My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

to ask for stories with a halpy ending

29 replies

maddening · 09/02/2013 22:43

Has anyone ever had an awful interview with ridiculous nerves and still got the job?

Killing myself with anxiousness after an awful interview and find out monday - some tales where everyone lived and worked happily ever after would help (before I find out I haven't got it)

OP posts:
Report
Neverland2013 · 09/02/2013 23:06

Hi maddening - try not to overanalyze the interview (mind you, we all do that) but most hiring managers and HR practitioners are aware that people get nervous during an interview. At the end, it will be down to whether you can do the job, what value you can add and how you will fit into the team.

Report
maddening · 09/02/2013 23:13

I am driving myself up the wall - I just want to know - I could def do the job and I have all relevant skills - I am swinging between vague hope and crushed defeat.

OP posts:
Report
AgentZigzag · 09/02/2013 23:14

How come you don't think it went well?

I don't have a happy ending story, but I've read threads on here about interviews and it just seems like a random process to me, everyone and everything is judged differently by different people.

(although if you got the job that doesn't mean I think it was just a random selection Grin)

Report
maddening · 09/02/2013 23:17

I had the rabbit in headlights thing - I had prepared but I froze a lot and the answers I gave were awful for some parts - it was major nerves.

OP posts:
Report
FutTheShuckUp · 09/02/2013 23:18

My interview for the job I am in now did IMHO go unspeakably bad.
I almost burst out laughing at one point it was going so bad. So this was on a Friday and the interviewer said im busy today so wont be able to let people know today so it will be Monday now. Monday came and went without a word so I thought I was right I fucked it up- put it down to experience and wait for the rejection letter in the post. I got a phone call on my mobile from an unknown number the following morning with the job offer!

Report
MissyMooandherBeaverofSteel · 09/02/2013 23:23

I once went to a job interview on a boiling hot day so I put my blouse in my bag and wore a teeny tiny crop top on the way there intending on putting the blouse on just before I got there.

I went in to the interview, realised and started wittering on about my inappropriate attire, how it looked like I was desperate for the job, I heard myself talking and couldn't stop, and everything I tried to redeem myself with made it 100 times worse.

I kept calling the interviewer sweetheart as well (that used to be my failsafe when I couldn't remember someones name) and he spoke really fast and in a strong glaswegian accent so I had to ask him to repeat himself lots of times, then he went to get some forms and I was telling myself what a dick I was and he heard me, it was so cringey it still makes me embarrassed now.

I got the job (goodness knows why) and married the boss 2 years later. Grin

Report
AgentZigzag · 09/02/2013 23:28

Anyone interviewing would be an idiot not to take nerves into consideration, and they'll see past them.

I'm sure they'd be a bit suss about someone who didn't show any.

I've got my fingers crossed for you.

You need to relax, there's nowt you can do about it now (although that doesn't sound very reassuring does it? Grin but there isn't.)

Report
missingmumxox · 09/02/2013 23:34

I once got offered a job after I rowed with one of the interviewers, not raised voices, but I thought he was an arse, basically he asked me the same question 3 times, at various points in the interview, first time I answered to the best of my ability.
the question was "if I had a cardiac arrest now, and sister wasn't here so just you and me in the room what would you do?" I looked round the room, strainge hospital, I said I would go out of the room and find someone to put the call out and then come back and start CPR.
next time he said it I thought well maybe he was looking for me to check it was a cardiac arrest not assume I had done it althought the question seemed to mean I had check as in he had said cardiac arrest, so I said I would check pulse blah blah, place him on the floor then go out into corridor...
3rd time he asked I said sorry but I have answered this question twice...politely he said maybe I didn't like your answer, I answered "well, it is the only one I have"
he moved his frame turned a pulled out a phone from behind him he was very tall and wide as well, and said, could you not have just used this phone?, I said "well I would if I could see it, but given you are supposed to have collaped then yes I would see it and use it, but for the purposes of this interview it is rather petty to sit in front of it then expect me to keep answering the same question wanting an answer I can not give because I don't have that peice of the information as you have obscured it.

as I said I got the job, I didn't take it as the sister explained he wanted to see if I could stick to my guns as this was a challenging A and E, and if I did in an interview then I would at work, I thought yes and this same theory nearly made me late for this interview as the recpetion I had been told to report to, had greeted me with "get a number and sit down you will be called" I tried to explain I was there for an interview and she shouted, "SIT DOWN! the nurse will do your paper work when your number is called" she then threatened to call security when I didn't sit down, I said "would you just let me speak? she said I am calling security, so I just said I don't need a doctor I am here for an interview...nice as pie after that...but on talking to the rest of the interviewees they had had the same terrible treatment.
no wonder they had challenging patients.

Report
maddening · 09/02/2013 23:38

Wow - well there's some hope! I don't know why but it helps - at least till monday.

I keep trying to relax but keep remembering and I feel sick and like I've been punched in the stomach - think I need help for my next one - I obviously have an issue with interviews which is never good when job hunting. This was my first interview in years!

OP posts:
Report
missingmumxox · 09/02/2013 23:46

oh the happy bit is a day later I got offered another job the next day which I did take in my home town the above was in London, and meant I could leave a job I loved but was rubbish at...truely I was the worlds worst scrub nurse :(
That job turned out to be shit, first word of my mentor where "keep your head down and your mouth shut, you should be okay"
lasted 9 months but it was the stepping stone to a job in the same speciality but in the midlands amazing place to work and met my DH there,

Report
lurkedtoolong · 09/02/2013 23:49

I turned up almost half an hour late for an interview once due to horrendous traffic. Desperately tried to get through to interviewer's mobile but it went to voicemail and receptionist took message but I didn't realise at time was just a serviced office so message didn't get to him til about three hours after interview was over. When I did get there I was a red-faced sweaty mess, one of the panel had to calm me down and give me several glasses of water before we could start and I was a wreck for first half of interview.

