Why am I terrible at interviews? Am I?
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Anonymous
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I realize no one can answer this question without knowing or interviewing me, but I'm hoping you can help point me toward possible ideas or common pitfalls, or just tell me honestly that I must come off as a jerk or something. Or perhaps my expectations are too high for finding the right fit by now. If I'm doing something wrong, how do I figure out what it is?
I'm a government lawyer with about 10 years of experience. I am looking to make a change, but because I have a job I like, I have been very selective about where I have applied (some inhouse, some other government jobs, one public interest). I have applied for maybe seven jobs over the last year, gotten 4 interviews, no job offers. Now, they have been pretty competitive jobs, but my credentials are stellar. I know I look good on paper. If some of these jobs were "reaches", it is only because my experience is in another wheelhouse. I've been a litigator my whole career, and these are more inhouse and agency type jobs, albeit most of them with a litigation component. (The ones without a litigation component are the ones I didn't get interviews for, which is reasonable, although I was kind of hoping they would consider me at least for entry level positions.) In each case, I did a screening interview on the phone, got invited in (and flown in) to meet the team. And no offer. Now, small talk and meeting new people is really not my forte, but I worked hard to prepare for the interviews. I knew a lot about each office, asked people what I hoped were intelligent questions about their work, and developed a pithy spiel about why I wanted the job and thought I was a good fit. If the position seemed likely to involve a pay cut, I went out of my way to assure them that I knew that and was interested anyway. A couple of these were ALL DAY interviews; and I was probably stumbling by the end of the day, but I have trouble imagining who wouldn't be after 6 hours of interviews. By way of example: - the most surprising was an office that was looking for a government litigator, seemed to like me, I would have been taking a paycut, and we all seemed to get along really well. I had a tenuous professional connection to one of the hiring attorneys, and we hit it off. No offer. I didn't figure out who they hired instead but suffice to say, it is somewhat unlikely that they found someone with my credentials and experience. I wanted it anyway because the subject matter genuinely interests me and the hours are spectacularly reasonable. In the interview, I focused on the subject matter and my skills being a good fit, not the family-friendly hours. - The most heartbreaking of the bunch was an all day interview at what is basically my dream job, which I thought went overall very well -- except for one exceedingly awkward moment where it seemed like the general counsel was asking about my childbearing plans - but I thought I smoothed it over more or less by pretending he was asking no such thing. But that was 15 seconds of an interview that basically lasted 10 hours, including dinner. I had a great rapport with the attorneys, and they spent a fair amount of money flying me out and putting me up and wining and dining me; so they must have been a little interested. they ended up hiring a kid who interned for them when he was in law school . . . a year and a half ago, and who had been working for his daddy's law firm in the meantime. I mean, come on. Maybe he's goddamned Clarence Darrow in training, but I doubt it. And if they planned to hire him all along, why fly me in and waste all that time and money? Maybe just the salary difference? But they were hiring at a specific pay range - even if he was at the low end of that range and I was at the high end, it seems like there is not that much difference. They never broached the subject of salary with me and neither did I, since their advertised pay range is pretty close to my current salary as a fed - adjusted for cost of living anyway. Before I knew who they hired, I reached out to the guy I talked with the most (and who would have been my immediate supervisor) to ask for any feedback. He blew me off, told me they had a number of excellent candidates and I should keep trying. |
Anonymous
| Why do you want to leave? |
Anonymous
| Well, my family is definitely moving soon, which is the public motivation. As well as the fact that I'm genuinely interested in doing some new things. The more honest answer is that I was feeling a bit burnt out and in a rut as a fed litigator. It's fun but exhausting. And in the last six months or so, I have become extremely reluctant to stay on in the current administration, whose caprices are affecting my work. |
Anonymous
| What do you look like? Honest question. Are you well put together? Are you socially awkward and/or overbearing? |
Anonymous
kinda average and a bit frumpy, I guess? I'm certainly not stylish, but I wear a nice suit and flats and a touch of makeup to interviews. i'm not overbearing (especially by attorney standards), but possibly a little awkward? not in a likely-to-offend-people by saying the wrong things kind of way. more, that I have trouble with small talk and new people. knowing that, I generally compensate in interviews by preparing questions to ask the interviewers. most people like to talk about themselves and their organization and there is less chance of awkward silence or figuring out how to answer questions about the local football team or something. |
Anonymous
| Might be several things: 10 years of experience - finding a job through a random job postings is a rare thing, you should be referred (perfect example of hiring the former intern); they just go through the official motions to show a pretend competition; they called around and didn't like something about you; they had a better candidate, after all. |
Anonymous
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You have to act natural and be yourself. I get a lot of job offers, and I think its because I am likeable in interviews. My former supervisor was dying to get out and she interviewed for an embarrassing number of jobs that she was very qualified for, and she never got job offers. She can be very socially awkward, so I had to really coach her on acting natural, smiling a lot, etc. She FINALLY got a job offer after we practiced a lot.
