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What should I do about my dishonest job interview?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:22:41 -0800

I was not truthful about my past drug use in a job interview. Now I have a job offer and need to get a secret security clearance. What should I do? I smoked weed five days a week for most of this year (from maybe January to halfway through August) before quitting and moving out of the college town. In the past couple years before that, I have a smattering of other drug uses (shrooms, coke, addy; 3-5 times each and in small quantities). I might be able to make a case that I was in a different situation then since I had become a member of a fairly drug laden crowd which I'm now completely disconnected from.

Two weeks ago, I went in for a job interview at a defense contractor and things went smoothly. Towards the end, the interviewer asked me if there was anything that would prevent me from getting a secret level security clearance and listed off a couple of things such as bankruptcy or a criminal record. I said no. After I said no, he made some joke about drugs and we laughed. I silently realized that my drug use might be an issue, something I hadn't thought about until that point. I'd previously figured they'd give a drug test, I'd pass, done deal. Last week, I got call from them saying they were going to be offering me a job.

I've been doing research on security clearances and realized that past drug use can definitely be grounds for clearance denial, but the details on how much use and how long you've been “clean” are fuzzy. I'm not sure if I should even be thinking about accepting their offer. I'm nervous about going for the clearance and ashamed that I ended up being dishonest to the interviewer (even though it was mostly accidental). As soon as he mentioned drugs, even though it wasn't a direct question, I should have piped up but I didn't and now here I am.

My main question:
How should I approach this? Should I call them up and say “I've made a mistake and was dishonest, take me or leave me”? Maybe it's not as bad as I think and they can still work with me. It would be a nice job if I get it. Or should I turn down the offer, give some vague reason, and make the problem go away? I don't need the money and have plenty of time to keep looking for other jobs. I'd still feel bad about the whole thing, but nobody would have to know.

The third possibility, which I've been rejecting as unethical, is not saying anything them, accepting the offer, and then acting surprised if my clearance ends up being denied.

Secondary question:
What are the chances of me actually getting a security clearance given my habitual drug use until three months ago?

Related question

Linear regression is... uh... something to do with residuals? (Shit.)

veol — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:19:02 -0800

I have some interviews coming up. Anybody with a statistics-related profession.... please help me out with answering technical questions in my job interviews! (A bit on the long side...) I am in my school's Co-op program and I am currently pursuing a bachelor degree in Statistics. The number of entry level jobs for statisticians are really next to none, and I really want to do well on this next interview.

I have already had three interviews for statistics related jobs with different companies and I pretty much flunked each one. I can't seem to wrap my head around the technical questions that are asked during interviews. Most of the time, my mind draws a blank and useless garble comes out. All the generic questions about me, my interests, etc. are easy, but when it comes to solving technical questions on the fly, I lose all confidence and the interview goes downhill. Sometimes I just don't know the answer, sometimes I just can't process the question, and other times I just say "I don't know" and doom myself joblessness.

So now I have a phone interview with company X tomorrow morning. X is a rather large company (one that I've interviewed for before, actually, for a different position by a different person) and some students (myself included) were recommended for the position by my school's Co-op office. The position I am being interviewed for is Statistical Methods Analyst, and doing a quick google search gives me a similar job description to the one I received.

In more detail, my job description says that I will need to be responsible for collaborating with stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements, produce process analysis reports, adhoc reports and data queries, validate and analyze data, develop tools and communicate analysis results.

Under essential skills, it says I should be adept at MS Excel, especially data analysis and process analysis, experienced in VBA Macro or similar programming languages, have knowledge of Statistical tools (such as Minitab, Stata, SAS) and the ability to correctly interpret statistical test results, valuing the nature of the data. Also, familiarity with basic statistical concepts and ability to relate them to industry settings, able to detect and diagnose process problems. Knowing SQL was noted as an asset.

I feel under-qualified for this job and doomed for failure at yet another job interview, but my co-op coordinator assures me that I will be able to pick up the skills once I am on the job. Soo... please help me land this job! Please make my years of studying statistics useful!

My questions are (yes, I know. Finally, eh?) :

What kind of technical questions should I be expecting?
What should I study before going into the interview tomorrow?
If I don't know the answer to a technical question, what should I do?
Any job interview tips?

Many thanks!

I'd like some advice on giving an academic job talk.

jonesor — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:18:48 -0800

I'd like some advice on giving an academic job talk. I have a job interview coming up. It's a mid-level academic position (Research Scientist) at a prestigious research institute in Germany. I've been invited to visit the institute, meet potential future colleagues, and give a 30-60min long talk which will be open to everyone at the institute. This will be followed by a more formal interview, with a small panel. Then of course there's lunch, and dinner, with the bigwigs...