I got the job and spent 4 and a half very happy years with company. Girl who was started in a job with same company on same day as me and was interviewed the previous day was also half an hour late for interview...

Report
Slipperyslopin · 09/02/2013 23:52

I started babbling about the Twilight franchise and how this new film "warm bodies" was a rip off of it. To a 50 year old man. Still got the job. Grin it alllllll about confidence ;)

Report
wanderingcloud · 10/02/2013 00:16

My first ever teaching post interview, I got lost on the way to the school. I had to ask a kindly stranger to direct me, I was so far from the school she drove her car there so I could follow rather than give me directions! I eventually turned up over 30mins late and had missed the introduction meeting with the head. He had to cut short a lesson to meet with me on my own. I've never been so nervous as I was going into that meeting. I didn't have a chance in hell of getting the job by that point so I decided to just see the whole thing as an interview practice. Imagine my surprise when they offered me the job!

I always wish I could thank that kind lady for going out of her way to help me, a stressed 20something in a Ka looking for a Leicestershire high school, if she's reading this 8yrs later; thank you so much! I got the job Grin

Report
VodkaKnockers · 10/02/2013 01:35

Was 30mins late for an interview as my current employer wouldn't let me leave until all the work was completed.

Was a horrible sweaty, apologetic mess when I got there I made an arse of all my answers to the questions!

Luckily I could do the job (work was being outsourced so I applied to the outsourcer for a job!) and they were so impressed that I prioritised my current work (!) over the interview.

Was offered the job at a higher salary than advertised and have been there 7yrs this April.

In my experience, if you have the relevant skills and experience then the interview is merely a formality. Its usually so they can get a better judge of you as a person.

Report
Hooya · 10/02/2013 02:03

This may not be exactly what you're looking for but...

I gave a very poor interview for an internal move many years ago, didn't get the job and was devastated. I was so disappointed in myself, I went home in tears, everyone knew why, which was mortifying. The next day I went in and asked every manager I respected for info on who were the best people they had ever interviewed and why. I then arranged meetings with some of those people, asked them everything about how they prepared, what they did in interviews, and I studied this and interview technique info I found online.

The next interview I had went so well it was almost funny, and years later I bumped into the interviewer (I was offered but didn't take the job, as I got offered a better one). It was on a plane, and he stopped me walking down the aisle and said "Hooya, I thought it was you, do you know you gave the best interview I've ever seen?" Grin Blush

So what I'm trying to say in a rather long-winded way (apologies) is that even if this one doesn't go the way you want it to, you can learn from it and get an even better job hopefully in the future. All the best!

Report
maddening · 10/02/2013 09:21

Thanks everyone - if I do get the job it's on my cv alone - but I can have 24hours of thinking there's a chance!

Hooya - I will def get practice- will look and see if there are interview coaches around - I seriously need to package myself better and get hold of my nerves!

OP posts:
Report
Beaverfeaver · 10/02/2013 09:32

I interviewed someone who was so nervous he found it difficult to talk!

He got the job

He is now the loudest person in the office

Report
RedHelenB · 10/02/2013 10:23

I don't have a happy ending but if it's any consolation I was really nervous about a job interview & it showed but the next interview went much better even if I didn't get the job!!

Report
Hooya · 10/02/2013 11:06

Some of the tips I picked up and still use are:

  1. Remember an interview is a 2-way process; you are deciding if you want to work for them, as much as they are deciding whether to hire you!
  2. Take a deep breath OUT if you're really nervous - most nervous people gasp in for air which doesn't help - a deep out breath will steady your breathing
  3. Remember that a silence while you consider an answer feels 10x longer in your head than it sounds. Perfect a nice pleasant open facial expression to use while you're thinking, and they're even less likely to notice any silence
  4. Know yourself as well as you can - all your strengths and weaknesses, examples of times you have done things relevant to the role - and once you're confident enough, get these examples into answers whenever you can. An answer supported by evidence is much stronger than just an answer
  5. Emphasise 'I did' in any interview, and emphasise proactivity - give examples of when you did things because you thought of them
  6. Almost forgot - practice your opening body language (walking into the room, handshake etc). It might feel silly but it means you'll start the interview thinking 'I know how to do this bit' which will mean you can begin with confidence!


Hope that helps!
Report
maddening · 10/02/2013 12:39

Ooo thanks Hooya - I did try the breathing but it got lost in the panic - lots of practice needed I think before the next one!

OP posts:
Report
maddening · 11/02/2013 10:56

Well update - I got through - have an interview with the ceo but not got a date yet - am bowled over haha!

OP posts:
Report
MyNameIsInigoMontoya · 11/02/2013 11:04

Hurray! I was wondering whether to post my "approached by foot-fetishist on way to interview" story but looks like it's not needed now - congrats! Grin

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

maddening · 11/02/2013 11:36

Haha were you wearing your best shoes? :)

OP posts:
Report
RedHelenB · 11/02/2013 12:04

well done!

Report
valiumredhead · 11/02/2013 12:11

I had a crap interview in front of a panel and I was still offered the job. They said I was the best candidate - the others must have been clueless Grin

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.