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Job Interview Question Help...

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by TIMSPEED2, May 3, 2015.

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  1. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    So I need a little bit of advice...
    On EVERY interview I've ever went on, the first question is always...
    "So, tell us a little about your experience/education, as it relates to the position?"
    NOW...
    EVERY one of these interview panels, have both my Resume and Letter of Introduction (Which both explain this in detail.)

    SO....
    What are they really asking me? Surely they don't want me to simply repeat what they already know, right?
    Thanks for any light you can shed on this!
    :wave:
     
  2. bswim

    bswim High-Roller

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    Resume only briefly touches on details. The purpose of an interview is to go further in depth.

    weren't you just asking about whether you should hire someone who a fiend recommended?
     
  3. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    No...between my Resume and Cover letter..it's pretty in-depth...
    And no, not a fiend ;) LOL
     
  4. NJS24

    NJS24 Voice of Reason

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    Eye Contact, Confidence, Communication

    It's an ice breaker. If one struggles thru that, the interview will end shortly afterwards.
     
  5. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    That's what I always though too..just an ice breaker...but it makes me wonder, I mean...why ask a rhetorical question?
    Although, I will say...one interview that DIDN'T ask that question; I got the job, hahaha (of course they asked specific technical questions, rather than "how would you handle this?" type BS)
     
  6. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    They want to see how you can articulate your thoughts, how you present yourself, how direct and confident you are in answering the question while under the gun. In short they want to see if there is a wide chasm between what is written on a resume/cover letter where the applicant has had plenty of time to make their case as attractive as they can and how well the applicant can intelligently convince the interviewer that most of what is in the resume/cover letter is factual.

    Let's face it, everyone pads their resumes a little. It is a given. I've conducted numerous interviews and I never had a problem with this as long as the applicant could covince me verbally that what they put down on paper could be reinforced by a fluid discussion of his/her written assertions.

    These are excellent questions to start an interview with. They almost always give the interviewer an almost immediate insight and sense of how well the applicant has prepared for the interview and if they can react on the go in a dynamic environment as opposed to working on a resume in a static environment.

    I used to approach interviews as watered down interrogations, always looking for inconsistencies and chinks in the armor. There are subtle ways the interviewer can ask the same question in different ways and if the applicant is all he/she say they are then they will usually be fine.

    Be prepared for a lot of open ended questions. An interviewer is interested in letting an applicant tell them as much as they can, both verbally and body language (eye contact, posture, facial expressions, arm movements etc.) to either let them paint themselves in a corner or to give them a solid reason to take them as a serious candidate.

    In short Tim, the first five or so minutes of an interview are critically important. If you get off to a good start the rest of the interview will be a fair assessment. On the other hand if one gets off to a rocky or inconsistent start the interviewer is probably looking for reasons not to consider that person as a viable candidate.

    Best advice I can give you is to prepare, prepare and finally to prepare. Write down the most challenging questions that you can think of, and think outside the box, and then have a family member or friend conduct some mock interviews.

    Best wishes to you Tim, hope you come through with flying colors!!!

    :peace: :beer:
     
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  7. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    Thanks Mike!
    Like I said, I often thought it was just an ice breaker...and seriously, since I wrote my resume/letter of intro...I have it absolutely memorized (In the famous words of PeeWee Herman "I lived it.")
    So, that's what I always do; just say exactly the same thing it says on paper...almost literally word for word.

    Also, it seems like interview panel people play "Good Cop, Bad Cop", almost always ONE person will be happy and smiling, and another will be straight up FROWNING...
     
  8. Piggylane

    Piggylane Well-Known Member

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    Be prepared to answer every question in 20 seconds or less, 15 is ideal as that is the average adult attention span. If you ramble on you will lose the interviewer. Public Relations professionals try to get their points out in 15 to 20 second chunks. No different here. You are ringing your own bell, providing answers to directed questions.

    However, open ended questions can lead to open ended answers so prepare a simple 20 second answer and rehearse it.

    If you are being interviewed by HR or Admin types, give that type of an answer. If you are being interviewed by a Network Administrator that is the only place appropriate to discuss your detailed skills and their bullshit detectors will be ON. If you claim to have done something and haven't or aren't proficient, they will know.

