Are you employed?

[Rotwang]

What is your education or for what kind of job do you apply?

I have two first-class degrees from Oxbridge as well as a Ph.D. in theoretical physics; I've been applying for finance jobs, programming jobs and QA jobs.

 

Have you thought about coaching or something like that in order to prepare you better for interviews?

I've had several practice interviews and lots of advice from friends of my family and agencies. Don't seem to have helped much, sadly.

[JISNEGRO]

Seems very likely that for the kind of jobs you are applying for they might consider you as an overqualified candidate. Have you ever considered moving abroad? I guess that in the USA there are more chances for someone with your profile

[Blair Thaumic]

Ouch. I really sympathize; unless you're a natural extrovert and/or incredibly good at acting, getting past HR and the interview process is the hardest part of any job search. Only once did I do well on an interview and it was a very informal situation, more like sitting down and talking to a friend.

 

I'm unemployed. I have a 2 year degree from a community college and I spent another year at a university before dropping out due to various issues (money, emotional/mental stress). I've done clerical work in the past, going to different law offices and updating/helping maintain their libraries, and I'm trying to get a job doing that again for a while. Other than that, food and cooking is a big interest of mine, and if I can save up enough capital for it I'd like to start a cafe and tea room.

[Rotwang]

I have too many friends and family around here to want to move away from London, let alone out of the UK.

[zoltan_g]

I have two first-class degrees from Oxbridge as well as a Ph.D. in theoretical physics; I've been applying for finance jobs, programming jobs and QA jobs.

 

 

I've had several practice interviews and lots of advice from friends of my family and agencies. Don't seem to have helped much, sadly.

 

What kind of degrees do you hold? My company (Broadcom) have some open jobs at the moment, they are based near Cambridge though.

[Rotwang]

What kind of degrees do you hold?

MPhys, CASM, PhD

[Procyon]

As I have some experience with job interviewing in an English school, here's my opinion based on that. It is not directed to no one in particular in this topic, but to everybody who is looking for a job:

 

1) the more certificates you have the less positions available, of course. This is like a pyramid. The more you study, you have more baggage to go up the ladder. But, on the other hand, top positions are expected to be fulfilled by "princes" - illusionary candidate that are perfect both in professional skills and personality. And potential employers are very picky when chosing for high positions, no wonder that head-hunting is so common nowadays. My point is: unless you are willing to start in a position that is lower than your CV is pointing you to, you have to have some patience, until you get the job matching your certificates and experience. Of course this is not a golden rule, and you may find a position matching your baggage in the first round of interviews, but this is rare.

 

2) still on certificates and experience. This situation is ridiculous, but I have seen this happen a lot: the candidate for a position is more experienced and knows more that the interviewer or the person who will be his/her immediate superior, and he/she is denied the job because this person is afraid of losing status inside the company. (Last one I heard of, a friend of mine who lived in USA for years and speaks English perfectly, was denied a job as a senior teacher because his interviewer - the HR director - realised she was not as fluent as he was).

 

3) there are some people who have perfect grades, certificates and skills, but are not ready to work with other people, in a group. Unfortunately, this is something the person most times doesn't know about himself/herself. But the interviewer is trained to see subtle signs that may appear during a simple talk. If you are denied a job in successive interviews, think about that. It is not a problem, for there are intelligent people who are much more productive and proactive when working alone. My point is, perhaps you are applying for a kind of job that is not for you.

 

4) have you thought of that perhaps you are not a "job" person? And that instead of working in a "classic" job - as in an office, a bank, an industry - you would do better working by yourself? That you'd be happier and more productive (and rich) baking cakes than being a doctor, as your certificates tell you?

 

5) have you analysed your behavior during that last job interviews? Sometimes the person is the one that the company is looking for, he has the experience, the skills, the personality and his CV matches exactly what the position requires. But, during the interview, he/she lets depression, bad corporal/language, vices, interfere in the interviewer's perception. Most common situations are: depression ("I have been so unlucky lately, I hope I get this job"). Corporal/language ("I fucking love travelling on business"). Vices (most common is the smell of cigarrettes, strong body odour or - I have seen this too - perfumes).

 

Last, be patient. Global economic situation is not that good, as some of us feel this in the flesh. Good luck!

[Veracohr]

While I haven't looked for a job for a long time, since I'm in school I hear a lot of talk around me about applying for jobs. One of the things often mentioned is: tailoring your resume for the job. And it doesn't have to be just the resume, you can tailor yourself as well.

