Ugh... I hate uneasy interviews

So I just came back from an interview for a junior systems admin position for the corporate office of a huge brokerage firm and I honestly cannot tell whether I did a good job or not.

I was really pumped when I went in and it just wasn't what I was expecting. I had an interview with 2 people, one of them didn't say a single word the entire time and the main guy talked for 30 minutes and barely asked me ANY questions. I'm use to interviews going from the Manager talking about the company, asking me questions regarding my work experience and resume, asking technical scenario questions, then asking if I had any questions.

This interview went from - Manager talking about company for 15 minutes, how he's not here to teach ethics to employee's, things he's looking for.... then he asked if I had any questions which kind of through me off b/c i'm use to that coming last. So I asked a few questions about what Travel would be required, would I have the opportunity to work on any additional projects off the clock if I exceeded expectations in my current position, and what proprietary software the company uses. He wasn't enthusiastic at ALL the entire time of the interview which made me really insecure. He then proceeded to only ask me 3 questions, none of them technical.

I'm a VERY good interviewer.. but i've never had an interview environment where the hiring manager looked like he simply didn't want to be there. I always end my interviews selling myself again one last time by saying "I'm very interested in this company, I think that my skillset and experience is a direct match with what you are looking for to fill this position, if given the opportunity I can guarantee that I will become one of your go-to guys, I look forward to hearing from you"... he started shuffling papers while I was ending the interview this way, gave no eye contact, and just a quick hand shake and I was off.

Have you guys ever interviewed with anyone like this and still got the job? I talked to my recruiter after the interview and he told me that it's just his interview style and said that he didn't ask any technical questions b/c my resume speaks for itself. I prep'd for hours yesterday for this interview and I feel that it was all kind of wasted, it's hard to sell yourself when the interviewer isn't asking you any questions. Maybe i'm just over analyzing the situation, if he's like that with me pretty sure everyone else he interviews feels like crap afterwards as well.

Sorry just ranting, feeling kind of dissapointed and hoping someone here can make me feel better with a similar experience that turned into getting the job lol =(

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Comments

itdaddy

would I have the opportunity to work on any additional projects off the clock if I exceeded expectations in my current position, and what proprietary software the company uses.

dude this made me uneasy what are you talking about off the clock work if you exceed expectations? huh?

Dryst999

itdaddy wrote: »

dude this made me uneasy what are you talking about off the clock work if you exceed expectations? huh?

I told him that with my current employer I volunteer for any project they will let me work on after hours, i'm very interested in learning and getting experience with any and everything that I can even when it's off the clock. Would their be any opportunities to work on any projects like these or add any additional responsibilities if I exceed your expectations with the position I would be filling?

Sorry, probably should have put it into context.... pretty sure it wasn't an uncomfortable question, he gave me a 10minute response to it lol.

chrisone

i wouldnt want to work for that person anyways. If hes in charge of hiring then there is probably more individuals like him that are stuck up arogant a-holes! Geez what a nightmare place to work at with such a "POSITIVE" vibrant atmosphere! god imagine having that horrible feeling waking up to goto work, to arrive at such a shitty **** hole lol! Dude consider yourself lucky you saw there true colors and can move on, knowing that staff stinks!

Dryst999

It's such a good opportunity though and pays well over what i'm making now. I probably over exaggerated how bad it was, I mean it was a decent interview in all... it's just that I prepared for it all day/night and went in with a high energy confidence that slowly started getting crushed the more we talked. He just didn't seem interested to be there or in me from the moment I walked in which is why it's upsetting me so much. I couldn't sell myself to him like I wanted because he didn't ask me anything about me hardly.

I'm hoping that he treats everyone this way though and I did as well as anybody else... this is the first interview i've ever had that I didn't feel confident in afterwards.

earweed

May have just been a bad day for him. A lot of hiring managers I've encountered aren't very enthusiastic during interviews, it probably comes from doing a lot of interviews and they feel they have more important things to do.
Hopefully all goes well for you and you get the job.

itdaddy

pay your dues I guess, good luck bud

Zartanasaurus

For my current job, the interview consisted of him glancing at my resume quickly, talking about what the job duties were for about 5 minutes and asking me 1 or 2 things about my resume. Entire thing took 10 minutes tops. He said he'd be in touch. I got the job. :shrug:

laptop

I had similar situations.