    A couple years ago our Sales VP interviewed a guy who turned out to be a perfect candidate for a District Sales Manager. This is a position that can pay upwards of $200K. The VP asked the guy if he knew how to make a pivot table in Excel. The guy said, "yes!" Show me. He couldn't. Had no clue. They kicked him out.

    Whatever is on your resume make sure you are proficient in it. You never know what they will ask about and bad luck will have it that the one thing you are the weakest in will be the one that they are the most interested in.

    Wish you the very best of luck.
     
  9. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    Piggy, thanks for the tip on the 20 second answer!
    I always like to answer each question as quickly and succinctly as I can...but at the end, I always feel like I went too fast...
    In the interview panel, it's USUALLY like three people (One HR person, one Network Admin, and one Union Rep); however in the one I was HIRED at...it was all Network Admin types....maybe that's why I got the job? LOL

    And again, like I said, I am 100% on everything that's on my resume/cover letter.
     
  10. HOUtoLAS

    HOUtoLAS High-Roller

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    Are you always applying at school districts? That is what I recall from your posts. If that it the case, could you start applying at private sector jobs?
     
  11. chess

    chess VIP Whale

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    Tim: did you get shit canned from your last job ?

    You seem to be asking alot of work related questions LOL I am just curious
     
  12. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    At the best possible time..the day after my wedding, HAHAHAHA!

    And on the private sector jobs...I apply for those too..but a lot of those won't give you a second look if you don't have a Bachelors Degree (I only have an AS)
     
  13. chess

    chess VIP Whale

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    oh fuck sakes that blows big dick.....


    Well not true... I have hired non degreed guys... the problem is I cant pay them 80-100k a year if they want it because of the non-degree.. .they come in low work there way up..
    Plus our firm gives you 5k towards classes or technical certs every year.. thats a pretty damn good incentive if you ask me....

    If you are prior military that helps as well.
     
  14. TheCooler

    TheCooler Professional Gambler and the Best Football Handica

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    That's a great incentive. Can that be applied to a MS program?
     
  15. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    Right?
    Well, that's good to know...since I'm GLAD to take $50k a year!
    and I do have CERTS...just no BS (A+/Net+/Server+; I did the CompTIA path, rather than MS path)
     
  16. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal VIP Whale

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    We have a hard time hiring non-degree folks even if they have 10 years of relevant experience. It doesn't have to be related to our field, you could have a psychology degree and get hired as a database architect. We do the education credits too. Makes an MBA almost free if you go to the local state school.
     
  17. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    I got into IT over 30 something years ago. At that time IT wasn't a big thing, most of my coworkers had degrees in other fields (one in sociology, another in social work). I was probably one of the first ones out of school with an IT degree. At the time they only required you to have a Bachelors degree someplace and were basically begging for people to get into IT. (how things have changed). But even now many positions only require you to have a 4 year degree as a minimum so many non degree people go back to school to get the 4 year degree.

    Actually I was initially going into engineering but I had a lot of fun taking the required computer classes so I switched over to IT. It was also easier, no minimum GPA at the time (engineering and business I think had a minimum of 3.0 gpa - I was never that smart, lol).

    I mostly work for the government for the past 30 years. I moved to private sector for 9 years thinking that I would get promotions and raises based on merit but I found in Hawaii that it was who you know, who you are a related to and how well you "kiss butt" that got you ahead. At least in the government sector we get good retirement benefits, good medical benefits and lots of vacation and sick leave in government. Pay was probably 25% less than in the private sector but at least I don't have to worry about getting fired or laid off (many private sector companies lay off their higher paid employees to they don't have to pay high salaries - what a bummer, they also "reorganize" or outsource the work to save on money).


    I think Mike said it best why they ask those questions. Not really an "ice breaker" but more to get a feel about you and how articulate you are. They have to gauge how you are and whether you will be a fit in their company.
     
  18. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    Tim, you ever thought about going back to school to get your BA or BS or even a MBA? Might be worth taking night classes to get the degree, then you don't have to worry about getting shut out because you don't have a 4 year degree.

    I had friends who did that, it was hard but they were able to get their degrees which helped them land better paying jobs.

    Just a thought.
     
  19. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    Explain your proficiency at Video Poker.. :beer:

    My first ever teaching interview... out of the blue... "what was the last book you read?" This was during very in depth part about teaching style.. well last book I read was a texas hold em strategy book...

    Sure wish I answered one of the many Mark Twain books I have read....
     
  20. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Very good! :thumbsup:
     
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