Got another interview to screw up

Got a job interview tomorrow for a design/marketing job. Whoohoo! And of course, it's a three-ring circus with my mother involved. Unfortunately, I have to tell her anytime I get an interview because I'll need to use her car to get there.

First of all, since it's an out-of-town job (about 40-45 minutes one way), I'm not allowed to drive there myself. So I had to kiss someone's ass for a ride. My mother's idiot offered, but if I can avoid having him drive me anywhere, I do so at all costs. He likes to preach in my ear about everyfuckingthing the whole car trip and since He Has Cancer^TM, it means I can't tell him off. So by the time I get wherever I'm going, I'm good and stressed out. Thankfully, one of my mother's sane friends said she'd drive me (same one who drove me out of town for the kitties' vet treatments), but I still feel bad that she has to waste part of her day chauffeuring me around because my mother won't let me fucking drive on my own. I hope she intends to let me drive myself there if I actually DO get hired.

For some reason, she's also latched onto this idea that these people are going to ask me what kind of animal I want to be as part of the interview and keeps telling me what I should say. I don't fucking know. I want to be a T-rex so I can kill everyone who disagrees with me. I just hope they don't ask me how much I want to make. I hate that question because I feel like if I ask for anything higher than minimum wage, they'll think I'm asking too much.

And Mom decided to do one of her most charming (read: annoying) habits and come in my room every 1-2 minutes for 10 minutes to tell me stupid shit. I didn't fall asleep until very late last night (like 6 am), and of course my mother has to come in at 10 and tell me stupid shit in her shrilly voice, like "Gimme something to iron for tomorrow" because she honestly thinks I'm too stupid to work an iron, and "Make sure ya know what kinda animal you wanna be for da interview!" or "(Friend) said she'd drive ya tomorrow! Give 'er $30 fer gas money!" Like I said, stupid shit that I either don't need to hear or that can wait. Needless to say, I never got back to sleep. I felt like I couldn't because my mother would just barge right back in to tell me that she's going outside to shovel or her ass hurts.

At the very least, this wouldn't be a place she could drive to and bitch at the owners/managers like she did when I interviewed at the newspaper office. I doubt I'll get hired, but I'll still try my best tomorrow. I don't have any marketing experience like they wanted, but I must have said something right to get an interview at all.

Look for pay info on something like 'salary dot com' (or others similar.) You can phrase your answer that way too -

What salary do you expect?

Well, I see that entry to average pay for this work is X, which I see from this research (you can print your findings and show them too), but *I am negotiable* on this - what do you normally pay?

Marketing = Glorified sales. Sorta. You can Google that. It's not complicated stuff, don't sweat it. As far as design would go, in relation, it would be deciding who you're trying to sell to and working up graphics and advertising to that group.

As example - say, Adult Diapers. To pitch to The Olds you might say - looky here, Gramps - these are the bees knees, by cracky! And put pix of The Golden Girls or something on the package. To pitch to some other group you might say - Hey, Sports Fans! Piss and shit freely at the ball game - never have to leave your seat! And put sports graphics on the package maybe.

Just a general idea. Rather bad example but I'm not 'with it' yet.

Make sure to look up this biz, read their website. Make a list of questions to ask. They're not going to ask you what kind of animal you are eyes2 LOL WUT? The *will* ask you if you have any questions - and this is not out of politeness either, it's to assess you, see if you can ask intelligent questions, see if you have looked into their company, gauge how you will interact with others.

Simple questions always work - such as - do you plan to remain in this location? What are the hours? Is over time required? Do you plan to add any other product (or service) lines, etc.

If you want to PM me the name of this biz - I might be familiar (if they're big enough) and could maybe give you some further tips.

Good luck, Cambion. Be the best goddamn T-Rex they've ever seen . All I can say is smile, lean forward in your chair and act like you have passion for your career.

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"[GFG's pregnancy is] kind of like at the stables where that one dumb, ugly-ass mare broke out of her corral one day and got herself screwed by the equally fugly colt that was due to be gelded the same afternoon."- Shiny

Good luck! I ditto the advice given above. Do at least a brief review of the company, write down a few questions, SMILE (even if you don't feel like it), do a brief research for starting salaries. Remember that your schooling counts as (some) experience! Did you do final projects that required design or marketing? Promote the shit out of them, (slightly) exaggerate your skills. Mention that you are excited about the company and opportunities, and even if you aren't, fake it - get your enthusiasm from thinking you'll be away from moomy dearest. If you can find it out, wear clothes just slighly dressier than, or at least on par with, the dress code. When you are waiting for the interview, take a deep breath, do a quick mental review of the position & your schooling/skills & what you know about the company. Then take another deep breath and walk in there like you belong already. Head up!

