Tired of the interview process and also stressed about references

baseball1988

I know it is extremely hard to find a job these days. But, I am already burned out after going through a long interview process. HR phone interview for 30 minutes, in-person interview for 45 minutes, and there will be more interviews coming up with other manager or directors. This is for an ENTRY LEVEL position and I have little experience as well. I have no idea how I managed to survive 2-3 layers of interviews. I have nothing to prepare unless I dig my school textbooks and read ALL of my books. I've been out of school for 2 years and I'm not a technical person as well. What else can i prepare for?

The other thing that bother me is references. I e-mailed my previous manager a few days ago and asked if she is ready to be my job reference again. It goes unanswered or *ignored* although I know the email has gone through 100%. She has written a nice reference letter for me and i landed my current job with her help (reference letter + reference through phone). But, I'm in the interview process and she is my life-line right now although no reply or response. I asked my previous colleague to be my reference but she is unwilling to do it through the phone instead provided her email address (which is kind of useless).

I have a reference that is 5 years ago but not sure how much weight is put into this.

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Comments

hackman2007

30-45 minutes is not a long interview. That's about average.

One of the companies I applied for (quite some time ago), I had three in-person interviews in one day all about 30 minutes each. Each interview was with two different people, each asking different/but similar questions. This was after a phone interview.

Hang in there!

ptilsen

We have a 3-4 interview process, depending on the position. Every company I've ever worked with except one has had a similar process. If you make it more than 50% through, you probably aren't competing with many others for the position. I have gone through 4rd and even 2nd interviews without actually having a competitor. Hang in there, and if you're right for the job and it's right for you, you'll make it.

IEWANNABE

NYC is a tough place with so many people. Places like DC, MD, and VA can't find enough candidates... so many jobs in those areas.

Stiltz79

My current job which is a Jr. System Administrator, I went through almost 4 hours of interviews in 1 day.

Tackle

Think of it from the employers perspective. They don't want to waste money/time training someone to find out they aren't fit for the job. It's easier and more cost efficient to weed through them upfront and make sure they pick the best possible person for the job.

That's the nature of interviews. How long they take to decide probably relates (at least a little bit) to how many applications they received.

N2IT

Stick to your guns. If you aren't comfortable with the process then maybe it's not right for you. I once went through two phone screenings that last 1.5 hours each and then was invited to come in for a face to fact interview. The HR clerk sent me my schedule for the day and it consistented of 3 1 hour interviews back to back to back. 1 hour lunch then a 1 hour panel interview. I politely declined. I really don't have time to waste and I can't believe they would have the time either. I personally feel that companies who run you through a 4-5 hour process plus some additional time for phone interviews etc are poorly ran. There is no reason they shouldn't be able to tighten up their interview processes and cut that time down. I think it's actually rude to keep someone there that long. The company should offer compensation for the candidates if they hold them that long.

baseball1988

Thank you for the replies. I guess I shouldn't complain about the interview process.

I am currently more worried about my references (especially my previous employer)...my manager did not reply to my reference request...although she had given me a nice reference letter to back it up. I just wanted to give her a heads up and see if she is still available (since it has been 1.5 years ago since we last keep in touch). Any advice on this one? Thanks

N2IT

baseball1988 wrote: »

Thank you for the replies. I guess I shouldn't complain about the interview process.

I am currently more worried about my references (especially my previous employer)...my manager did not reply to my reference request...although she had given me a nice reference letter to back it up. I just wanted to give her a heads up and see if she is still available (since it has been 1.5 years ago since we last keep in touch). Any advice on this one? Thanks

This might not help now, but I usually Link in via Linkedin to all my previous managers. That way you keep up a relationship with them and have an easier time getting request. I also add my Linkedin profile to my resume and that way they can view all my professional references on Linkedin. I really leverage that application.

Just my two cents.

baseball1988

N2IT wrote: »

This might not help now, but I usually Link in via Linkedin to all my previous managers. That way you keep up a relationship with them and have an easier time getting request. I also add my Linkedin profile to my resume and that way they can view all my professional references on Linkedin. I really leverage that application.

Just my two cents.

Thanks for the advice. I am already on linkedin. This is my work history for example:

Current job - prefer not to use references here because it's risky. can't trust anyone.

Previous Job - manager unreachable (she got promoted and no longer at her desk. she didn't respond to my request but I did get a reference letter from her 1.5 years ago). Another colleague is willing to help me out but she prefers to communicate through email instead of phone - making it useless.

Coop job - I am connected to my colleague on linkedin