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On Vacation: I understand how you feel - I'm in the same boat. After my interviews seem to go well and everyone's happy, they end up hiring nobody in nearly every case. I'm not sure if you're seeing that or not, but if they do end up hiring no one, nobody can really blame you for what happened. In those cases, the company was probably just window-shopping, interviewing people to keep HR busy, or something similar. Long story short - there may never have been a real job if nobody ends up hired.
Most of the folks here have offered good advise - all I can say is focus on what sets you apart from the other candidates - show how you're a better choice and have specific and useful experience. List details - specific skills, programs, examples, and so on. You've probably already done this, but I guess it can't hurt to mention it again.
Atlguy39: I know what you mean. All of my interviews have been dead ends, and I've basically lost any hope for the future. In my case, it's a 10+ year career wasted completely, plus all the time in high school and college preparing for what is now apparently a worthless field. I'm so glad I graduated 3rd in my class... What a sick joke...
Brocco: Seriously, the "start your own business" nonsense is getting tiresome. Nearly all small businesses fail in the first few years (and take down their owners), very few people have any skills that can be run from an apartment or house (imagine engineers or surgeons trying to "start their own business" in their basements?!), and very few home businesses have any realistic hope of paying the bills. Yeah, great - somebody starts a business walking dogs and eventually makes $100 a week, pre-tax... so what? It's better than nothing, but that is not a true job on which one can live.
On Vacation: I understand how you feel - I'm in the same boat. After my interviews seem to go well and everyone's happy, they end up hiring nobody in nearly every case. I'm not sure if you're seeing that or not, but if they do end up hiring no one, nobody can really blame you for what happened. In those cases, the company was probably just window-shopping, interviewing people to keep HR busy, or something similar. Long story short - there may never have been a real job if nobody ends up hired.
Most of the folks here have offered good advise - all I can say is focus on what sets you apart from the other candidates - show how you're a better choice and have specific and useful experience. List details - specific skills, programs, examples, and so on. You've probably already done this, but I guess it can't hurt to mention it again.
Atlguy39: I know what you mean. All of my interviews have been dead ends, and I've basically lost any hope for the future. In my case, it's a 10+ year career wasted completely, plus all the time in high school and college preparing for what is now apparently a worthless field. I'm so glad I graduated 3rd in my class... What a sick joke...
Brocco: Seriously, the "start your own business" nonsense is getting tiresome. Nearly all small businesses fail in the first few years (and take down their owners), very few people have any skills that can be run from an apartment or house (imagine engineers or surgeons trying to "start their own business" in their basements?!), and very few home businesses have any realistic hope of paying the bills. Yeah, great - somebody starts a business walking dogs and eventually makes $100 a week, pre-tax... so what? It's better than nothing, but that is not a true job on which one can live.
I had this problem when I was unemployed a couple of years ago.
I was out of work for 6 months and had twelve interviews during that time. About half of them I could tell weren't interested in me because I had been laid off. The other half I knew just didn't like the way I answered some of their questions. I'm absolutely horrible at the "what are your strengths and weaknesses?," "why should I hire you over the other candidates," or "tell me about a time when you had an argument with a co-worker and how did you resolve it?" fluff types of questions. The ONLY time I ever get hired is when I have a normal conversation with the manager who is interviewing me.
I had this problem when I was unemployed a couple of years ago.
I was out of work for 6 months and had twelve interviews during that time. About half of them I could tell weren't interested in me because I had been laid off. The other half I knew just didn't like the way I answered some of their questions. I'm absolutely horrible at the "what are your strengths and weaknesses?," "why should I hire you over the other candidates," or "tell me about a time when you had an argument with a co-worker and how did you resolve it?" fluff types of questions. The ONLY time I ever get hired is when I have a normal conversation with the manager who is interviewing me.
You made a good point with the bolded.
The problem is you have a lot of HR drones out here who stick to their scripts and questions like they're the holy bible and don't allow any room for you to break into normal conversation. They expect certain responses to their questions and if you don't give them the certain response they're looking for they skip you altogether in the selection process. This is a way to stay politically correct and avoid liability/lawsuits. But as we see, it just makes the process more difficult and uncomfortable for the job seeker.
I think a lot of people would be more successful in these interviews if they were able to actually have a normal, human conservation with the interviewers (as if they were meeting them in a bar or in a department store).
what type of jobs do you all apply to where HR does the hiring? I've talked to recruiters as a first round screen, but I've never had more than a phone screen with an HR person. I've always had interviews with hiring managers. Never once have I had an interview with an HR person.
I am unemployed and have gone on lots of interviews recently. LOTS OF INTERVIEWS! Trouble is that the interviews are not turning into job offers. I have read pretty much every book and article I can find about job hunting and interviewing. I think I am doing the right things. People say I have great experience and a good looking resume. I am pretty average looking and wear professional clothes and carry myself with confidence. I leave the interviews and think I made a professional and personal connection with the people I met with and always follow up with a thank you letter. I do well in employment and software tests.
But at the end after 22 interviews in a nine month period I have not been offered one job.
My career is in administrative support.
When I ask the HR person if they had any advice on what I could do to be a better candidate I get double talk and a quick end to the phone call.
Any advice?
Is it possible your resume doesn't coincide well with what you present at an interview? Your resume may attract attention (and provide you interviews) but when the employer asks you questions, he realizes you aren't the match he expected on your resume.
I am unemployed and have gone on lots of interviews recently. LOTS OF INTERVIEWS! Trouble is that the interviews are not turning into job offers. I have read pretty much every book and article I can find about job hunting and interviewing. I think I am doing the right things. People say I have great experience and a good looking resume. I am pretty average looking and wear professional clothes and carry myself with confidence. I leave the interviews and think I made a professional and personal connection with the people I met with and always follow up with a thank you letter. I do well in employment and software tests.
But at the end after 22 interviews in a nine month period I have not been offered one job.
My career is in administrative support.
When I ask the HR person if they had any advice on what I could do to be a better candidate I get double talk and a quick end to the phone call.
Any advice?
i've had 11 job interviews the past 7 months, and these are at minimum-wage jobs in retail, fast-food, customer-service, and still no offer yet, so thats why i started a thread, because for a very long time, i struggled to even get a job interview, but lately i've been getting them, so something must have changed.
which is why i started my own thread regarding, what is the difference between a job seeker who applies for jobs but never gets any response, not even an interview, versus a job seeker who applies for jobs and they do get interviews but do not get hired, because for a very long time in my life i was unable to get job interviews but lately i have been getting them but no job offer yet.
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