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.
Everyone already gave you good advice, which is to say, it ain't in the bag until you are offered the job. That said, in my own personal opinion, it's probably a good sign that this guy was talking to you about softball and other social things. Think about it... He was sitting there conversing with you instead of politely ending the interview early and escorting you to the door. He certainly didn't have to "waste" his time talking to you. Time is valuable to most people, and yet he spent his talking to you about everyday things. That sounds somewhat positive to me.
What would be cause for concern is if he was acting bored. That happened to me once, at a place I really wanted to work, too! It was miserable... Right there during the interview (via Skype) he was staring off into space and shifting his seat uncomfortably while I was speaking. He seemed very bored with me, and that had a way of affecting the responses I gave him as we progressed further into the interview.
Everyone already gave you good advice, which is to say, it ain't in the bag until you are offered the job. That said, in my own personal opinion, it's probably a good sign that this guy was talking to you about softball and other social things. Think about it... He was sitting there conversing with you instead of politely ending the interview early and escorting you to the door. He certainly didn't have to "waste" his time talking to you. Time is valuable to most people, and yet he spent his talking to you about everyday things. That sounds somewhat positive to me.
What would be cause for concern is if he was acting bored. That happened to me once, at a place I really wanted to work, too! It was miserable... Right there during the interview (via Skype) he was staring off into space and shifting his seat uncomfortably while I was speaking. He seemed very bored with me, and that had a way of affecting the responses I gave him as we progressed further into the interview.
Be glad he was shooting the breeze with you!
Well, there was a time where he seemed a bit checked out, for example - he looked at his clock on the computer but told me that he was just checking the clock because he had a call at 4 (which is understandable). When I asked him which client he enjoyed working on the most, he told me, but said that they were being a bit difficult today. So it appeared he was having a bit of a stressful day.
I sent a thank you email this morning to the girl and she responded pretty quickly that she appreciated me coming in and will certainly keep me posted on decisions and next steps as they bring in and assess a few other candidates.
So this particular position is at an advertising agency and I would be working with the media team on planning and buying media for clients. The girl that asked me a lot of questions is the digital planner/buyer, which is taking over the budget when it comes to placing advertising. Not a lot of people know about digital planning and buying, so I assumed she was asking more questions to make sure that I knew what I was talking about. She asked a lot of thoughtful questions like how do I learn best and what kind of environment do I thrive in.
With him, we came to a quick, mutual agreement that I knew what I was talking about when it came to traditional media buying and planning (TV, radio, print). I mean, we talked a little about how we think that traditional media is dying off but otherwise, we discussed softball and culture at the agency.
A friend of mine said that he was probably already good with my experience since my resume lists it out pretty clearly and he just wanted to get a feel for my personality.
Would that woman be you direct supervisor? If so, then she would probably have the most weight in the hiring decision. The interview with the VP was probably just to meet potential candidates, make sure they're not complete social misfits, etc.
But that was your chance to ask the really important questions about the company; things like, how good is the company softball team? Are there quarterly parties, and, if so, how many kegs? What were the door prizes at the last Christmas party?
Yesterday I had an interview and left feeling a little confused about how it happened.
I submitted my resume for a position I feel like I am 100% qualified for. I held the same position before moving to my current city back in April. They contacted me pretty quickly and set up an in-person interview.
The first person I met with was a female. She asked me a lot of questions regarding the position. I felt the conversation went really well. I was a little obviously nervous, but who isn't when they are interviewing for a position they really want. We used the entire scheduled time to talk and I asked her some good questions as well.
From there, I met with a guy. He didn't really seem too interested in asking me any questions regarding my experience. He kept saying "I don't want to repeat everything you and my co-worker discussed". So he asked me one or two questions regarding my experience, asked me what my salary requirement was (when I told him he said "That sounds fine. I don't think that is a number they would be shocked to see") and when I could start. Then he told me they would probably do another round of interviews to have us meet some other employees. After that, we just talked about softball and things that didn't really pertain to the position - which I've never experience before.
Thoughts? Why would he not want to grill me on my experience?
The part in bold was the real interveiw. He was deciding your character. did you through in a dirty sex joke, how did you talk about the two softball teams, were they both great, and everything is sunshine and rainbows, or does team "x" really suck .. maybe seeing if your a negative person, or your outlook on life .
I had an interview with the person that would be a peer, then the boss came after. He started by saying, "I'm not going to get into the technical aspects of the job, I am guessing Bob covered off on that..." To that I thought, Bob didn't ask me any of that stuff...they won't know if I am technically capable or not. It was really weird, but I didn't get that job, I was told they didn't hire anyone.
A friend of mine said that he was probably already good with my experience since my resume lists it out pretty clearly and he just wanted to get a feel for my personality.
This ^^^.
They just need a second opinion to rely on and make sure you're not a weirdo.
191185 is right about the "softball" part being the actual interview. You wouldn't believe how many people "clock out" when they THINK the official interview is over and reveal their true personalities.
I've had a guy regale me with stories of how he basically cheated his former employer by working as little as possible as a sales guy. (We were talking about "life on the road.")
I've also had people mention "getting drunk" or "hitting the bar" a dozen times in a 10-minute talk, etc.
If you're in the room, people, you're being evaluated!!
They just need a second opinion to rely on and make sure you're not a weirdo.
191185 is right about the "softball" part being the actual interview. You wouldn't believe how many people "clock out" when they THINK the official interview is over and reveal their true personalities.
I've had a guy regale me with stories of how he basically cheated his former employer by working as little as possible as a sales guy. (We were talking about "life on the road.")
I've also had people mention "getting drunk" or "hitting the bar" a dozen times in a 10-minute talk, etc.
If you're in the room, people, you're being evaluated!!
I didn't say anything like that. I'm usually very self-aware.
He mentioned that the company was involved in a softball league but it was temporarily on hold because they were waiting for the insurance company to give the OK since so many people got hurt. I joked that I may land on that list since I broke my hand playing softball.
He did make a comment about having a difficult client. I said "Oh, I completely understand". I wanted to agree with him, but I didn't want to sound like I ragged on my clients.
Yea, I was just confused and looking for input on the guy. I've never had someone not really care to ask me about my experience, etc., but ask me about my salary requirements and when I would be able to start.
Sometimes the hiring manager doesn't see the need to grill you because you have already gone through the process with others. At this point, they only care about what your salary expectations are and if you can communicate and get along with others in the office.
I would take this as positive, but continue your job search. You have no idea what is going to happen with the position. They could decide not to fill it at all for a variety of reasons which has nothing to do with you.
In my experience, there's nothing unusual about a department head conducting a second interview but not drilling down the way the hiring manager did. He was probably just rubber-stamping you while you were there.
It sounds like the first interviewer was screening you and you passed that and were moved up to meeting a more senior worker. I think it sounds encouraging.
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.