 

I've certainly never been overqualified for anything, but for someone who is: you don't have to mention every degree you have. If you're applying for a position that typically has Bachelor-level applicants but you have a PhD, there's no problem in just mentioning that part of your education in your resume. Of course, if somehow the interviewer asks you if you have further degrees/education, you wouldn't want to lie, but there shouldn't be any ethical issue in playing yourself down if the alternative is being passed over because an employer thinks you might ask for too much money.

[Trunksan]

I'll show-off a bit and say that I'm very good at interviews, preparing CVs, writing Cover Letters,, and I owe it all to a wonderful lady "LESLIE from Newcastle", she was the career officer at my uni and she taught me the basics, when I was only 18, which I've refined over the years

 

It's actually funny how a random meeting could have such a beneficial effect! Leslie had organised a placement/internship hunting seminar, it was a January 8:00 am MONDAY morning seminar... NO OTHER STUDENT came, it was only me and my GF in a huge conference hall. So she took our CVs, totally made them over from scratch and spent the next 2 hours tutoring us on interviews, preparing CVs, preparing CLs and then whenever I had an interview I'd go at her office and she'd give me tons and tons of advice and tricks. She was a great tutor because she was a mature student and had had a hard time finding decent jobs before she had a degree, although before coming to Uni she had reached middle managerial levels for Accenture, which is awesome for someone with only a college degree.

 

Anyway, I have to go catch the train, but I'll get back and tell you some of the tricks... You'll be amazed at how much stuff there is!
Sometimes you must oversell, others undersell yourself, be careful at what you wear, the colors, what you say about your old employers, turning disadvantages into advantages, studying about the company, going into LinkedIN and Facebook and finding details about who is Interviewing you....

 

I actually enjoy job hunting because I know what I'm doing!

[Shpongled247]

Well I have been a graphic artist for 7/8 years full time and just moved from Australia to London for 2 year working holiday.

 

A few months back went through all job search stuff, recruiters etc, so many recruiters here and being in a different country, its crazy.

 

In the end I found a good one who has hooked me up with continuing freelance work at some of londons top ad agencies every week. Pretty good money and awesome experience/folio stuff for when I go home.

 

Soon need a break from london already though after only 5 months hah.

[reger]

Their weather is shit compared to sunny Aus, no?

[Shpongled247]

Shit would be an understatement it always looks like its going to rain...but doesn't.. Or does..

 

But, I had never seen snow until I stepped off the plane here so that was pretty cool and its been the best time of my life (I did it for a girl)

[Rotwang]

I like British weather. Seldom too hot or too cold (this year's shitty Spring was an outlier).

[exotic]

As I have some experience with job interviewing in an English school, here's my opinion based on that. It is not directed to no one in particular in this topic, but to everybody who is looking for a job:

 

1) the more certificates you have the less positions available, of course. This is like a pyramid. The more you study, you have more baggage to go up the ladder. But, on the other hand, top positions are expected to be fulfilled by "princes" - illusionary candidate that are perfect both in professional skills and personality. And potential employers are very picky when chosing for high positions, no wonder that head-hunting is so common nowadays. My point is: unless you are willing to start in a position that is lower than your CV is pointing you to, you have to have some patience, until you get the job matching your certificates and experience. Of course this is not a golden rule, and you may find a position matching your baggage in the first round of interviews, but this is rare.

 

2) still on certificates and experience. This situation is ridiculous, but I have seen this happen a lot: the candidate for a position is more experienced and knows more that the interviewer or the person who will be his/her immediate superior, and he/she is denied the job because this person is afraid of losing status inside the company. (Last one I heard of, a friend of mine who lived in USA for years and speaks English perfectly, was denied a job as a senior teacher because his interviewer - the HR director - realised she was not as fluent as he was).

 

3) there are some people who have perfect grades, certificates and skills, but are not ready to work with other people, in a group. Unfortunately, this is something the person most times doesn't know about himself/herself. But the interviewer is trained to see subtle signs that may appear during a simple talk. If you are denied a job in successive interviews, think about that. It is not a problem, for there are intelligent people who are much more productive and proactive when working alone. My point is, perhaps you are applying for a kind of job that is not for you.

 

4) have you thought of that perhaps you are not a "job" person? And that instead of working in a "classic" job - as in an office, a bank, an industry - you would do better working by yourself? That you'd be happier and more productive (and rich) baking cakes than being a doctor, as your certificates tell you?

