Job Interview horrors

[bri89]

I’m young and unemployed and this whole application/interview process is a bit of a nightmare. Why is it that even for low paying jobs you are are expected to show an inordinate amount of enthusiam, are subjected to a litany of personality tests(with the intention of weeding out introverts?), and many applications require an excessive amount of personal information. During interviews, I find that skills and qualifications don’t matter nearly as much as how well you sell yourself and can regurgitate the standard answers employers are looking for. They expect you to be all things at all times. You must work equally well independently and collaboratively. They want you to be adept in different areas that require contradictory qualites. All this simply for very low paying work; it’s not enough to be a slave, you must be an enthusiastic one.

 

[austenbosten]

Because many corporations are run by morons. It maybe an uncharitable thing to say, but sometimes the truth is uncharitable.

I read that many investment banks are looking at how well a person facebooks and twitters over their knowledge of things like P/E ratios, General Accounting Principals, and so forth. This is why something like Facebook is seen as a good investment, even though there are no fundementals to back it up, just the Greater Fool Theory.

 

[bri89]

True, networking seems to trump many other qualifications, getting a job is much harder if you’re a poor networker. Now even babysitting jobs are transferring to online networking sites. Also, some of the questions they ask during interviews are so nonsensical to me that I answer poorly and look unprepared. I’ve often been asked questions that are not at all related to the job at hand or they will be abstract hypothetical situations. “Tell me about a time where you were required to think on your feet?” "What would you do if you saw so and so do such and such?

 

[Ysara]

I know this only too well… I have aspergers syndrome yet I have good qualifications… mostly in Maths and science… but i never pass an interview… even for low paid jobs… i mean what qualifications do you need to stack shelves in a supermarket??? I am more than capable of carrying out any job that I know I can do… But with Aspergers I have poor social skills… and its this that employers seem to want … exactly what both of you said… its how you sell yourself and as a loner and introvert this makes it almost impossible for me to get a job… employers need to stop looking for the class clown and start looking at people who are real assets…

 

[ccmnxc]

I am a definite introvert. I feel I interact well with others and am respectful, but I don’t actually seek out interactions. I speak when someone addresses me or I have soemthing important to say. I’m not very big on small talk. Let’s hope the atmosphere changes on this.

 

[radiate]

I have encountered much of the same and have come to the conclusion that what we were taught all throughout school, to do well so that you could have a future, is no longer true. It appears that the criteria for ‘getting ahead’ is great social skills with a bit of haughtiness and it helps to be physically attractive and young.

 

[JimG]

Well, there may be some jobs that require little if no social interaction, but actually most jobs do require social skills. Even entry level jobs often require customer contact. Someone who seems happy and eager just makes a customer more likely to come back. And someone who doesn’t get along well with coworkers can be a liability, as any manager can tell you.

 

[austenbosten]

I still put 90.5% of the blame on Human Resources. HR is evil and has to go!

They list Visual Studio as a programming language…it’s an IDE not a language

 

[JimG]

I have encountered much of the same and have come to the conclusion that what we were taught all throughout school, to do well so that you could have a future, is no longer true. It appears that the criteria for ‘getting ahead’ is great social skills with a bit of haughtiness and it helps to be physically attractive and young.

There is actually a good deal of truth in this. The only person I’ve ever known who has never been out of a job for more than a few weeks is a salesman. He’s always worked in sales. He always believes in his product, whatever it may be. He can talk to anyone. He’s not the smartest guy around, and in my view he’s often just wrong! But whenever he has lost a job, he’s working again at another sales job within a matter of weeks.

 

[JimG]

I still put 90.5% of the blame on Human Resources. HR is evil and has to go!

They list Visual Studio as a programming language…it’s an IDE not a language

Yeah, HR is evil all right. It began when they changed the name of the department from “Personnel” to “Human Resources.”

 

[rebeccanew]

The people in HR are just doing what they were taught to do in college. Also, if they aren’t careful, some goofball will get mad and take it out on them.

 

[JimG]

The people in HR are just doing what they were taught to do in college. Also, if they aren’t careful, some goofball will get mad and take it out on them.

You are probably right. Back when I was first looking for a job, HR departments did not even exist in most companies. My job search method was to walk into a business, pick out someone who seemed to be in charge, and say, "Excuse me, but I’m looking for a job. Does your company have any openings? They would either refer me to somebody else, give me an application, or say no. If they said no, they I would ask if they knew of some other company who had openings. I actually got some leads that way which led to jobs.

Now, it seems the HR department rules. When I was on the other side of the desk, trying to fill a job from within the company, I asked for every applicant’s personnel file, and reviewed them all. Without even meeting the candidates, one of them clearly stood out as outstanding. I took all the files back to HR and said, “I don’t need to do interviews. I already know which one I want.” She said, “You have to do interviews! It’s a requirement!” So I wasted two days doing interviews, then hired the person who I’d already decided on from reviewing his file.

 

[1ke]

are subjected to a litany of personality tests(with the intention of weeding out introverts?)

That is not at all the purpose of pre employment testing. This type of testing is expensive, so I am surprised you state you are receiving this testing for “low paying jobs”. Perhaps you can be more specific as to the types of jobs you are applying for.

and many applications require an excessive amount of personal information.

Examples would be helpful. What type of “personal information” are you considering excessive? There are many things that are illegal to ask. But there are other things the government requires be collected for EEOC and Affirmative Action reporting.

During interviews, I find that skills and qualifications don’t matter nearly as much as how well you sell yourself and can regurgitate the standard answers employers are looking for.

Well, it’s both actually. As for regurgitating, perhaps unskilled interviewers are looking for pat answers but skilled interviewers are not.

