Job and interview questions

Lion

So I sent in my resume for a job listing and they called me up the next day to schedule an interview. I had the interview recently and it struck me as kind of weird. Outside of 1 or 2 questions, everything they asked was the normal generic questions they ask at any interview, i.e. what are your strengths/weaknesses, why do you want this job, etc.

Is this normal now? I haven't had to have an interview in a while so I was expecting more in-depth questions about knowledge or qualifications. I'm hoping I didn't fuck up this interview.

Enc

It's hard to say. Did you notice a dialogue during the interview, or just short precise questions and answers? Generally, a good interview doesn't feel like an interview after a few questions, and more like a discussion.

That said, some places only ask a set series of questions because they are required to ask the exact same questions of every candidate (usually government positions or large corporations).

If you feel like you or they were rushing, it probably went bad. In either case, contact them after a week with a follow up, if the job is filled or they are still looking chalk it up to experience and try again.

Lion

I would say there was a bit of a dialogue going on. Not much. I tried to give answers that reflected my personality but I was also intimidated since I was expecting a 1 on 1 interview and instead found myself across from a full compliment of people on the other side.

It didn't feel rushed. They were all pretty laid back and intent/taking notes.

Esh

What kind of job was it? If they had a lot of resumes submitted and interviews to do, those tend to be really by the book and straight forward. They're just trying to weed through the first round of applicants.

Did they say if they were doing a second round?

Lion

Tech job on the hardware side for a large corp. Don't really want to be more specific.

They said they'd make their decision by the end of next week.

Esh

Lion wrote:

Tech job on the hardware side for a large corp. Don't really want to be more specific.

They said they'd make their decision by the end of next week.

Then it's one of two things. Either they just do stiff interviews, or they just weren't that into you. I know when I've interviewed people for work (granted, it was in the restaurant industry), and I wasn't feeling it, those interviews were kept pretty short, sweet, and to the point.

Follow up with an email thanking them (probably immediately) and then sit on your thumbs and wait.

Lion

Esh wrote:

Follow up with an email thanking them (probably immediately) and then sit on your thumbs and wait.

Did that already. But yeah, I figured there's not really anything I can do but wait. Just thought I would see what other experiences people had.

jamesra

Esh wrote:

Lion wrote:

Tech job on the hardware side for a large corp. Don't really want to be more specific.

They said they'd make their decision by the end of next week.

Then it's one of two things. Either they just do stiff interviews, or they just weren't that into you. I know when I've interviewed people for work (granted, it was in the restaurant industry), and I wasn't feeling it, those interviews were kept pretty short, sweet, and to the point.

Follow up with an email thanking them (probably immediately) and then sit on your thumbs and wait.

Three things. They had an internal hire in mind, but are required by HR to go through the process. This goes in and out of fashion, but it isn't uncommon. In my experience, when HR requires the full process and the internal hire has already been chosen, the interviewer will wiff the interview. Sometimes that deliberate, sometimes its just because doing a pointless interview is tedious and unpleasant and embarrassing but the effect is the same.

hamdingers

I do a lot of interviewing for a technical position. I always start with some non-technical stuff because I need to see if the candidate is going to fit with our culture. If they are not, I never bother with the tech questions.

Pailryder

make sure you send a thank you to the interview person (if you can). it's a very small thing but can make a huge difference when they are making decisions.

FlipprDolphin

I had a job interview that was me at a table and around 5-6 people on the other side.

They asked like 10 questions and that was it. Kinda sucked because i had to fly there and get a hotel/car.

Oh, it was with the state of north carolina, they suck.