I once interviewed someone once that was very qualified for a position on my team, but she didn't smile once during the entire interview. Brought her back for a second interview, and same thing. Something really bugged me about that, and for that reason, we didn't ask her back for a third round. |
Anonymous
| I've learned a lot from sitting on the other side of the desk in more interviews recently (different industry, but...) sometimes it's a little bit random and not something you should take personally. Sadly too, seven interviews aren't THAT many. Keep plugging away, and see the next ones as practice so the stakes are lower and you'll be more natural. The interviews I've landed have all been ones I didn't take seriously, so wasn't nervous. Good luck! |
Anonymous
my connections on the ground in my family's soon-to-be new location are slim. I have reached out to the few (three) connections I have there. They are all at law firms, however, which is NOT really where I want to be. And they haven't been super-interested in setting up coffee or lunch or whatever. Is the answer just to keep bugging them? Having been a fed, I haven't bothered much with networking previously, especially outside the DC area; I honestly am not sure how it's done! Especially in a new place. |
Anonymous
| I have been where you are. Unfortunately, the market is very competitive and connections rule the world. I didn't get dream jobs I was very qualified for when I thought I did very well in interviews. I got a job where I had a personal connection willing to vouch for me even though on paper I probably was not the most qualified candidate. I wish it wasn't this way but it is. |
Anonymous
You're going to have a hard time getting a gig in house. Small talk is even more important than credentials. Try to relax! |
Anonymous
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I can't guess what's not working out for your OP. Job hunting is effectively a numbers game at a certain point, so you might have had a string of bad luck - going through long interviews for positions that were never truly open to competition.
But the stellar candidates who disappoint towards the end of a long day tend to do one or more of the following: -not answer the actual interview questions (give their canned answers that they memorized, rather than tailor their response to the question) -Not express interest/excitement in the details of the position after they've met & interviewed with the senior leaders they'll be working with (ie - sticking to "what do you like most about your job" questions during Q&A when they should now have much more specific material to work with) -offer an unclear picture of their experience. I often walk in wondering what the candidate's story is based on the resume & cover letter, but by the end of the hour, I need to understand and believe that (1) you have the experience we need, and (2) you really want this job. If the role you played in prior projects isn't clear or if you only seem luke warm after learning about the position (which could just be that you're tired after 6 hrs), then it's hard for us to feel confident in that candidate. I have no idea if that helps, but that's my experience with high-potential candidates who tank the day of. |
Anonymous
| OP here. this is all really helpful, thanks. and please keep it going if you have more ideas or networking suggestions. I'll keep following! |
Anonymous
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OP, I really hate to say this but you say you are average and a bit frumpy and wear FLATS with a suit to interviews.
Do yourself a favor and get some professional advice on how you present yourself for interviews. No flats, please. The heels don't have to be high but they should be there. DC has higher tolerance for frump than many other places. Go to Nordstrom's personal shopper and pick out one dynamite interview suit and heels. Get the suit tailored. Don't cheap out--it will show. You may need to get your hair styled and maybe a bit of makeup advice from one of the cosmetic counters. This of course will not do it by itself. For many interviewers competence is not the only issue. Many are secretly asking themselves if the person they are interviewing would be pleasant to work with. Find some books or online sites with tips for small talk. One is when asked a question that can be answered with a yes or no, don't stop there--add a detail, especially one that it interesting. Did you see the eclipse? Yes, so lucky that the rain held off until just moments after peak. |
Anonymous
I would not judge someone for wearing flats. Maybe there is a medical reason that they cannot wear them and as far as I know, there is no evidence that heels make someone smarter or more pleasant to be around. As long as they are put together in a way that matches the position (I have lower standards for an intern than a supervisor), then that works for me. |