ivo +1

Right, so I think it went well, the guy who interviewed me was very familiar with me to begin with, as I'm always in the store and I'd been checking up with him every couple days as to their hiring situation (and he was there that time when I helped some person find a book...and of course for it to be ME helping a person find a book it'd of course have to be Shakespeare or Nietzsche they were looking for, and it ws "Othello"...go figure) and things seemed to go well...

He mentioned salary and hours, hoping that's a good sign, should know by the end of the week.

Oh--

And I remembered my pants.

(And it went a HELL of a lot better than THIS GUY'S interview...ah, reminds me of the first job interview I ever had, way back when...same ending, too...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0sqRMzkwo&feature=related

SO YOU'RE THE REASON THEY TURNED ME DOWN FOR THAT POSITION!!!!!!!!!

and great youtube video!

and try not to mention Nietsche, as hard as resisting that may be ;)

usually it's enough not to be late for the interview in order to get a job

once I went for a job interview and was about 20mins late, during the interview I was asked about strengths etc, I told them that I would love to say that I am punctual but it's obviously not true. They still hired me and I was true to my word by being constantly late. In the battle between breakfast and being on time for work, Mr. Kellogg usually won.

@alamothe - Clearly you aren't going for skilled professional positions (i.e. software developer). For my last two jobs I had to go through multiple callbacks and get shortlisted to get the positions. But I guess that's the difference between a $75K a year position and a $7.50 an hour one.

Yeah, but in this economy, even a job at B&N is wicked hard to get. In some respects, harder, since so many more people are eligible.

Exactly why just showing up on time won't be all it takes to get the job.

Yes, we're in agreement.

@baumhauer:

Well, apply there about twenty more times...still haven't heard from them, they're interviewing throughout the week and would call on or by Friday if I get it, but I've been trying to get a job there since I was sixteen...I remember that, I did just fine with the first interview with this guy I was used to talking to, and then the second one was a DISASTER, I knew I was close to getting an interview so I did something I NEVER do and got all nervy...never had that problem when I was in high school acting, how GOOD I was, maybe, but I never had a nerves problem, usual philosophy was "I'm doing what I think is good for the character in this audition and if no one likes it they're all just fucking assholes" which wasn't true, obviously, but worked--THIS TIME I got all nervy, was figetting, for some reason my mouth kept tripping over itself, and even for ME I had a hard time shutting up, it ws like a boulder rolling downhill, only less articulate.

And then I got the "weakness" question and quite possibly gave the stupidest response in history:

Interviewing lady: So, what would you say is your greatest weakness?

Me *recreation*: Well, er..ummm...fffff...well, I guess...erm...I gues, kind of...sort of...you know...gah....you know, some people, when they, erm, shen SOME people...some people can be difficult, you know, and...an'...well, anyway, they can be difficult, you know, I mean, chemistry...chemistry and all that, like sports...I know you just said you didn't really like sports, but...well, anyway, the thing is...people? Don't like working with people, sometimes, really, it's not that I'm SHY, it's just...you know...

That was like the first formal interview I'd ever had...lol...and I said I hated people--AFTER tripping on my tongue for about two minutes.

XD

I couldn't figure out what to SAY, hadn't been prepared for that, and job folks always came by the high school every few months or so, they'd tell you to try and spin any answer to your advantage, so there I am, never having done this before, thinking "How the fuck can I spin a weakness of mine here...'I work too hard' sounds like a lie, and it is...I can't say 'I have a slight intolerance for stupidity and I wish the fuckers blasting that music outide would fuck off home,'...goddamn it..."

So I TRIED to say "Sometimes I have a harder tiem being patient with people who aren't prepared" and came out "I just fucking hate people!"

Or the job interview equivalent of that... ;)

(Incidentally, that first interview that I did well on to get the seocnd, I got a stool in the middle of a warehousen while a guy a few feet away from me asked questions, and was fine there, but not in an office with an actual chair and just a foot away from the person interviewing me...you'd think I'd feel more isolated and nervy on the stool in the middle of an empty warehouse...)

Luckily that manager's gone now, though, so won't have to worry about her...

What are you doing up so late, obi?

Damn it, we told you to be ready for the weakness question! : )

I'm always up late, I only usually get 2-4 hours on the weekdays, Mon-Thurs (Fir-Sun no classes, so I can sleep in or whatever.)

Plus I often pass out around 8 or 9 and wake up at 11 or 12, and then I'm screwed, that's the night's sleep, pretty much...

And I was ready for it THIS TIME...if someone had told me about that three years ago we might not have had this conversation! ;)

I wouldn't worry about it though. If you do good on the real questions, you should be fine.

I remember I was on a phone interview with a couple engineers and a lady from HR. I was having a great time answering the engineers' questions, then the HR woman throws out the BS weakness question and I just let out the most painful sigh that went on for about 10 minutes. I then realized what I was doing and came up with some incredible BS answer. Got the internship, though.

Yeah, I was like that as an undergrad, too. Been trying to keep a normal schedule now, but no such luck tonight : (

2 to 4 hours sleep? How do you function?

LOL...I think that must just be what interviewers do to get a kick out of life...like Steve Martin as the Little Shop of Horrors Dentist! :p

heh I just think it's what HR people do when they get tired of not knowing what the engineers and the interviewee are talking about : )

@spyman:

I get to college three hours early--plenty of time for a nap...that, and, I have a ton of caffeine...and then I get through on spite alone! ;) (And math class...I TRY to stay awake, but doesn't matter who's teaching or when, my head always ends up meating the desk, usually ten minutes in, and the professor just says "Fuck it..." Never a rpoblem falling asleep in any other class, but always math...hence that being the only class where I'm ever in the back and ever quiet...)

oh, if only you knew what you were missing out on...