I can tell confidence may be an issue from the way you are writing, but let your inner T-Rex roar! Go in there thinking that you've got this, and you ARE the best person for the job. Do what you need to do on the way over there to get your confidence up and your determination going. Plunk headphones on during the car ride and listen to death metal, meditate, do some primal screams, whatever you need to do.

And I've never been asked what kind of animal I would be. *IF* they are on Rob Ford's and Charlie Sheen's crack, and actually do ask you, then go ahead and answer with T-Rex. Tell 'em you'll tear up anything standing in the way of where you want to be. wink

ETA: I completely second Zzelda's advice for the salary thing. Make sure they know you are negotiable, and turn the question around on them.

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde

I did look up info regarding a salary for this position in my state, but I see a lot of wildly different numbers. This is not a job at a huge firm in a bustling metropolis - it's an independent business in a town of fewer than 3000 people. There's the average salary for a design specialist, and there's the salary a small-town company can pay, so in the event I get asked about how much I'd want to make, I'd have to find a balance between an average salary and a reasonable salary given the size of this place. Looking at average salaries in various (large) towns and cities in the state, I've gotten a figure of about $19-$23 an hour. I think they'd laugh at me if I asked for that much.

Thankfully the interview is later in the day, so no getting up at ass o'clock. I hope at least this job is what they're actually advertising. Not like the last design job I interviewed for and when I get there, they tell me it's actually got nothing to do with design.

I would recommend not asking for anything phrased as hourly pay when the dreaded question comes up. Yearly salary is the much more professional way to put it, plus it says to them that you are looking long term, year vs hour. If you are really unsure about what you're seeing online, calculate a year's full time salary of a dollar less per hour than what you're finding, or twice minimum wage, whichever is greater.

Fingers crossed for you!

This is probably too late for you, Cambion, but for anyone looking...

$20/hour comes out to roughly 40K a year, gross - assuming 40hrs/week and 2 weeks unpaid vacation (the numbers are easier to run in my head that way).

Roughly twice current minimum wage (~15/hr) comes out to 30K a year, assuming the same.

10/hr (or what people are calling for minimum wage to rise to) would be 20K. For a salaried job, I definitely wouldn't go under that.

Remember those numbers are BEFORE any deductions - 401K, insurance, other benefits, and taxes.

Most places will be upfront about whether they can meet your demands or not. It's actually better to err on the high side of what is realistic. They'll be expecting you too, and then they will probably lowball you after they hear your number. Pick a number somewhere in the middle. Since you are just starting out, and you live in a small town, pick a number closer to the low end, but still above the number they gave you. If they give you the same number again, decide if it's worth it, or try to ask for more benefits in replacement for the "lost" cash.

You know your town the best, but don't underestimate yourself and don't make the mistake of underestimating the work you'd be doing as well. If they ask about salary before they even talk about what the job entails - turn the focus to that. Politely say that you'd be happy to discuss salary after you know what that job requires. Regular late nights? Tack on more to your "starting number" in your head. Responsible for wooing clients? Ask if you'd be responsible for the initial outlay of dinner/drinks and then get reimbursed or if the company would issue you a credit card. If you get reimbursed later, tack on a little more to your salary demands so you *have* the cash. Traveling quite a bit? Same thing, and tack on a bit more for the inconvenience. If you'd be expected to drive there, tack on some more for wear-and-tear on your car.

I hope it went well! Good luck to any other BFree-ers needing this information!

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde

Blah, I personally don't think the interview went well. The interviewer just didn't seem impressed to me. I was asked about salary and started out with "I know average salary is 20 dollars an hour..." and before I could say "BUT I know this is a small-town business and that's not realistic, I'm negotiable, etc." the guy said, "Yeah that's not gonna happen." I still got in the rest of what I was going to say, but I wish it would have been without an interruption because now I'm thinking they're going to refuse me because they think I'm too "expensive."

One thing they left out of the ad was that I'd also be working with printers, not just doing design. Which is fine, and I don't mind learning at all, but I felt like I was seriously lacking because I have no experience at ALL with pre-press, and I think that was another turn-off. I would require training for the print aspect instead of being able to jump right in and get to work.

