Had my first 'bad' interview in years yesterday

[BoredBloke]

Over the last 8 years I believe I have attended in excess of 70 interviews although a fair few of them were for industrial placement at uni and Grad jobs.

I don't think I have had 70 in the 20 years I've been contracting. As a rough estimate, I know that for a 10 year period I had 7 interviews in total. That leaves 63 to fit in around the remaining 10 years. 6.3 a year is almost 1 every 2 months.

What I tend to find is that if I get called then I tend to get the job. It's getting called that is the trick!

[escapeUK]

The feedback I got from one last year was that I was 'too good'.

Actually I think that the Senior Manager in the interview took a dislike to me because I wasn't frightened of him.

These things happen.

I hadnt realised people still used the "Its not you, its me. You're too good for me" line. But it sounds like you soothed your ego afterwards. All women should watch the film "He's just not that into you", well everyone really. Men will think its hilarious and women will go OMG!!!

Never had a coffee shop interview, Id have thought this is weird and then complemented the interviewer on their style. People like their wacky ideas to be validated. "Isnt this great, such a relaxed way to interview?"

My last interview was 75% them telling me how rubbish the previous IT people in had been, and how he had fallen out with all of them, with me groaning in agreement, rolling my eyes at the right time and being very sympathetic. 5% me describing solutions I had previous designed and written with him going omg we want that. 20% taking me around the place.

[cojak]

You're too good??

That's a rubbish line, and told me nothing about why I hadn't got the contract (which is what I wanted).

And the Senior Manager was a tosser..

[Mich the Tester]

I went to one of the roughest Comprehensives in the West of Scotland myself, so I wouldn't know. With regard to your observations about the less salubrious alumni of Winchester College, though, do you think it's a good or a bad thing for FCO officials to be exposed to international despots at a young age, whilst they're still at school? Personally, I think it can only be a good thing; it's not like the FCO only has to know how to deal with nice people you know.

There's a thing – ironically known as the "Wkyehamist Fallacy" in diplomatic circles – whereby if you've only ever got experience of dealing with people from your own limited social, economic and ethical sphere, you're more likely to underestimate and misperceive the intentions of others. It's that inability to get into people from other background's heads that can make diplomats ineffective.

You might be right about exposure to turd world dictators at an early age. The only ones I knew at public school were the Kaunda boys of Kenneth Kaunda's family, who were really very nice guys, plus a few utterly revolting British aristocrats who'd be dangerous in charge of a chip shop, never mind an embassy or an army regiment.

But you're wrong about the Wykehamist Fallacy; it's actually spelled 'Wykehamist Phallussy' and is a game that is reputed to be played in the dormitories of Winchester College. Glad to say I don't know the rules.

[MaryPoppins]

That's a lot of interviews - an average of one every six weeks. By contrast, I've only had about twenty interviews in the past twelve years, but I got most of the jobs they were for, and some of them were toughies. Just not my day this time.

Yup, I was about to post the same sort of comment.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Yup, I was about to post the same sort of comment.

Ok for the retards in here (namely BB)

about 25 interviews during uni - I was at Man Uni at the time and industrial placements were very tough to get. Also the graduate programmes were very competitive.

Quite a few interviews trying to get into contracting and has reduced a lot now my CV has improved...

But yes still a lot - like I said I like interviews.

[northernladuk]

Ok for the retards in here (namely BB)

about 25 interviews during uni - I was at Man Uni at the time and industrial placements were very tough to get. Also the graduate programmes were very competitive.

Quite a few interviews trying to get into contracting and has reduced a lot now my CV has improved...

But yes still a lot - like I said I like interviews.

Don't forget me as well cause I would normally come back with some comment around recruiting wet behind the ears and think that life owes them a living graduates is hardly being the same as professional interviews to match a skill set to a role... and I think we are all aware of the number of interviews you go to by the number of times you jump ship etc etc...

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Don't forget me as well cause I would normally come back with some comment around recruiting wet behind the ears and think that life owes them a living graduates is hardly being the same as professional interviews to match a skill set to a role... and I think we are all aware of the number of interviews you go to by the number of times you jump ship etc etc...

Already been through the stats.....

[nomadd]

Wikipedia's great, *innit?










* comedic effect again.

*Toadally, dude.










* comedic effect again.

[Gentile]

I hadnt realised people still used the "Its not you, its me. You're too good for me" line. But it sounds like you soothed your ego afterwards. All women should watch the film "He's just not that into you", well everyone really. Men will think its hilarious and women will go OMG!!!

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Most women are more perceptive, empathic and insightful than most men in my experience; we're just less likely than you to show everything we know. Take this thread, as an example. In response to a simple story about Having A Bad Day, all of the women responded with empathy. By contrast some (by no means all) of the men took a simple story about dropping a clanger as a cue to give unsought and unnecessary advice. And a special sub-category of special needs contractor (you know, the type who do this not as a career choice, but because their EQ and consequent ability to deal with human beings is so low they've never been able to hold down a permie job) responded with flippant misogyny. These differences aren't a biological thing, I don't think. It's just that women find people thrust their personalities at them far more often, more overtly (and, occasionally, more revealingly) than men. It's hard not to form opinions about people's motivations when they show so much of themselves to you across so many different situations.