Going to an interview for a job you don't want?

-hype

So here's my dilemma I'm on my 4th day of finding a job in the IT field. So after spamming the job boards I had a recruiter contact me and now he wants me to interview for the position in person with the company. Now here's the problem, the job is a help desk job where I will be helping users remotely. This means talking to them on the phone Now I hate talking on the phone and this job requires me to talk about 6 hours a day (Job Description). Now to mention with that said, I won't get any hands on experience. This position is for a 3 month contract for a Fortune 500 non-IT company. Pay is meh (16$) plus it's a 30 min drive for me. Should I go to the interview see what they say, even though I'll probably say NO or should I go there and see what they have to offer. I've got possible other jobs that will give me more money plus hands on experience. But this one looks the most certain. What do you guys think? Should I just stop wasting their time?

ptilsen

If you really need the job, you shouldn't count on getting the better one. However, if you're confident enough, I don't see why you should waste your time or theirs. If you are worth more than what they're offering and don't really want the job, it's just a big waste of time.

Node Man

imo - go for the practice to interview or as a dry run. i went for for an interview i didnt want once, and discovered my favorite interview suit had a rip in it. better at a throw away interview than a serious one

W Stewart

I'm going to assume you can afford to be out of work if you're even considering turning down a job. If you don't have any IT experience at all, I would still take it just to put some experience on your resume while looking for something better. It's a tough job market and you need every advantage to get to where you really wanna be. It took me 6 months to get an IT job worth having but I was working at a call center and getting certifications while looking for that job. That crappy call center job also helped me develop the troubleshooting skills to make it through the interview for a real IT job. Even the slightest bit of experience makes a difference.

Xyro

I would go anyway. Like another poster said, for the experience.

N2IT

A lot of good information posted above. I was out of work for 6 weeks, loved it. But reality always comes a knocking so back to the interview scene I went. I would do phone interviews all day everyday if required, but face to face I wouldn't do unless I really wanted the job. This includes meeting with contracting agencies.

networker050184

Most entry level jobs are going to be phone support unfortunately. Don't wait forever for something that might not come.

Mrock4

N2IT's mindset is similar to mind in the regard that if jobless, I'll talk on the phone all day, but only go to those which I deem worth my (and the employers) time.

DoubleNNs

If you have no IT experience, you should go. Maybe the actual job might be a little different from what you imagined after reading the job description. And you might find that there are a lot of projects at work that you could ask to get your hands on.

Even if the job isn't something you'd want ultimately, as others mentioned it'd be great interview experience. I know I went to an interview for a job I didn't want about a month back and realized I was too verbose with my answers, often went off on tangents (giving too much background story) and answered 1 or 2 questions a little morbidly. My interviewing skills weren't as tight as I wanted them to be and I didn't have clear cut answers to questions that might arise from looking at my resume. I've done better at every interview since.

16/hr seems pretty good for a first IT job (if it is your first) and if you don't have much else certain, you should def hop on the opportunity - 3 months of experience and you'll be able to take a higher paying job by summer. However, if it's not your first job, or you're certain that you are worth more than that, focus on your other possibilities, but still consider going in for the interview.

My $0.02.

spicy ahi

+1 to this. Look at every interview as a learning experience and you'll never have a wasted interview. Also, if you do well but end up turning down the job, you may impress them enough that if something else comes up they might give you a second call. It's happened to me once or twice where I interviewed for a job but the money didn't work out and they end up calling me back a few months later when a job closer to my target income becomes available.

Node Man wrote: »

imo - go for the practice to interview or as a dry run. i went for for an interview i didnt want once, and discovered my favorite interview suit had a rip in it. better at a throw away interview than a serious one

rsutton

I'm surprised so many people are OK with wasting someone's time on a phone interview they *know* they wouldn't pursue.

Psoasman

^^^ +1
If you don't want the job, then don't go. You will be wasting their time and yours. If you want interview practice, just get some friends to help you.

N2IT

rsutton wrote: »

I'm surprised so many people are OK with wasting someone's time on a phone interview they *know* they wouldn't pursue.

Two elements you failed to leave out.

What if you don't have a job and a family to support or yourself to support? Should you ignore the job interview and stay unemployed?

Veterans understand that sometimes you get on the phone and the position changes from what the job reqs say. My current job was like that. I interviewed for a position I was unsure of due to the reqs, but after spending time with the hiring manager I found the position was something totally different not to mention possibility of advancement due to the growth of the company. Now why wouldn't you want to discuss the position? Sounds very naive and foolish to pass up an opportuntity to discuss a position on the phone.

The last piece is this. Why would the OP post this on the forum if it wasn't considering entertaining the offer? They mention it sounds like a for sure deal, with other position not so secure but of more interest. Sounds like the OP is delivering a contigency plan. That's called smart decision making and risk management.

Xyro

Psoasman wrote: »

If you want interview practice, just get some friends to help you.