I was also told that they're looking for someone who is going to stick around long-term, and I was trying to think of a way to say that I wouldn't up and leave in a month, but couldn't find the right words and then the interview went to a different subject. I'm wondering if I could still email the owner and somehow tell him - without sounding like an ass kisser - that I'm not going to be a flake.

But for now, I get to wait and see if I get a second interview, which I don't think will happen. I had very few questions for the interviewer because, honestly, he answered everything I was going to ask. Oh well, maybe it's better if I don't get this job. I know, given the distance, mornings with my mother would be miserable. The trip should only take about 20-30 minutes tops driving the speed limit (which is 55-60 mph), but since my mother feels that's too fast for me the "inexperienced" driver, she would likely force me to leave the house an hour before I have to actually BE there because she would fully expect me to drive 20 miles under the speed limit. Her words to me were something like, "You ain't drivin' no sixty miles a hour! You ain't experienced enough to go that fast! You can go forty, and if them fuckers (other drivers) don't like it, they can pass you." Plus she'd force me to stay home if the roads are "bad," which, in her mind, might be a matter of flurries. I don't think many employers will deal with someone who doesn't come to work because their parents feel the weather is too bad to drive in.

Since I wouldn't have a chaperone in the car, I would actually go the speed limit like a sane person, but I'd be sitting around doing nothing for 15-30 minutes once I got there. It's too bad, it seemed like a neat place and a cool job, and the staff that I met were nice too, but I just don't think anything more will happen with this. I am not an articulate speaker when it comes to interviews and I did feel intimidated and I think it showed.

FWIW, the last interview I went on, I felt I didn't do well and I still got the job.

Someone who has been job hunting lately can probably advise, but it used to be customary to send a thank you note after the interview. Thank you for the opportunity, etc. and you could add something about how you were excited at the opportunity and if offered the position you'd give it your all. (Someone else will have better words and of course this can be a quick e-mail.)

As if we needed any more examples of how your mom is batshit crazy:

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"You ain't drivin' no sixty miles a hour! You ain't experienced enough to go that fast! You can go forty, and if them fuckers (other drivers) don't like it, they can pass you."

Does she want to get you killed? Doing 40 on an interstate where the speed limit is 60 could definitely do that.

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bell_flower
FWIW, the last interview I went on, I felt I didn't do well and I still got the job.

Someone who has been job hunting lately can probably advise, but it used to be customary to send a thank you note after the interview. Thank you for the opportunity, etc. and you could add something about how you were excited at the opportunity and if offered the position you'd give it your all. (Someone else will have better words and of course this can be a quick e-mail.)

As if we needed any more examples of how your mom is batshit crazy:

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"You ain't drivin' no sixty miles a hour! You ain't experienced enough to go that fast! You can go forty, and if them fuckers (other drivers) don't like it, they can pass you."

Does she want to get you killed? Doing 40 on an interstate where the speed limit is 60 could definitely do that.

I've had interviews where that happened, sometimes you just can't tell. Let's all hope it comes through.

I wouldn't get too down about it just yet. Like bell_flower said, send a thank you card in a few days, and express interest in the job yet again. Don't apologize for anything, don't hint at something you think went wrong in the interview, just thank them for the opportunity for the interview and reiterate your interest in the job and how much you liked the place and the staff. Thank you cards can make a HUGE impression. My mom's been hired more than once because of it. They commented on it when she went to sign the paperwork.

As for needing training - EVERYONE needs *some* training when they start a new job. Absolutely no one is expected to just walk in off the street and know everything about how that particular company runs and works. Even people who have printing training would still need training about that particular company's specs and how their printer/pre-press works. Or to put it another way, I took a year long computer speciality training program (Cisco's NetAcad). Despite knowing how routers work (particularly Cisco routers) and how to program them, wire them, get things running from top to bottom, I still need training at any new company I go to work for. I need to know how *their* network is set up and works, where things are located, what routers they actually have, how to log in to the systems, etc. Every company is different. I'm sure that goes for printing too. I'm also sure that you would be a quick learner, and I'm sure the company is keeping all of it in mind. Don't discount yourself before of it. Even the CEO had to start somewhere.


As for this

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Cambion
Since I wouldn't have a chaperone in the car, I would actually go the speed limit like a sane person, but I'd be sitting around doing nothing for 15-30 minutes once I got there.