- What advice can you give me as to the content of the talk?
- Should I concentrate on what I have done in the past, or what I'd like to do in the future?
- I've done quite a variety of research in the past, so should I go narrow and deep and concentrate on one particular aspect, or go wide and shallow, and try to fit everything in?

Other pertinent info: the field is evolution; I've never been to Germany before; the working language of the institute is English.

Don't employers love the neat & tidy look?

gursky — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:38:12 -0800

Should I explain why I (a 22-year-old female) am bald at an upcoming job interview? (I am still shaving my head regularly. My aunt's hair has not yet begun to grow back, so I keep shaving mine too.)

I have a job interview on Monday morning. The position involves working with the public, and sort of promoting/representing the company I would be working for (though it isn't direct marketing or promo work). For what it's worth, this is an awesome company and I am comfortable with the staff that I have met there. Also, I had a phone interview this week and the woman said that she was impressed with my resume and my conversational skills (which would be a great skill to have for the job...)

Anyway, I love being bald and I am sure the interview will go smoothly/well, but I do worry about whether or not my bald head will affect my chances of being hired. I have had a few people stare, a few people ask if I'm ill (it probably doesn't help that I'm really pale), and plenty of children point or gape or make funny comments. None of that bothers me, but I'm nervous about the interviewer thinking, Do we really want a bald girl representing the company? I know I can do the job, and I think I could be good at it, but I don't know if they'll think my being bald will affect the company's image.

Should I bring it up when I go for the interview? If so, how? Or is that a terrible idea? I can see it being okay to bring it up if it's small talk as we introduce ourselves and get settled and such... But I can also see it being a weird thing to do.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I realize this is probably a plate of beans question, but I'm hoping you'll humour me and tell me what you would do (or think I should do).

Interview scheduling etiquette?

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:49:05 -0800

Interview etiquette: do I call to follow-up on scheduling an appointment for an interview? I was contacted Tuesday afternoon for a job interview for a dream job, applied for on a whim, while getting on the bus. I asked if I could call back the next day to schedule an interview (because I was getting on the bus!), and hiring manager said that would be fine, no problem.

So that evening, she sent me a follow-up email saying that she would like to schedule an interview Friday afternoon -- but I had my one other interview at the same time! So I wrote back and gave my general availability.. but haven't heard back since Tuesday night (now Thursday afternoon)!

I know sometimes people take a couple days to get back to you with this stuff, but I just hope I didn't mess up by emailing back and not phoning (which I realize now would have been much more efficient)..

Finally my question: should I call to follow up this afternoon (or tomorrow morning, Friday), or would that be more of an annoyance, and down the chances of being hired? I realize this is kind of subjective, but I'm not super experienced with the etiquette here, and would love to hear some other folks' views..

Is it ok to ask for a phone interview rather than face to face if you have a legit reason?

Jason Land — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:05:20 -0800

Is it alright to ask for a phone interview instead of face to face because of the large distance between where I live and a possible job? I applied for a paid internship that's in San Francisco; I'm in San Diego. Here's the link to the job: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/wri/1159720767.html (it may be expiring soon). I put myself down for the Reporting Internship.

If I get called to schedule an interview, do recruiters seriously those who want to do their job interview over the phone seriously?

Last time I did this (I've been trying to get a job and move to SF), I had to book a last minute plane ticket for $220, round trip. I didn't get the job obviously and that impacted my wallet a little harder than I would have liked. I drive a gas guzzler, so I'd save only about $50 if I drive, but I'd have to reschedule/cancel some of my current jobs (free-lance journalism, web copyediting) in order to set aside time for the 8 hour drive.

This company had a call for interns for these exact positions last December. It's a 6 month cycle. I applied then, and when I did a follow-up email just to get an interview, they said that they were busy going through the 300 applications at the time.

I want to beat out those 1 in 75 odds, but I also don't want to drop work and another $160-220 for a long shot. For those of you who have gone through this sort of thing on the other side- collecting applications, sorting through them, making choices on who gets interview and hired, is it in my best interest to just suck it up and go to SF if I get an interview?

Resume screwup--now what?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:32:32 -0800

So I recently managed to score a job interview and offer with a company that offers very nice benefits and pay better than I've seen before. The problem is this: I realized yesterday or so that my resume stated that I graduated with honors when in fact I did not. I would never exaggerate something like that when the fact is that the job doesn't even require a college degree, only a diploma/GED. My college GPA was actually 3.47 and I have transcripts handy should I need to prove it.

This is by no means a spectacular job, but it's the best I've ever had up until now and would mean a lot as far as having health coverage for the first time in years, having good vacation time, etc.

The inclusion of this information was pure (and yes, incredibly stupid) human error--I was working from multiple templates when crafting my resume, trying to make it as optimal as possible. I know that the company is doing a background check which is a condition of my hiring, and I have no idea how to, or even if I should, bring this up to the very kind HR representative who I've been working with.

