This is topic Wish me luck, too! (I got the job!) in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Dogbreath (Member # 11879) on :
 
Well, since your collective luck-wishing powers seem to have worked well for Lyrhawn, I figured I might as well give it a go myself. [Smile]

I have an interview for a job as a Cyber Analyst with a relatively small corporation (~400 employees) this Tuesday. They got my resume from a colleague of mine last week, and after a series of phone interviews, e-mails and a background check (to confirm my security clearance) they've asked me to come in for a sit down interview.

I'm incredibly nervous. My active duty service with the Marines comes to end next month after 5 years, and it's been longer than that since I've had to interview for a job. And, come to think of it, most of those interviews were mostly of the "10 minute make sure you're not a thief/axe-murderer" quality for manual labor jobs. I've never really had a professional interview before.

I'm well qualified for the position (which appears mainly to involve systems integration, which I have a great deal of experience with) and it seems like a job I would really love doing every day. And the company works closely with the government and several large military contractors, which means I'll still be somewhat inside my element. (as opposed to, say, a job at a big corporation) I'm excited and obviously they must like something about me if they're going to bring me in to interview.

So most of the nervousness is about the interview. I'm not a naturally charismatic person, I don't set everyone at ease and I'm not the best at talking about myself. Right now I'm researching the top 25 questions they're likely to ask me, then I'm going to write out responses to each of them and practice the interview all weekend with my wife. I don't intend to actually recite a canned response in the actual interview, but having strong memorized answers will help a lot with confidence, as it will give me something to base all my answers on, as well as something to fall back on if I choke on a question.

Other than that I'm doing a lot of research on the company, and am preparing about 5-6 questions to ask them about the job, their work environment, partners, etc. Not so much because I'm interested in those things (though I am), but because I've heard half the interview is about the questions you ask them and the level of interest you show in the company.

So, any recommendations? Things I should worry about more? Things I shouldn't worry about as much? How friendly vs professional I should keep my demeanor? Etc.

Wish me luck! [Smile]

[ November 26, 2014, 10:34 PM: Message edited by: Dogbreath ]
 
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
One suggestion I would have for when you have to answer questions is less to memorize specific answers for specific questions than to think generally about your experiences. You might get a lot of "Think of a time when..." type questions. You'll find that many experiences can answer multiple questions, so maybe have a general idea in your head of multiple work experiences and lessons you've learned and be ready to adapt them on the fly to the questions you get.

I'd probably keep it mostly professional, but gauge the room. Obviously it's not stand up, but if you can softly slip in that you're a friendly easy to work with person and not a robot I think that would help. So long as they take you seriously I think a measure of friendliness is helpful.

My interview was a softball though, so I'm not the best at advice on this.

Good luck though! I hope Hatrack's magic powers have had time to recharge since last month.
 
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
 
You're doing the things that I would recommend, and as far as the tone to use in the interview I think Lyrhawn has it right.

You've described a lot of community service/involvement that requires people skills. Use those same skills. Be interested in what they are doing and what they want.

(But really, you're already preparing sufficiently. If you are a good match, I'm sure it'll come out in the interview.)

Good luck.
 
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
 
good luck!
 
Posted by CT (Member # 8342) on :
 
Very best of luck! They would be so lucky to get you.
 
Posted by Dogbreath (Member # 11879) on :
 
It went pretty well.

The interview lasted a little over an hour. It was actually a lot easier than I expected. I sort of thought I'd be sitting there in front of a guy in a big mahogany desk has he said "So, Mr. [Dogbreath]... tell me a little bit about yourself." and then would have give a sort of sales pitch.

What actually happened is I met with 3 guys, 2 who were from the company I was applying for and were younger than I expected (late 20s), and one rep from the large corporation that they're contracted to. (who had more of the 45 and balding look I expected, and mostly was quiet and took notes) We sat around a table in a conference room and they each started out by introducing themselves and describing the company, it's locations, it's mission, etc.

By the time it turned into a conversation about me and my experiences, I was very comfortable talking with them and we were able to cover a lot of ground. At this point I kind of lucked out, because one of the interviewers (the program lead) is a former Marine, so he was able to help me translate my experience into terms the others understood. (come to think of it, they probably do this intentionally for people coming from the military) I apparently impressed them with the level of knowledge I had about a certain topic - I brought it up while discussing an operation I did last year and one of the guys commented to the other "he's the first person who even knows what that is."

That was the only strong indication I had as far as how I compared to their other applicants. They were pretty professional, but also friendly and supportive and smiled a lot. Later in the interview they told me a lot about what to expect working there, and somethings to review/some applications to familiarize myself with before starting.

Overall, I left with the impression that they're interested in hiring me. The site lead told me he would contact me and let me know by Friday. I'm guessing that means they are doing one more day of interviews on Wednesday and are making a decision Friday morning. So theoretically if I just hang around their parking lot with a baseball bat and chase off any nervous looking overdressed young people carrying a portfolio, I should be good, right? [Smile]

Anyway, that's for your support and kind words. We'll see what happens on Friday!
 
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
Good luck! Hope you get a good phone call on Friday
 
Posted by Dogbreath (Member # 11879) on :
 
So, they actually contacted me earlier today and offered me the job. (I said yes, of course [Smile] ) I've got to go in on Friday and sign a contract with the company, and then start the hiring process. I start work January 5th. [Smile]

They called me right after their last interview today, which makes me think that I was probably the only person qualified for the job and they needed to making a hiring decision. Not that they said as much (they were all "we were really impressed with your knowledge and communication, blah blah blah"), but I don't mind being the tallest dwarf among hobbits, so to speak. A job offer is a job offer. [Smile]

I didn't try and negotiate the salary they offered me, since it's a lot more money than I've ever made before and it also is somewhat higher than the average pay for the job. I figure I should wait until I'm established in the field for a year or two before negotiating a higher salary.

Anyway, thanks for all your support! It seems the Hatrack magic has worked again.
 


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