 

5) have you analysed your behavior during that last job interviews? Sometimes the person is the one that the company is looking for, he has the experience, the skills, the personality and his CV matches exactly what the position requires. But, during the interview, he/she lets depression, bad corporal/language, vices, interfere in the interviewer's perception. Most common situations are: depression ("I have been so unlucky lately, I hope I get this job"). Corporal/language ("I fucking love travelling on business"). Vices (most common is the smell of cigarrettes, strong body odour or - I have seen this too - perfumes).

 

Last, be patient. Global economic situation is not that good, as some of us feel this in the flesh. Good luck!

some very good points. especially 2 . Rotwang just dumb yourself down a bit for your next interview. i think you are intimidating the interviewer.

 

Im a SAP consultant working with a French company for the last two years . they have a huge presence in India and one of the top companies in the IT space in Europe. Problem is they aren't very good paymasters and plus im offshore so im drawing one third of what my onsite counterparts earn. Cant do shit about it , which is why the lobby is split in the US about offshoring. need to get some more experience and then apply for jobs outside , most probably in the US. silicon valley is the other place next to Wall street where the money is.

[Veracohr]

Oh god, my company moved to SAP a couple years ago. It can be very annoying sometimes.

[reger]

Exo, Wallstreet is root of all evil!

[Muerto]

I'm unemployed and have been for four years, but I've only been actively looking for work for a couple. Had a job interview yesterday.

 

Four years? How do you manage? I'm curious. I've been unemployed since June and I can't stand it anymore. That's barely three months.

Excuse me for necroposting, but I found this topic interesting, coincidentally I'm going to a job interview tomorrow/today.

 

The two previous interviews didn't work out. The second the employer suspiciously glanced at and questioned whether my educational background revealed other ambitions, I was fucked. I guess they were seeking after a obedient clerk with no plans for the future.

 

Hopefully, this one will work out. But I'm not holding my breath.

[Imba]

Ah yes i forgot to update, i lost job 1. august, just after 4 months...

[DeathPosture]

Networking is the best way to find a job. Seriously.

Make sure to have a large circle of friends/acquaintances both IRL and online. Facebook and especially LinkedIn are great for networking (well d'uh!) and when you look for at job through your circle of friends, you have a distinct advantage compared to applying for vacancies: You have direct, firsthand information from your friend into the given company. When you have access to firsthand information about a given company, you're already way ahead of the competition. I cannot stress this enough. Also, the company you're applying to only has YOUR application to consider, compared to a situation where the company has to consider several hundred job applications.

Networking is everything. I cannot stress this enough. Network your way to the top!

My situation: I've worked for the same company for the last 7 years. I work in IT distribution, for an American Fortune-500 distribution company. I'm in the Danish office and I work as a KAM/sales executive.
LinkedIn is a MAJOR platform for job offers/headhunting in my line of business and I would encourage everyone to use this service actively. I've had several job offers through LinkedIn, few of which lead to job interviews. Again, networking is the key to success.

[Symphoid]

^DP is speaking the truth. Networking gives you a huge advantage.

 

I was out of work for almost a year, but recently landed a new position thanks to networking. I had been in graphic design for over 15 years. I hated it, but for someone with a degree in art there's not much choice, especially if you want a steady paycheck. Long hours, despotic bosses, and opinionated clients who don't like to pay just drained the life out of me. 99% of the work I produced was gut-wrenchingly stupid. Advertising is the worst! Anyway, now I work with kids with Autism and I love it. I'm making a difference

[aliendna99]

DP is NOT speaking the truth.

 

 

To be able to be successful with the "networking" tactic, you have to have a large network with many people. Friends, family, past co-workers, relatives, superficial friends etc.

 

 

It just works for certain types of people. Therefore its not truth at all. It is very very subjective.

The best way,

 

is to find out what you wanna do, get good at it, then just apply for jobs.

[Symphoid]

^That is the hardest way and idealistic. You don't have to have a large network of people to find your way into a company. I would much rather have the added advantage of someone backing my skills or giving me the heads up about an available position as opposed to just applying somewhere and hoping I can sell myself. Without being too cynical, how could it not help?

[aliendna99]

^That is the hardest way and idealistic. You don't have to have a large network of people to find your way into a company. I would much rather have the added advantage of someone backing my skills or giving me the heads up about an available position as opposed to just applying somewhere and hoping I can sell myself. Without being too cynical, how could it not help?

Exactly. You dont have to network to be able to get in a company.

You have to be good at something, and have confidence in yourself.

Of course it HELPS if a friend recommends you, but it isnt necessary.

[little_sister]

Yes. I am.

[Ormion]

What's networking?