They expect you to be all things at all times. You must work equally well independently and collaboratively.

Because most jobs require both skills.

They want you to be adept in different areas that require contradictory qualites. ]

Such as?

 

[1ke]

Also, some of the questions they ask during interviews are so nonsensical to me that I answer poorly and look unprepared.

Then perhaps invest in a course or book on preparing for interviews.

I’ve often been asked questions that are not at all related to the job at hand or they will be abstract hypothetical situations. “Tell me about a time where you were required to think on your feet?”

This is certainly job related and neither abstract nor hypothetical. This is a behavioral interview question. The best predictor of future performance is past performance. Skilled behavioral interviewers can get a really good picture of a person’s qualifications and job fit through these questions. In customer service, once must often think on one’s feet. I can see this as an appropriate question. Why do you think it isn’t?

"What would you do if you saw so and so do such and such?

No, this is an example of a hypothetical. Behavioral interviewing does not use these. But, many unskilled interviewers do. But again, even if it’s not the best type of question, I don’t see why you have a problem answering it.

 

[1ke]

Now, it seems the HR department rules. When I was on the other side of the desk, trying to fill a job from within the company, I asked for every applicant’s personnel file, and reviewed them all. Without even meeting the candidates, one of them clearly stood out as outstanding. I took all the files back to HR and said, “I don’t need to do interviews. I already know which one I want.” She said, “You have to do interviews! It’s a requirement!” So I wasted two days doing interviews, then hired the person who I’d already decided on from reviewing his file.

Many managers are unaware of the legalities involved-- many times HR “makes” you do things a certain way because of EEOC laws. They are specialists at what they do, their job is to keep your company out of legal trouble with the EEOC, FLSB, and other government entities. Your derision is misplaced-- aim it at Washington DC, not your HR people trying to keep your company fine-free. Although to be fair to DC, many of these laws were put into place due to bad behavior and discrimination on the part of hiring companies.

 

[bri89]

That is not at all the purpose of pre employment testing. This type of testing is expensive, so I am surprised you state you are receiving this testing for “low paying jobs”. Perhaps you can be more specific as to the types of jobs you are applying for.

Examples would be helpful. What type of “personal information” are you considering excessive? There are many things that are illegal to ask. But there are other things the government requires be collected for EEOC and Affirmative Action reporting.

Well, it’s both actually. As for regurgitating, perhaps unskilled interviewers are looking for pat answers but skilled interviewers are not.

Because most jobs require both skills.

Such as?

Lots of questions. I’m not the only job seeker that feels this way. Some girl told me she was surprised she had to sit through a panel interview for a simple data entry job. I don’t find personality tests creditable in general, and I’ve had to fill them out for general office work. Plus, many employers know how desperate some people are in this economy so they can demand a lot more even for menial jobs. In junior high/high school I made 10 dollars an hour tutoring elementary school children in algebra and ancient civ. In high school I made 9 dollars an hour scooping ice-cream; now, that’s the wage a lot of employers are wanting to pay people with years of professional experience. My most recent job was working as a telecom temp in a large company, and I didn’t even interview for it. I was paid well and left with a letter of recommendation and promise of employment if I wished to return to the company; this won’t happen as I moved out of state.

 

[1ke]

In high school I made 9 dollars an hour scooping ice-cream; now, that’s the wage a lot of employers are wanting to pay people with years of professional experience.

Perhaps that is the wage people would be paid to scoop ice cream, even if they had “years of professional experience” but that is not the wage a company is going to offer for an actual professional position.

You seem unwilling to answer my questions. Did you start this thread for advice on how to do better in your job search or just to complain about companies that didn’t hire you?

 

[bri89]

Perhaps that is the wage people would be paid to scoop ice cream, even if they had “years of professional experience” but that is not the wage a company is going to offer for an actual professional position.

You seem unwilling to answer my questions. Did you start this thread for advice on how to do better in your job search or just to complain about companies that didn’t hire you?

Lol. I guess I was just complaining and wondering if anyone else had similar experiences, which it seems they do.

 

[JimG]

Many managers are unaware of the legalities involved-- many times HR “makes” you do things a certain way because of EEOC laws. They are specialists at what they do, their job is to keep your company out of legal trouble with the EEOC, FLSB, and other government entities. Your derision is misplaced-- aim it at Washington DC, not your HR people trying to keep your company fine-free. Although to be fair to DC, many of these laws were put into place due to bad behavior and discrimination on the part of hiring companies.

Oh, I think you are right on this, HR has to be on top of every regulation. For a long time I was a manager in a Federal agency. Whenever there was a job openning that was filled from within the organization, nearly every single non-selected applicant filed an EEOC complaint. The first time that happened it scared the heck out of me. The next several dozen times it just became a normal course of events. Filing an EEOC complaint was alway a win, because the agency always gave a settlement–whatever it took–because it was less expensive than carrying the complaint through on its merits or non-merits. It was a cost of doing business.

 

[vz71]

I don’t find personality tests creditable in general, and I’ve had to fill them out for general office work. Plus, many employers know how desperate some people are in this economy so they can demand a lot more even for menial jobs.

Are you sure this is the test you were subjected to?

A personality test is a fairly expensive and lengthy procedure.
Normally a brief history is taken to see if there is anything going on in your life that would skew the results.
The test part takes hours, the results can take weeks to be analyzed.

I have seen many companies use these, but generally it is reserved for those higher paid positions where it is critical that the specific personality traits be a known quantity.
Generally they are done to help the employee understand their own personality and recognize how others are reacting to them.
hopefully it makes them better managers.