Interviews...

I generally do not enjoy the interview process. In all honestly, I don't actually have very many interviews under my belt; only about 3 or 4. But I already know that I hate questions like "Give me an example of a time when..." because I have a terribly hard time remembering things like that. I don't know why. It isn't that I don't have any experiences that fit the criteria, I'm sure I have plenty, but I simply can't think of them! My favorite interviews are the ones where the employer has pretty much already decided that they are going to hire you... that is my kind of interview. Since most interviews are not like that, here is what I learned from a few of the articles I read...

(Articles from careerjournal.com)

I looked at one article which was about body language. Body language is something I am somewhat aware of because I am a psychology major and we have discussed it (briefly) in a class or two. For example, if I am standing with my arms crossed I usually remember at some point that this makes me appear "closed off," unfriendly, or disinterested. Like the article points out, my arms are most often crossed because I am cold, not because I don't want to be where I am or in a certain conversation. One aspect of body language that is hard for me is crossing one leg over the other knee. I am extremely used to sitting like this, and am generally most comfortable in this position. However, apparently it is much better to sit with flat feet or crossed ankles for some reason. But when I sit like that I am very uncomfortable! Also, I think sitting with your legs crossed like that is somewhat lady-like and, since I am a lady, acceptable; but I could be wrong.

Another article I read was about interview questions. Seeing as how I have issues (mentioned above) with answering certain kinds of popular interview questions, I thought this article might be interesting. It actually made me want to avoid interviews as much as possible. It mentions one person, an example of a good interviewee, who said he always has about seven good stories to use in an interview to point out his qualifications. First, I am generally a bad story teller and second I just don't like to go on and on about myself like that. I am usually really good at remembering details, being concerned about details, and taking care of details; yet somehow when I tell a story I forget key details! So I do not want to be telling lots of stories in an interview. It gives the wrong impression of me! So that article did not help me very much...

The third article I looked at was about avoiding blunders during an interview. This article listed the most common mistakes that are made. The only one I think I would tend to have a problem with would be a lack of knowledge about the company. Knowing that this is not my strong point will help me to make sure I do my homework before going into an interview.