So, I totally bombed an interview...
 

I did bad. I did so bad that I knew I was blowing as I was blowing it but I was unable to stop myself from blowing. The interview was supposed to be in person, but moved to online for obvious reasons. I feel like I am good at reading people, but I tend to ramble and fill the silence when I don't see cues that it is time to stop talking. There were at least three questions that I flat out did not know the answer to but attempted (poorly) to answer anyway. I felt like several of my answers did not address the questions being asked very well. Before the interview was over I had resigned myself to having blown it yet pushed myself to keep a positive attitude and still try my best.

Last night I consoled myself and tried to have some fun with the kids despite being angry with myself.

I had a meeting with my current manager today and she asked me how the interview went (this is a lateral move within my company so I made her aware all along of what was going on). I basically told her what I said above.

So I was shocked.....SHOCKED to find a job offer in my inbox when I got off the Skype meeting with her. :eek:

It's been my experience that when it comes to internal promotions, the decision is usually made by the time it gets to the interview stage and the interview is a formality.
But not always ;)

They REALLY good ones don't interview well in IT and many other fields :)

I always got the job....

Rock on!

congrats's..

and just to Corona poke you...
perhaps some of the other candidates looked too hungover..
and other's forgot to dress accordingly..

years ago I just knew I bombed 'that' test ..
and was going home..
one chance that was it..
no retest..no excuses..
came back after lunch just to confirm..
graduated a few weeks later..

Rika

Even from the outside....I had the job (position was magically created when I came knocking)....interview was for HR purposes only :(.

Congrats. Just move along/ahead and show them they made the right choice.

Maybe they knew, that YOU knew you were having a bad day and you handled it well so overall...you done good. Congrats.

Outstanding! Congrats!

See, I told you that wearing nothing but a tie for your Skype interview would pay off.

In this case, I knew none of the people who interviewed me. There are a few people floating around that department that I have worked with in the past, but I was far from a prime candidate. One of the interviewers was a VP, which was a little intimidating.

You were mostly honest with yourself and others. That's probably better than average. They can work with that I guess.

I've read that some companies have extremely strange application processes that have nothing to do with abilities of the specific task. It is more of a psychological profile. How well an employee can work with other people. How someone thinks. How they react to situations which they can't solve. Are they loyal. Are they a motivated go-getter or a chair hurricane weight device. All that. And perhaps it tests what their 'other beliefs' are without getting into trouble with fair employment issues.

Some companies are big enough to have middle echelon play all day and think and get bored while the real numbers are crunched out at the working level. There is a seat made for everyone in this world.

Congratulations!

I bombed an interview once - really bad. I wouldn't have hired me!

And I ended up getting the job so you never know.

You just sucked less than everyone else ;)

Congrats by the way, my thread is in no way poking fun at yours.

.....and didn't stagger in reeking of weed :D

Thanks. I've been guilty of trying to make funny thread names inspired by other threads as well.

Your company must use the same hiring manager as one of my contractors...some of the people we get for very specialized positions don't have the first clue about how to do the job (said in reference to you not knowing answers to 3 questions).

But congrats! Internal hires are often about personality, fitting within the team, and them being sure they can teach you what you need to know. For my less specialized positions, I understand that unless you have worked for me, you have never done what I'm interviewing you for (we have a very unique job), so it's more about capacity to learn and how well you'll fit my team's dynamic.

FYI, after a decade or so of struggling with my career, I came up with a system to move my career forward. 1/3 of this is interview skills. I have a list of 15+ year old questions that at the time, were perfect.

Interview questions have absolutely changed since then. But, if anyone wants my questions which - if you answered with a polished response circa 2004- got many people hired, you are welcome to them. PM me with an email.

There is no excuse for feeling like Legion in an interview.

The questions that I bombed were very technical in nature.

Here's an example: "How would you prevent a class from being instantiated?"

My answer: "I'd mark it as abstract."

Their response: "We're looking for a different answer." WTF?

Yeah, I figured they were technical questions. One of my teams are DBAs that also do some programming. The contractor is always whining about us looking for a unicorn...to which I reply that they took the contract--find the person.

