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Subject:RE: Preparation for a phone screen interview From:"Gary S. Callison" <huey -at- interaccess -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 07 Jan 2003 12:51:26 -0600 (CST)
On Tue, 7 Jan 2003, John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> wrote:
> Andrew Plato [mailto:gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com] wrote:
> > "John Posada" wrote...
> > | I said my obligation was to get the job. You said my obligation is
> > | to be honest. I'm not there to spill my guts. I'm there to get the
> > | job. Being honest means telling them good AND bad things about me,
> > | even if it will hinder my chances at the job. I just won't discuss
> > | bad things, because I'm not obligated to tell EVERYTHING, only
> > | what I want them to know.
> So its okay for the employer to return the favor and not tell you
> everything about the job as well, right?
> I expect that to happen and every job I DID get, found out there was
> stuff going on that wasn't revealed during the interview.
The last three jobs I've had, including my current job, have all been the
best job I've ever had. Each has been fun, engaging, full of other
wonderful people, and a growing experience.
Two of those three also contained _huge_ 'gotchas' that weren't mentioned
anywhere in the interview process. I agree with John: the object of the
interview is twofold: the company wants to convince me that they're the
right company for me, and I want to convince the company that I'm the
right guy for them. 'Honesty' is orthagonal to this. Honesty may work, or
it may not. If I ask "Why does your company succeed where others fail?"
and the honest answer is "Because we let our clients abuse and infuriate
our staff like no other company will", the honest answer isn't going to
help the cause of convincing me to work there. Similarly, if the company
asks "What is your biggest failing?" and the honest answer is "I have a
tendency to mock those who ask cliched interview questions, BONEHEAD",
that probably isn't going to help me any either.
I wore a snappy double-breasted pinstripe, a nice tie, and shoes you could
see yourself in to the interview. Dress code being what it is, I usually
wear a dress shirt and dockers. Left to my own devices, I'd be wearing a
flannel and jeans. Is the suit therefore 'dishonest'? No. It's just part
of the dance that gets you the job.
--
Huey
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