Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What is so shocking? To be interviewed by 6 people for a low level job is overkill.
If someone is professional when the interview is arranged the candidate will know the names of the people they're interviewing with and if it will be a panel interview.
No one's time would have been "wasted" if the OP had known, they would have said on the phone "no thanks". Knowing they don't do well in this type of interview.
It is too bad that this happened, however with a little communication on the part of the employer it could have saved everyone's time and trouble.
How do you know the company viewed it as a low level?
QA jobs in my company have some "entry level" QA roles but even they pay decently well and are considered professional.
I dont particularly like public speaking-- and I still get really nervous, but I suck it up.
Like another poster said-- I have never been in a panel interview where the folks did not try to make the interviewee feel relaxed and like it was a conversational dinner.
I agree with what MSChemist said-- he should try to find a toastmasters course or some other type of communication course to learn how to suck it up and move onward.
Some people just don't do well being stared at by groups, you feel exposed and vunerable. It would be different if at least forewarned.
Since you haven't interviewed in 20+ years, might I suggest doing some practice interviews? the suggestions to take courses in public speaking and Toastmasters are good.
here's what I did---I hadn't interviewed/worked for about 20 years, either. I was completely out of my element. So, I went to a couple of job fairs, just to get comfortable in that mode again. They were job fairs I didn't even expect to find anything----and I landed a job! They asked me to come in the next day, and started the following week.
Not all job fairs pay off like that, but I guess I'm saying you have to start somewhere, don't let this last experience throw you too much, and good luck!
What is so shocking? To be interviewed by 6 people for a low level job is overkill.
If someone is professional when the interview is arranged the candidate will know the names of the people they're interviewing with and if it will be a panel interview.
No one's time would have been "wasted" if the OP had known, they would have said on the phone "no thanks". Knowing they don't do well in this type of interview.
It is too bad that this happened, however with a little communication on the part of the employer it could have saved everyone's time and trouble.
What's so shocking is that the OP just walked out of an opportunity because she was scared to interview.
Interviews are nerve-racking. Everyone knows that.
Every job I've interviewed for have involved a panel interview at some point. I HATED it, but u suck it up. U wanna work? U want the job? Than you'll do what it takes to get it. If not, someone else gladly will.
I'm not bad-mouthing the OP, but it's a shame she let her nerves get to her so bad that she was unable to follow through with an interview.
What did she have to lose? If the interview went bad, than fine, she wont get the job....she didnt have it yet anyway.
Maybe it could have went well and she could have had the job. U just never know.
How do you know the company viewed it as a low level?
QA jobs in my company have some "entry level" QA roles but even they pay decently well and are considered professional.
I dont particularly like public speaking-- and I still get really nervous, but I suck it up.
Like another poster said-- I have never been in a panel interview where the folks did not try to make the interviewee feel relaxed and like it was a conversational dinner.
I agree with what MSChemist said-- he should try to find a toastmasters course or some other type of communication course to learn how to suck it up and move onward.
Because the OP stated in their first sentence of their original post that it was a low level QA job.
I also sent them a DM with some words of encouragement, and they reiterated that it was a low paying job and felt like they were interviewing for CEO position when they saw 6 people sitting in the conference room.
What's so shocking is that the OP just walked out of an opportunity because she was scared to interview.
Interviews are nerve-racking. Everyone knows that.
Every job I've interviewed for have involved a panel interview at some point. I HATED it, but u suck it up. U wanna work? U want the job? Than you'll do what it takes to get it. If not, someone else gladly will.
Well first off your basing this on how you would handle it, we're all different.
The OP knows the OP. If they felt they were going to maybe get physically ill or start to stammer and sweat, then they made the right decision for them by declining the interview.
And why are you assuming it is a "she"?
I have gone on two panel interviews, one I knew about in advance, and one I didn't.
I thought I handled both well(I got the job where I knew in advance about the panel and the names/titles of the people I would be meeting), but I wasn't too happy and felt games were being played with the other one.
I agree with you about improving the comfort level with group interviews, but in this case it sounded like the OP did the right thing and can learn from this.
That beats vomiting all over their lovely conference room table, embarrassing yourself, and leaving with no job offer.
If I am going to interview for corporate jobs I will have to look into some sort of medication option.
Xanax works well for me in those types of situations. It's just important that you don't take too much. Usually .25 mg is perfect for me. When I had a mock interview, I had a lot of school stress on my plate and was really anxious so I took .50 mg and it was hard to keep my eyes open haha. Small doses are the key.
For those who say "get over it", you're not the person involved and while this is good advice (though non-specific) it could be that the person can't get over it. I haven't been properly diagnosed yet, but once I learned about this I'm pretty sure I have Asperger syndrome. There's no cure, but you can train yourself a bit and do better over time. Hope OP doesn't have it, but just saying there is some stuff out there you can't just "suck up and get over".
Using mind altering substances is not a good idea before an interview where you have to be at your sharpest.
I think that would be between the individual and their physician. These drugs are commonly prescribed for situations like these. While one may not be at their sharpest on these types of medications, it sure beats having to walk out of an interview. I also know a few doctors who themselves have taken these medications prior to giving presentations. I'll agree though, they are a quick fix and don't actually solve the problem. There are much better long term strategies to deal with social anxiety, but they take time, commitment and patience.
This has only happened to me once or twice in the past 25 years. Like I said, I interviewed recently with one and two people groups and had no issues (although I didn't get the job).
This job was a QA tech position and I just did not anticipate this type of interview. I couldn't have completed the interview with a panic attack happening, if you have never experienced one I do not expect you to understand. Some people have a fear of spiders, some have a fear of snakes, my fear is walking into a room full of strangers and trying to sell myself while shaking like a leaf
Some good came out of this though. I now know I still have that problem and need to address it in case I am faced with the scenario again. I was on the fence about this job to begin with and really didn't want to get back into this type of work but was going to try just to have something. I feel it is better to have blown this opportunity than something I really want to do.
I want to thank those who have suggested the medication route, I think that is a more appropriate solution than trying to work on it long term.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