Not to disrespect, but if your over a certain age, the interview process is different. Been on both sides of that equation.

I'm 66 and free to earn more $$$, So I stuck my toe in water and now I start Monday.
head still spinning, everyday was a Saturday.

Congrats, I have a video interview next week. I guess my big question is, if they expect you to go work in the office (rather than from home), would you take the job?

I'd tell em that I would allude, imply and and hint at it, but wouldn't come out and actually make the statement.

BTW you spelled it wrong ;)

"I would cancel the class."

Next question please....

My FIL has been in capital equipment sales all his life. He'd basically been at bottom-level companies most of his career and had to really hustle to get by. About five years ago, a mid-level company called him and asked him to interview for a position. He wasn't looking to make a move, but figured "what the heck". He got the job and they offered him a sizeable base salary (something he'd never had before) on top of his commissions. He's making more money now than he ever has before. They had to lean out the sales department a few years ago and he went a year and a half being the only sales guy. He's shot past his planned retirement date (he's 68) because he's just plain having so much fun in his job. He figures he'll stop when he doesn't enjoy it anymore, which could be any day as he's not working because he needs to.

Maybe your new boss rambles on a lot, and ignores visual ques to stop talking?

:)

Congrats, legion!

I had a video interview for my current job and it was a slightly weird experience.

Sat on an interview panel today via vidcon. The poor kid really did bomb it. The worst part was that the the stuff he didn’t know, the answer could have been “I dont know, but I would look it up” and at least come off as teachable or willing to learn but he tried to bs on something technical. Another big miss was that there were all levels of the org on the panel. From the ceo to a recent grad and he couldn’t think of one question to ask after the interview and presentation.

I thought I'd circle back after six months on the new job.

I haven't actually met anyone on my new team. All of the work has been virtual. I did get to go into the office for about three and a half months, but none of my team returned.

I was an expert in my old job and had a manager that liked to load me up with 50-60 hours a week's worth of work. Taking time off just meant that I wouldn't make a deadline on something, and I couldn't get out of the "extra" night and weekend work. It seemed like everything I tried to do to lower my stress levels just lead to me getting a bad review from my manager--who when she wasn't telling me what a bad job I was doing, was ignoring me. She cancelled three consecutive monthly one-on-ones until I told her that I was leaving. I always felt like managers were making decisions on raises and such based on a handful of interactions throughout the year. The fact that I was finding new ways to save the company tens of millions of dollars each year didn't seem to be a consideration.

I honestly feel underworked in my new job. Maybe it's that I'm so used to being overworked. I feel like I have time to do the thing I'm asked, do some additional investigation for my own curiosity, and document what I've learned. I find myself asking for more work frequently. My new boss keeps telling me I'm doing a great job--which is a new experience for me. She actually gave me a small raise outside of the annual review process--something I've also never had before. Today she told me that I'll be interviewing our team's intern candidates next week.

Aside from weekly meetings with my boss (I typically met with my manager in my previous role somewhere between 3 and 12 times a year), I also meet with my AVP (boss's boss) monthly and my OVP (boss's boss's boss) quarterly. These also aren't the typical meet-and-greets I'd randomly have in my old role. They seem to come to these meetings with specific questions for me--often to get my thoughts on various technologies or methodologies. I just honestly give my opinions (or occasionally tell them I have no opinion on something when I don't feel well-enough informed to offer one).

^^^CONGRATS!!!

I have had MANY awful jobs. When you find a great manager / job it seems too easy. Nicely done. It seems you found a place that values you. Wonderful!

That's cool, sounds like you're being appreciated and have a much better balance of work/family time too.

Your old boss sounds like my wife's new boss.

Congrats, Chris! Your work mix seems optimal. It can be a luxury to properly document your work.

That's fantastic. It sounds like you've found your place, and have a better, more aware manager. I've made similar moves in the past and it's really nice to be in the situation that you're in now and horrible to be in the position that you were in before. I'm glad that you were able to make the move.

So what were they looking for?
No argument private constructor?