Assumptions...
Everyone's life experiences differ. Not everyone has spare packs of "friends" laying around ready to deliver on-the-spot mock interviews & some who do may have the type of friends whom are even less-experienced in the job-interview experience than they are.

DoubleNNs

I have friends who would be great for general mock interviews... except they know absolutely nothing about IT or the IT job market. They wouldn't be able to ask the right questions. And even if I gave them a script to follow, they wouldn't be able to gauge the content in the answers I give them.

Real interviews are great practice. And it's better to have blown out on some earlier and be well prepared when interviewing for that dream position.

And as previously mentioned, you may change your mind about the position after the interview. Same thing happens when you think you want a position, go in and are disappointed. The opposite can happen for a position you don't initially think you want.

jsb515

I started out on help desk for Bellsouth DSL and stayed there for 2 years and saved up 5k to have in savings when i got married. I learned a lot there not just by doing the work but also working with others around me. After that I got another job that I went to different sites and one of the sites hired me and i've been there 9 years now and have moved up in the company and about to get a network admin job that i've always wanted. Sometimes you have to do the jobs you hate to get the ones you will appreciate one day.

rsutton

There is nothing wrong with taking an interview because you think it might turn in to something more, or become a good prospect. I was referring more to the posts where people refer to interviews as a tool to practice interview skills. I think it's rude to steal someones' time under a false pretense.

NotHackingYou

Take the interview. Several times I have been offered other positions relevant to the position they were hiring for. You never know what else might turn up and it could put you on the map with them if something else does come up.

N2IT

rsutton wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with taking an interview because you think it might turn in to something more, or become a good prospect. I was referring more to the posts where people refer to interviews as a tool to practice interview skills. I think it's rude to steal someones' time under a false pretense.

Agreed that is fairly weird and bizarre.

Keener

Unfortunately, you will always be on the phone at some point. I have been on a phone only position myself. It was nit ideal, but I definitely learned a lot. If you are green, or ni experience at all, the early positions are what help you cut your teeth.
A few points you mentioned

1. You said it was only 3 months. That will go by pretty quick and it will add to your resume. I was at MasterCard for 9 months. It flew by.

2. It may lead to something else. Often times internships lead to full time jobs later. A short contract can do the same and it could be for a better position.

3. As others have said, you may like the position more after the interview.

4. If you turn them down after the interview, they may bring you back for something else. I just interviewed with 1 company on Friday that I had interviewed for a few months ago. The one on Friday was for a higher level position.

Just my $.02, but it could be better than you are thinking.

W Stewart

I didn't realize that there was a second job involved here. I do agree that if you're unemployed and you need the job then you shouldn't be too picky. Also if you have no IT experience then you shouldn't be picky since experience isn't the easiest thing to get. There's no reason you can't take the job and keep looking for something better or interview for both jobs in-case you only get one.

Like others have said, this particular job may turn into a better opportunity. I had this happen to me twice. Once when I was out of work, I took a low paying job and impressed them in the interview so much that they offered me a more technical position at the same low wage (I never actually started at that place). My current job initially interviewed me for a NOC tech position paying $16/hr but once again I impressed them in the interview with my knowledge and they bumped me up to Jr Systems Admin at $18/hr and I'm doing cooler stuff then I would have been doing as a NOC tech and learning valuable skills that will make me a great sys admin.

Don't waste your time working at a crappy company for any length of time if that company isn't worth your time but don't pass up a potential opportunity because you never know what you're really missing out on. I even turned down an interview at this place a month before I started working here because I accepted another position that ended up not working out for me.

WiseWun

I would go to that interview and see what they have to offer. If you do well on the interview, they might offer you a hands-on position. I've been to a interview where I didn't get the job that I applied for but got another role which was what I was looking for to begin with. Case in point, you never know.

-hype

Nice replies, loved the feedback from all you "IT PROS."

Tbh, I am financially stable. This whole IT thing is not for money, it's something I like to do. I haven't had a real IT interview, so I'm going to go, just to be ready to hit the next one out of the ball park. Who knows, these guys might just sell themselves to me

jmritenour

Psoasman wrote: »

^^^ +1
If you don't want the job, then don't go. You will be wasting their time and yours. If you want interview practice, just get some friends to help you.

I'm with you and rsutton. If I have an open position, I'd rather you not waste my time if you already know you don't want the job. It's one thing if you're unsure but are keeping an open mind - as an interviewer, it's my job to sell you on the role/company just as much as it's you job to see me on yourself. But if you know you don't want it, say so up front. A lot of times, we can only interview so many people due to time constraints, and really sucks to have to pass one someone who doesn't have quite as good a resume, but perhaps would've been more interested in the job.

networker050184

rsutton wrote: »

I'm surprised so many people are OK with wasting someone's time on a phone interview they *know* they wouldn't pursue.

Agreed. Let them sit on the other side of the table over and over and they will change their view on this!

kgb

I agree with everyone on don't waste their time if you know you are not interested. Personally, I find that pretty rude.