Interview with a vampire fangirl

I've been randomly, half-heartedly applying to jobs for the past few months.  I'm ready to move on to something new, but the problem -- which I feel like I"ve already whined about at length -- is that I just don't know what that Next Move should be.  I can't think of a career path that sounds so exciting and interesting that it's a clear choice in the "oh!  THAT'S what I want to do!" sense, so I've just been submitting resumes that anything that sounds vaguely do-able, knowing that in the current economic climate jobs are pretty scarce and I should be happy with what I've got.  And I am, for the most part, but it doesn't hurt to look, right? 

I've gotten a few generic rejection letters, but last week I got my first call for an interview.  I had to go back and look up what the job actually was, and it wasn't anything remarkable.  Pretty similar to what I am doing now, but in a different industry.  Possibly in an office space with windows!  But the kicker is that it was a pretty significant pay cut from my current salary.  I think I'm willing to take a pay cut for a job that looks really interesting and promising, but for essentially the same thing I'm already doing?  Am I OK with that?  I am not sure.  Maybe.  Probably not. 

I hemmed and hawed over the interview -- I'd have to take a half day off from work, I was already going to be out for a whole day this week, did I even WANT this job anyway?  And then I slapped myself in the face and had a little heart-to-heart (with myself) about how you don't get new jobs by passing on interviews and I scheduled and I went.   And I'm happy I did, because it was good practice.  At worst, I blew a half day of vacation, and at best I might have a new prospect to consider.  Yes, I am very glad I went.  I can say that, now that it's over.   

Man, interviews really suck, don't they?  I mean, you have to dress up all professional-like (thankfully, when I dragged out my Serious Business Suit on the night before, the pants still fit me)) and answer questions that really have no good response, like "why do you want to leave your current job?" and "what would you say is your biggest weakness"?  Those sorts of questions remind me of the great old "when are you two going to get married?" query.  But in an interview situation, you can't give the person the finger and tell them to mind their own fucking business.  You can't even change the subject.  I think I said something along the lines of "looking for a new challenge", and that seems marginally acceptable, even if it is a totally meaningless platitude.

I think the fact that I wasn't even sure if I'd accept an offer for this job worked in my favor, because despite a less than stellar performance on the computer skills testing (dudes, the test was still using an even older version of Windows than I have at work)and the kind of crappy HR interview filled with generic questions probably found by Googling "what to ask interview candidates", I managed to keep pretty calm and actually do really well when I met with the actual hiring department.  I thought it went well.  I didn't cry.  I didn't stutter or freak out.  I didn't talk about Twilight or Harry Potter or my three cats.  That's got to count for something, right?

Comments

[Liz]

I'm an intern coordinator at my office so I'm always on the giving end of the interview. It definitely keeps my interviewing skills sharp because I know what sounds like a good answer and what doesn't. Feel free to use me for practice anytime!

[heidikins]

I love/hate interviews. I figure that most of the time the interviewee either a) doesn't know the answer or b) doesn't care if it applies to the position or not, as long as it's a good answer.

I'm great at interviews, but that doesn't mean that I want to go at anouther round of them. Hope all this interviewing turns up something good!

xox

[Laura]

I was recently looking to pick up a second job for some extra money. I got a call for an interview at large-chain-restaurant-with-a-day-of-the-week-in-the-name, where they asked me, "What's your favorite book and why?" Ummmmmm, yeah, I thought I was there to talk about waiting tables; they did not ask me a single thing about waiting tables! And despite the fact that I read a lot, all I could think of was Harry Potter! So yeah...I kind of blew that one.

[audrey]

Man, interviewing is the worst part of job hunting. All the nerves and the pressure and the trying to figure out how well they like you while you're stumbling over their generic hr questions....or is that just me that had that problem?

Good luck in your job search!

[OM]

For a while I just applied and applied and nothing came out of it, and then I was accepted to work at Eddy's Supermarket, and I was shocked that I even applied to work there, you know?

If you're not interested in the job, then when they ask about your biggest weakness you should say, "Probably my crack addiction." Unless it's true. In which case you should say you're a perfectionist.

[Stephanie]

I am in the same boat as you. I have been applying to everything that even remotely intrigues me. But I worry that I am just doing the same thing that got me into the job I am in now, settling. I always hope that I will find a job that interests me and then once in it I will find my passion. Perhaps that is the wrong way to go about it? I need to find my passion and then go about finding the right job to fit with it.

In reality, I would take anything that wouldn't make me travel two or three weeks a month.

[Courtney]

I hate hate hate job interviews. I'm going to have to start applying for jobs here pretty soon and I'm totally dreading it.

[Dawn]

Ugh. Interviews are the worst. I had one on Tuesday for an internship, and no matter what I do, I always leave thinking of other things I should have said. Yet, when the next interview comes I forget again.

Have you heard anything back yet?