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It's that time of year again…
Welcome to another PA entry for the new "OUCH! I wish I'd known that!" slot. This month we hear from an administrator, Simon Katzen, from a credit control agency in Lancashire. Simon would like to share an experience he faced during the interview for his first job, some three years ago. We chose Simon's story, because it's short and sweet, and reminds us all of a very important point about interview technique!
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It sounds so stupid when you look back now, but it was my first interview and I was only 17. I didn't really think too much about the interview before I went, thinking I'd just do it off the hoof. The personnel officer was very friendly, and we were got on well. We were even having a laugh at times. When she asked me what my strengths were, I rattled off a few things I was good at, thinking, 'This is easy!'.
But when she said, 'So what are your weaknesses?' I didn't stop to think. Believing we were getting along fine, I told her what my weaknesses really were. I said I wasn't terribly good at getting up in the morning, and was sometimes late, and also that I didn't like people telling me what to do! Funnily enough, the atmosphere in the interview changed a bit after that! She got a bit frosty and hardly asked me any more questions. Needless to say, I didn't get the job! Probably just as well, because I went on to get the job I'm in now, which I really enjoy, but I still learnt something that day! |
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And the moral of the story is…?
Doesn't Simon's story serve to remind us all of some key points about interviews!
- ALWAYS prepare for interviews!
- Even if you seem to be getting on well with the interviewer, don't let your guard down – you're still being assessed.
- Prepare for tricky questions. You never say what your real weaknesses are, but make up some which are either positive weaknesses (eg, "I don't work well if I'm not clear what my responsibilities are"), or ones that you can be trained to overcome ("my Excel is a bit rusty").
Thanks for that, Simon! I bet you're not the only person who's learnt that the hard way!
What's YOUR story?
So, we want to hear more of your stories. Simply email us in the first instance with your "Ouch!" stories and we'll come back to you for a quick chat. Together we can write them up for the "Ouch!" page, for other readers to enjoy and for us ALL to learn from.
Get thinking – when was the last time you groaned, "Oh, I wish I'd known that…!". Tell us about it! Email me at express@deskdemon.com and give me the rough outline of your "horror and hindsight" scenario, and we'll choose the best ones to publish.
Look forward to hearing from you!