Early this year in 2010, I had a Helpdesk Job interview. The hiring manager/tech support manager asked me only 3 questions. Tell me about yourself, What do you know about our company, and tell me a difficult situation where you solved the problem. That was it. It was very hard to sell my skills to him as he asked only 3 questions followed by "do you have any questions left". I did ask 3-6 questions but it was hard to entertain the hiring manager because he looks uninterested which also made me uncomfortable. In these situations, either he didn't like you from the start, he hired someone already, or he is looking for someone very specific. I didn't get the job.

There was another volunteer IT position i applied for. He gave an intro about the company and what they were looking for. Then, immediately asked "Do you have any questions?". It all ended within 5 minutes. I had many questions as the posting was vague. So our interview lasted 20 minutes. But, I still didn't get hired.

All I can say is that a lot of IT managers are jerks and unprofessional. The companies that are interested in you will usually question you for at least 15 minutes to 1 hour range.

Good luck

sambuca69

Dryst999 wrote: »

It's such a good opportunity though and pays well over what i'm making now. I probably over exaggerated how bad it was, I mean it was a decent interview in all... it's just that I prepared for it all day/night and went in with a high energy confidence that slowly started getting crushed the more we talked. He just didn't seem interested to be there or in me from the moment I walked in which is why it's upsetting me so much. I couldn't sell myself to him like I wanted because he didn't ask me anything about me hardly.

I'm hoping that he treats everyone this way though and I did as well as anybody else... this is the first interview i've ever had that I didn't feel confident in afterwards.

Maybe this was just the "social" part of the interview, and you'll be called back for a technical grilling.

Dryst999

Well I had another interview today with another smaller company for Tier 2 helpdesk and it went much much better. The pay is a little less than the financial company but it's still a ton better than what i'm making now, I met with the HR manager who was an extremely nice older woman... we talked for about 20 minutes then she let me take an assessment test written by the CIO for the company which was 40 IN DEPTH questions that took me about an hour to complete. I'm pretty confident that i'll be called in for a second interview this week with them since I answered all 40 questions correctly to the very last detail. Overall a MUCH more enjoyable experience, and the company seems alot more laid back.... I know it would be worse for my career in the long run than the financial company I interviewed for originally but I know I would enjoy my job and life more if I took this tier2 helpdesk position.

This was the first time i've interviewed for a tech job and had a computer assessment test... it was almost exactly like a certification exam but instead of multiple choice questions you actually have to write in detail your knowledge. I wish all IT interviews would implement this, it gives a really good knowledge assessment and is alot less nerve racking than trying to answer questions on the spot in an face to face interview.

remyforbes777

My current employer was very dry during the interview. That may be how he is or he may have been having a bad day. I wouldn't chalk it up to anything as of yet. As a matter of fact when I called back to inquire about the job he told me that he really liked me and my enthusiasm, but he didn't let on to that in the interview. You have to remember that these guys my see tons of candidates and to be honest, they really hate the hiring process as much as some people hate interviews. I wouldn't dwell on it too much at all.

kiki1579

It's really hard to know what to expect with any interview these days. I know that a lot of interviews that I have been on, the more I get excited and amped up about a potential position, and how great I though the interview went, normally I don't hear back. Everytime I've sent out a "thanks for interviewing with me" letter, still no calls back. But the minute I have an interview, have zero expectations or thoughts going into it, then a job offer happens. It's hard not to get your expectations up with job interviews.

Good example...I had 2 interviews with 2 different companies in the past week. One was for a Jr. Security Engineer, and another was for a Jr. Network Engineer. The Jr. Security was 45 minutes away, overnights working 12 hr shift work (3 on 2 off,etc..etc) and the salary expectations were in their range. It was 2 person interview, and I answered all of the techie questions correctly (or close to it on 1 or 2). Asked if I had any questions and I had 2 (how long is training, and when will they make a decision). He said "if I had additional questions about the job or benefits, to e-mail him". Sometimes I wonder if that statement was a hint...or maybe it's didn't ask enough questions.

They said they would be making a decision about a week or two from now. The other Jr. Network was local, a lot less pay and a smaller company. Basically the guy I interviewed with on that one said that he would have to see if he could afford me or not, keep in mind I lowered my salary exp to about $5K less than the other interview.

So I really try to make the best impression while I'm interviewing, and walk out of there and knowing I'm moving on to the next. Either way, it's a crapshoot if you ask me.

