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makelifehappen
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25 Oct 2007, 8:50 am

Anyone else here been to interview after interview and never get the call?

I have been trained. I have the skills necessary to do the jobs, but I know my interviews always bomb because of my lack of eye contact, anxious playing (not quite picking) with my fingers, overwhelmed/overstimulated inability to form complete sentences and express my thoughts etc.

I know and have been told I have quite alot of skills in the area I have been trained, but I simply do not have the "other" skills to ever feel comfortable leaving this position I have been in for years now and move forward.

Anyone else in this position?

Hoe the hell am I ever to move forward?!?! !


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DaQwerk
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25 Oct 2007, 10:46 am

Well, I sure have experienced the bombing part. So I decided to
be as true to myself as possible, which made it somewhat
easier to relax. I don't know what type of work you are looking for,
but if you are trained and qualified, you might be able to find a
catchphrase that might help them "get" you and possibly even
appreciate you and find you appealing. Mine was "I am a 'back office'
person." I tell then I shine at getting a lot of grunt work done that no
one else wants to do. I thrive on it. Feel free to use it if you think it
might help.

Another technique is to look a little to the left or the right of the
person's eyes, when speaking to them. I also go in there
with the attitude that they would be lucky to have me, and if they
don't want me, then it wasn't meant to be and I will keep looking
until the right one comes along. Not arrogance, but just a quiet
confidence that you KNOW you are worthy to work there. They will
pick up on that. Just keep pointing out your strong suits, and if it IS
the right place, with the RIGHT people, it will happen. Remember, it is
where YOU want to work. If it's not, then, (and I know this is hard to
do) just go on to the next interview, happy in the fact you did not end
up in the wrong job.

I know, though, trying to eat and pay your bills on pretty much NOTHING
tends to make a person more nervous. I know too, that the waiting SUCKS,
because sometimes they take a while to get back to you, whether it is a
rejection, or news that you got the job. I was told by several places to
call them back in a week, if I had not heard from them, which I did.
Good luck makelifehappen, if I can do it just about ANYONE can.
If you never give up, then one fine day it will come, and hopefully worth
waiting for.


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Grimfaire
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25 Oct 2007, 1:41 pm

makelifehappen wrote:
Anyone else here been to interview after interview and never get the call?

I have been trained. I have the skills necessary to do the jobs, but I know my interviews always bomb because of my lack of eye contact, anxious playing (not quite picking) with my fingers, overwhelmed/overstimulated inability to form complete sentences and express my thoughts etc.

I know and have been told I have quite alot of skills in the area I have been trained, but I simply do not have the "other" skills to ever feel comfortable leaving this position I have been in for years now and move forward.

Anyone else in this position?

Hoe the hell am I ever to move forward?!?! !


Wish I knew the answer to this... I bombed a phone interview recently and I believe it's because of my lack of "chit-chat" and the inability to answer "What are your goals?"... Goals? I don't do goals... I do work, projects, actions but not goals. My goal is to get up in the morning.



Wreckferret
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25 Oct 2007, 2:23 pm

makelifehappen wrote:
I have been trained. I have the skills necessary to do the jobs, but I know my interviews always bomb because of my lack of eye contact, anxious playing (not quite picking) with my fingers, overwhelmed/overstimulated inability to form complete sentences and express my thoughts etc.

I know and have been told I have quite alot of skills in the area I have been trained, but I simply do not have the "other" skills to ever feel comfortable leaving this position I have been in for years now and move forward.


Seems like you have almost answered your own question, you've been trained to do the job what makes you think passing an interview is any different?

You know what most of the questions will be (sounds like you've been to a few interviews by now) so sit down and work out an answer which fits you, but also fits their expectations. Then practice them, over and over. Get someone who knows you well enough to tell you what your doing wrong and practice answering them when they ask you. Remember you only have to play the part for 15-20 minutes.

You'll also feel a lot more confident going in which will help aswell. Its not going to be easy and it wont magically transform you into a freestyling wordsmith, but with lots of practice and a little luck you may get what you want.


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the_incident
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25 Oct 2007, 4:19 pm

makelifehappen wrote:
Anyone else here been to interview after interview and never get the call?


Unfortunately, lots of people have this happen. It really is demoralizing, but remember that you haven't failed until you stop trying.

If you know about some things you do that put off interviewers, try your best to stop doing them. Also, I tend to look at people's mouths instead of their eyes since I have a hard time hearing sometimes. Maybe that would work for you.

Also, it probably won't hurt to let the interviewer know right off the bat, "I'm kinda nervous" or "interviews make me nervous," or maybe "I'm not good at talking about myself."

Otherwise, the previous advice about rehearsing answers is good, since there are some pretty common interview questions.

Good luck!