at a bar for instance, I get lead feet real quick.
amberpower Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > KJH, I wish I had an answer for you. Want to be a > sales assistant at a broker dealer in Chicago? Not > even sure if they are hiring. Sadly, that is all I > have. I would recommend you though! > > Did you try the headhunters? Continue to work any > connections you make. Chicago would be great though. I have a bunch of family on the West side. I’ve been meaning to get down there later this month, but now I can’t because our firm is running so lean we were forewarned not to take time off. Why couldn’t have I got the ax…
When I was looking to lateral in equity research into a more senior role, I received offers from four out of five places I interviewed with. I was still in the final round with the fifth firm before withdrawing from the process. A normal process included two rounds of interviews, and occasionally a third. When I was interviewing for private equity jobs, the recruitment process was typically three or four rounds of interviews. My “interview close” rate was substantially less, as I received offers from about 20% of the places I interviewed with. Suffice it to say, I was less prepared for my PE interviews than I was for my equity research interviews (as I already had relevant work experience with the latter), plus most PE firms probably didn’t consider me to be of the ideal professional background at least on first impressions.
For the girl at the bar, the trick is just to talk for the sake of talking. And remember to look her in the eyes as you do it. And smile because you like her. Alas, it took me *way* to long to learn these simple rules. And now I can’t use them anymore (without the threat of losing a testicle or two).
Personally I doubt a girl at a bar would be impressed with a back office employee who drives a bucket.
I watch a lot of those “Lockup” shows on MSNBC about prisons in America, you’d be surprised how many inmates have wives or girlfriends. If someone behind bars who plays hide-the-soap on a daily basis can land a chick I don’t see how a back office employee can’t.
That’s why I love NY man… If you hit it off, you take a taxi home!
farley013 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I watch a lot of those “Lockup” shows on MSNBC > about prisons in America, you’d be surprised how > many inmates have wives or girlfriends. If someone > behind bars who plays hide-the-soap on a daily > basis can land a chick I don’t see how a back > office employee can’t. If you pay attention to the ladder theory (google it), women are drawn to guys with tons of money, or who are outlaw bikers. Therefore a office dilbert with a 2000 Ford is not going to turn many heads. Super rich and super badass dudes do though.
What kind of Ford? I heard some good advice about meeting people (both professionally and personally). If you get nervous at such times, focus on whether you like the person or not, and not on whether the person likes you. About jobs, my most recent search took about six months. I finally got an offer when I stopped giving a damn what the interviewers thought of me.
Crazy, my current job I didn’t give a damn about and got an offer. I’ve heard a big part of interviews is compatibility between manager/employee. I thought this manager and I had similar personality traits. I have read one interviewing book but was not impressed. Does anyone have some generic key phrases or anything to seal the deal without sounding phony? Oh and my Ford is a V6 Mustang. It’s a bucket now because a lady hit me in a parking lot a few weeks ago leaving a sizable mark in the driver rear side. Granted I did get a check to fix it, I just can’t fathom putting $2.5k in a car that’s barely worth $5k. This is the second accident the car has been in, first one happened before I owned it, so the title is already salvaged. I’ll drive it till it breaks now and keep the insurance check ear marked at the bank.
frisan, good advice on both counts. My best interviews have been the ones where I just “come as I am.” This presumes that (on the woman front), I’m basically a nice guy who’s interesting to talk to, and (on the job front) that I’m basically smart and qualified to do a lot of stuff, even if I don’t know exactly what they’re going to ask of me. If you stop caring too much about what the other person things (but still enough to take what they say seriously), you end up having a calm relaxing and confident person show through.
KJH, take from a girl who married a guy with a successful although not exactly lucrative career…confidence and humor are everything when it comes to finding someone to be with for the long haul. I got tired pretty quickly of dealing with jerks who couldn’t get their heads out of their a#* in college.
KJH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > If you pay attention to the ladder theory (google > it), women are drawn to guys with tons of money, > or who are outlaw bikers. Therefore a office > dilbert with a 2000 Ford is not going to turn many > heads. Super rich and super badass dudes do > though. I don’t fall into any of the categories you mentioned but am pretty sure I’ve made it out OK. I have to agree with others that confidence, a sense of humor, and a good smile all go along way. If you have those three things, you’re pretty much set. Maybe you’ll miss out on the gold-diggers if you’re not earning seven-figures, but you don’t want to be with them anyway.
During my job search, I poked around a bit about interviewing techniques. There’s always the usual blah blah in the books, but what helped me most was a weeknight job hunting seminar at a church (!) that I never visited before or since. The speaker, a church member who was basically a really good job hopper, stressed was that the hiring decision will often come down to who is the least risky candidate. You need to recognize that the hiring manager really, really, really wants to make as risk-free decision as possible. Personally I think this is due to at least two things: 1) everyone is afraid of looking stupid and 2) hiring the least-risky candidate greatly reduces any blame that might come the hiring manager’s way. (The fear of looking stupid and a desire to avoid blame are the most powerful motivators in organizations.) So how do you become the least-risky candidate? The speaker had boiled it down to three letters: P for passionate, P for prepared, and Q for qualified (and note I didn’t write MOST qualified). If your resume isn’t as good as your competitors, you’ve got to work on the other points. As for whether this makes any sense to you, your mileage may vary.