I'd take the time to wander around outside (if it's nice), get my thoughts together before work, go get some breakfast, journal, whatever. Sit in the car and rage about your mother, or swing by a cheap apartment complex you heard about through the grapevine. There's no rule that you'd have to drive straight there wink I used to intentionally leave early for my classes when I was in school on campus, so I'd have time to sit down and focus beforehand. I actually don't see it as a bad thing - it would give you plenty of time to get there in case something came up (freak accident on the freeway that shuts it down, construction, etc) AND it would get you away from your mother for a little longer. (Your mother is WEIRD, no offense, but I'd take any chance I had to get far away from someone like that)

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde

Thanks for the advice. I'll shoot an email off to the owner tomorrow and thank him again for his time. I'd send a card in the mail, but honestly.... this place has more than one address (due to being located like right on the border of two towns AND on a state route, meaning there's an address for the street name and the route number as well as for each town) and I don't know what one is the right one.

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Does she want to get you killed? Doing 40 on an interstate where the speed limit is 60 could definitely do that.

In her mind, the slower I drive, the better. Because people only get into accidents when they're driving fast. eyes2 If she had it her way, she'd probably have me driving no faster than 40 mph on the shoulder the whole way... because that's how she would drive on a busier road. Note this isn't OMG eight lanes of traffic like you'd find outside a major city. It's just a normal two-lane road that happens to have a 55 mph speed limit. This is nothing more than her usual nonsense of "If I'm afraid of it, Cambion needs to be afraid too." I'm so glad I'm not as stupid as she thinks I am, because I'd hate to think what would happen to me if I actually listened to her. But a little part of me kind of wishes I'd total the car because I was doing 20 under the speed limit and someone speeding rear-ended me and ran me over a guard rail. She likely still wouldn't get it, but nothing would make a point clearer than being in a low-speed accident.

I wish I lived in your town. I'd give you rides to work, and after work you could come to my house and relax with my fur-kids before going home. Are you only 18? Your mom sure acts like you're underage and clueless. I am truly sorry that your mom is making you feel miserable. As always, I am rooting for you. Go Cambion !!! :yr

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Cambion
In her mind, the slower I drive, the better. Because people only get into accidents when they're driving fast.

She wouldn't know what to make of me! Every single accident I've ever been in has been under 35mph, and all but one under 20. And I *still* managed to total my car once (doing less than 5 because I was turning. The other girl was doing 30). z

She sounds like what we call the "silver-haired mafia" around here. Drive huge old boats of cars (usually Grand Marquis) super slow, and clearly unhappy that someone somewhere dared to raise the speed limit to a whole 45. They like to give "the look" to anyone who passes them.

I'll second that I wish I lived in your town...I'd be another person to give you rides to work or anywhere else. Fingers are crossed for you to get this job (or any other one) - I think all of us here are rooting for you!

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde

Big shock, I didn't get the job. I got a letter dated the day after the interview (didn't get it until today due to the weather keeping me from getting the mail), so it seems like the owner made his decision fairly quickly about me. I was just told that they went for someone whose qualifications met their needs more closely, but they'd keep me in mind for possible future positions. So in other words, "You suck, oh and we might call you for an interview again one day to get your hopes up again."

I can't say I was expecting a different outcome, though. I wouldn't hire someone with no real work experience that's pushing 30 either.

Sorry to hear that, but at least they told you. Some places don't even bother to let applicants know they weren't selected.

I had an interview recently and still haven't heard back either way. I was just going to write it off but my wife says I shouldn't just yet.

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JohnDrake
Sorry to hear that, but at least they told you. Some places don't even bother to let applicants know they weren't selected.

Indeed this is a great thing and during my job search last year I always appreciated the rejection letter.

Which, by the way, DOES NOT MEAN YOU SUCK. DO NOT take job search rejections personally. I had an interview with a police department that I absolutely aced. I nailed that sucker like you would not believe and still did not get the job. My spidey senses tell me that they probably hired internally and had to post the job and do official interviews with the public before filling the position, which was probably already earmarked for someone else. However, they did give me the nicest rejection letter I ever got, stating that I made the decision really difficult for them That made me feel pretty good.

The best thing you can do is research. Interviewers expect you to be nervous and awkward, but they also expect you to be able to answer the questions they ask. The job I have now, I got because I honestly said "I love this company, PLEASE take me back, PLEASE PLEASE" and they all thought it was amusing. And it was! Because it's true, I love the company I worked for and walking into a different facility and doing a completely different job than I had been doing did in fact require a buttload of training. But I am passionate about where I work and have loved working for them, and am lucky to be where I am. I believe that in my heart and it comes through in my interviews. They all love me and I love them. This is what you are looking for - a job you can be passionate about and a team you can work well with. An interview is a two way street, remember that.

