Well, it’s going. There seems to be a few more jobs posted out there. In fact, it’s almost difficult to keep up with the letter-writing-and-webform-filling-out that’s necessary when applying to these new jobs. That being said, I haven’t been called for any interviews lately. Other job seekers I’m in contact with have said the same. It could be that firms are waiting for staff to finish summer vacations to before they begin interviewing. Or, it could be time to review my marketing materials.
The good news is, I’m well prepared for the next interview, thanks to some feedback from one particularly helpful person who interviewed me recently for a government job. (Most don’t want to offer feedback, I’ve discovered. Not sure why.)
I was told, that although I did well on some aspects of the interview — the written portion and several of the six questions – I fell short, in comparison to other candidates, on some questions.
The feedback I got was this: Write down the questions when asked, and make sure you answer each one thoroughly. Most of us don’t want to be caught rambling, or repeating ourselves, so we tend to cut our answers short. That’s not good, particularly in government-style interviews. In these circumstances, you’re being scored on the points you make with each answer. So the more you say, apparently the better. Even if you have to repeat your thoughts.
My interviewer told me that he could tell I probably had the answer they were looking for, but there’s not much prodding they can do. I got the sense that they are looking for one person to walk in and blow them all away with detailed answers that hit the mark for each one of the panel interviewers.
So for now, it’s back to the drawing board to make sure I have the best possible examples of my work experience to bring forth at my next interview and to get some feedback on my resume and covering letters.
In the meantime, I’m working on my tan.