Turgon

Dryst999 wrote: »

So I just came back from an interview for a junior systems admin position for the corporate office of a huge brokerage firm and I honestly cannot tell whether I did a good job or not.

I was really pumped when I went in and it just wasn't what I was expecting. I had an interview with 2 people, one of them didn't say a single word the entire time and the main guy talked for 30 minutes and barely asked me ANY questions. I'm use to interviews going from the Manager talking about the company, asking me questions regarding my work experience and resume, asking technical scenario questions, then asking if I had any questions.

This interview went from - Manager talking about company for 15 minutes, how he's not here to teach ethics to employee's, things he's looking for.... then he asked if I had any questions which kind of through me off b/c i'm use to that coming last. So I asked a few questions about what Travel would be required, would I have the opportunity to work on any additional projects off the clock if I exceeded expectations in my current position, and what proprietary software the company uses. He wasn't enthusiastic at ALL the entire time of the interview which made me really insecure. He then proceeded to only ask me 3 questions, none of them technical.

I'm a VERY good interviewer.. but i've never had an interview environment where the hiring manager looked like he simply didn't want to be there. I always end my interviews selling myself again one last time by saying "I'm very interested in this company, I think that my skillset and experience is a direct match with what you are looking for to fill this position, if given the opportunity I can guarantee that I will become one of your go-to guys, I look forward to hearing from you"... he started shuffling papers while I was ending the interview this way, gave no eye contact, and just a quick hand shake and I was off.

Have you guys ever interviewed with anyone like this and still got the job? I talked to my recruiter after the interview and he told me that it's just his interview style and said that he didn't ask any technical questions b/c my resume speaks for itself. I prep'd for hours yesterday for this interview and I feel that it was all kind of wasted, it's hard to sell yourself when the interviewer isn't asking you any questions. Maybe i'm just over analyzing the situation, if he's like that with me pretty sure everyone else he interviews feels like crap afterwards as well.

Sorry just ranting, feeling kind of dissapointed and hoping someone here can make me feel better with a similar experience that turned into getting the job lol =(

Interviews are a very contrived thing and often a blunt tool for matching people to jobs. At the same time some people are not very comfortable interviewing people and quiet frankly not very good at it. Roll with it. The job may come through and it may be a great place to work, if not Im sure there will be other openings!

Dryst999

So the smaller company I interviewed with today called me back just now and said that the Director of IT wanted to set up a second (final) interview with me on friday. So I guess my assessment test went well and the HR manager I met with today loved me so she probably put in a good word.

I'm trying to not get too excited though, I hate thinking about competition! They did first round interviews yesterday/today for this position with 2hr breaks in between time slots so i'm thinking that they only interviewed 6-10 people max. If i'm already being called in for a final interview i'm guessing that the first round of interviews are over. They want to fill the position immediately.... i'm guessing they are going to interview me and one or two others for the position in the second round, you don't think it's possible that they may just have me as the only one coming in for the final round do you?

I know i'm qualified and personable and have a 50/50 shot no matter what... just always worried about someone out there knowing more than me or who is more personable. Ugh, I'll have to force myself to not think about it till friday... I mean for my current job there were 15 first round candidates and 7 second round interviews and I still got the only position offered and I didn't even feel like I had a good interview.

kiki1579

Its a good thing that you are coming in for a final interview. When you get to your interview just bring your best, and not try to expect too much.

For me, I've gone on 2nd and 3rd interviews with companies only to not get selected in the end. Those are the worst, and it's like you get your hopes up thinking, wow they really liked me if they wanted me back for a 2nd or 3rd time, only to get shafted in the end.

Sounds like you did good on your interviews stating that your were very interested in the position, etc..etc. I would say if it comes through great, and if not there's another position out there for you.

laptop

Like others have said, don't expect too much and don't put too much hope.

My advice is keep sending out resumes until you see that job offer in front of you.

Learning my from experience a week ago, I nailed the first interview very well and afterwards had a second interview (FINAL). I think I bombed the last round. My advice for the 2nd interview is to not prepare too much for generic questions. If it's IT related, time to practice IT scenario questions and customer focus questions if you will deal with clients. 2nd interviews will dig deep under your skin. Try not to over react if you can't answer it. Be calm. Or even have a piece of paper in front of you and draw diagrams to solve weird questions.