Good luck next time and do not take it personally!!!

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law

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JohnDrake
Sorry to hear that, but at least they told you. Some places don't even bother to let applicants know they weren't selected.

Indeed this is a great thing and during my job search last year I always appreciated the rejection letter.

Which, by the way, DOES NOT MEAN YOU SUCK. DO NOT take job search rejections personally. I had an interview with a police department that I absolutely aced. I nailed that sucker like you would not believe and still did not get the job. My spidey senses tell me that they probably hired internally and had to post the job and do official interviews with the public before filling the position, which was probably already earmarked for someone else. However, they did give me the nicest rejection letter I ever got, stating that I made the decision really difficult for them That made me feel pretty good.

The best thing you can do is research. Interviewers expect you to be nervous and awkward, but they also expect you to be able to answer the questions they ask. The job I have now, I got because I honestly said "I love this company, PLEASE take me back, PLEASE PLEASE" and they all thought it was amusing. And it was! Because it's true, I love the company I worked for and walking into a different facility and doing a completely different job than I had been doing did in fact require a buttload of training. But I am passionate about where I work and have loved working for them, and am lucky to be where I am. I believe that in my heart and it comes through in my interviews. They all love me and I love them. This is what you are looking for - a job you can be passionate about and a team you can work well with. An interview is a two way street, remember that.

Good luck next time and do not take it personally!!!

The job I went for was 3 weeks ago now and so far haven't heard a thing. I don't think they contacted my boss either for a reference because he probably would have told me. I think I did well in the interview, but I'm thinking I probably didn't get it, even though my wife says to be positive. I'd like to hear either way just so it will be over with.

I had a second interview for this place three weeks ago, and neither the recruiter nor the interviewer will return my calls or emails. And that's just fucking rude. I want to spam them with gory photographs, elderly porn shots, etc. I'm so fed up with job searches, and I want to fuck over these haughty bastards.

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"[GFG's pregnancy is] kind of like at the stables where that one dumb, ugly-ass mare broke out of her corral one day and got herself screwed by the equally fugly colt that was due to be gelded the same afternoon."- Shiny

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Miss_Hannigan
I had a second interview for this place three weeks ago, and neither the recruiter nor the interviewer will return my calls or emails. And that's just fucking rude. I want to spam them with gory photographs, elderly porn shots, etc. I'm so fed up with job searches, and I want to fuck over these haughty bastards.

Augh. I know how that feels. I was promised a phone interview from an agency bitch who went on and on about how I had all these perfect qualities and would surely be hired. When told "it will be sometime this week," I put all my plans on hold and waited by the damned phone. The week passed, Friday arrived ... then it got to be Friday afternoon ... evening ... no interview. I called Monday and asked her what happened, only to have the twunt apologize profusely, explain that the hiring manager had been on vacation all that week, I would be called "sometime this week. you can bet on that!" Never got a fucking call.

Being under stress because Dh's COBRA had a finite cutoff date and he wouldn't be able to get private insurance because of a pre-existing condition, I was in a volcanic state. The agency was just 20 miles away. I was going to go there, hunt that bitch down and, at the very least, cuss her out. Common sense prevailed; I needed a job, not a jail sentence. The information went into the trash so I wouldn't be tempted. Now, having secured a job, I wish I hadn't thrown away the name of the cunt and the agency she worked for. The person who ran the place should have at least been advised that you don't treat people like that, not in these perilous days of desperate job hunters.

The job I applied for didn't come through. I know this because they reannounced the job so I guess they didn't take anyone they interviewed. I don't mind not getting the job, but I wish they'd sent me a rejection letter or Email. I think not doing so is poor form, but that's just me.

Life goes on.

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JohnDrake
The job I applied for didn't come through. I know this because they reannounced the job so I guess they didn't take anyone they interviewed. I don't mind not getting the job, but I wish they'd sent me a rejection letter or Email. I think not doing so is poor form, but that's just me.

Life goes on.

You know, I looked that up. What is especially dispiriting is the #1 reason

4 Reasons Hiring Managers Don't Send Rejection Letters

From a CF point-of-view, reason #1 is the very best rebuttal against people who yammer about "the replacement number" of humans dropping. What are they suggesting needs to be replaced - more people who won't be able to find jobs? Idiots.