I'm scared. This is the first chance I've had for a reasonable job with a company of any stature (previous employment was as an RA in college, retail after college, and some work with a nonprofit agency) and I don't know if this will be an issue or not. I didn't intentionally lie about this but to try to correct it now might bring attention to the fact that I let something so ridiculous get by me when I'm claiming to have a good attention to detail (I normally do).

The interviewer did mention the honors thing in our interview but I was so stressed and spooked about it that I let it slide at the time (this was probably a mistake, I know).

Is there any good way to resolve this? Should I even try? Have I blown it completely and is it best just to keep looking and move on? Will the background check even be that extensive or will they just confirm my graduation?

I've been tearing my hair out for what feels like forever and I won't know about the background check until at least later this week. There was also a drug test but I have no worries on that front.

Any and all advice appreciated. Thanks, MeFi.

Help me not look like Gordon Gekko

martens — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:54:40 -0800

What tie should I pair with this shirt? I'm going in for a job interview tommorow, and I own literally no ties. I'll be wearing the linked shirt, navy blue slacks, and a brown belt and shoes (right? Don't wear black with navy?). The tie combos suggested on the Ralph Lauren site seem pretty horrid to me, like something an investment banker from an 80s movie would wear. I'm willing to spend a little extra cash if I have to, but I'd prefer something modestly priced.

(Side question: the interview is for an ad sales position at an alternative weekly newspaper in a big, liberal city. Am I overdoing it?)

Help me cram for a sports proficiency test!

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:38:58 -0800

Help me cram for a sports proficiency test! I am interviewing for a tech job at a major sports network. Before I get my foot in the door for the tech interview, I have a phone interview for sports knowledge. I am qualified for the job, tech-wise, and have worked for a sports network before.

I am in the NY metro area and my favorite sport is hockey. I know basics--a touchdown is 6 points, I can describe icing, etc.; but I don't follow teams or stay current, know who was in the playoffs, or anything like that. I don't have a TV so watching sportscenter is out.

Anyone else been in this position? Any suggestions for websites, study strategies?

Or general tips for directing the conversation to my strengths...?

Thank you.

helpsports@gmail.com for more info

Post Interview Note dilemma, who to send thank you note to?

Anonymous — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:22:14 -0800

Post Interview Note dilemma: Second interview, two people interviewed me, but I only got the first name of one of them. What's next? I interviewed with two people. One gave me their business card, the other just told me his first name. I'd like to send thank you notes to both, but aside from only getting the first name, its also a name that could be spelled different ways. I tried the company's automated phone directory for the company with the variants of spelling his name, and did get a single match, but I'm not sure if its the right person, or the spelling of the last name.

Any personal follow up at: askmethankyou@gmail.com

Third time's the charm?

corey flood — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:24:27 -0800

I have been called back for a third interview for a job I really want. Seven people have already interviewed me. What on earth could be left to ask? Because this job is for a school district, and is technically a government post, the questions I've been asked so far have come from a list that the interviewers use for each candidate. In the second interview, they asked several of the same questions that they had in the first (there were a few different people interviewing me, so they probably wanted to hear my answers.) So far I've been asked technical questions, given several scenarios to "solve," and have had to reiterate twice why I want this job. And I really, really want this job.

Third interviews are evidently very rare for this post. If you had to decide between two people who were both well-qualified, what would make one stand out more than the other? I can't imagine that this interview is going to be wildly different from the other two. Have you ever been on the interviewer's side of this situation? What were you looking for?

So what do academics interviews consist of?

Mutant — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:37:40 -0800

What to expect at an interview for an academic teaching post? As a follow up to this question regarding changing my CV to pursue another teaching post (I already have a part time slot teaching at the Masters level), I've got my first interview tomorrow. The specific job is Lecturer in Econometrics at a UK University.

Great news, but I don't know what to expect. Corporate interviews are no problem, done hundreds of them in my time, from both sides of the desk.

But academic? I have no idea. A clue is they'd like me to bring along and present a lecture of my choise suitable at the Masters level, and that's fine. It's a one hour interview and they expect the presentation to take up twenty minutes, and I plan to approach this part of the interview as an actual lecture, complete with me asking the "students" (interviewers) questions, peppering the presentation with historical market anecdotes relevant to the topic we're discussing, etc.

Before and after that? I'm sure pleasantries, brief review of my CV, a cuppa & some biscuits, discussion of my previous lecturing experience (two years, four terms in front of the class), talking about my current academic assignment, some bitching about the rotten English weather and what else can I / should I expect?

I never get nervous at these things, regard them more as an opp to meet some (hopefully) interesting people, score some free eats and nothing more. But the more I know about what to expect the better things will go. TIA for any help!

Immature party animal or unstable mental patient?

Anonymous — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:06:43 -0800

My first job interview is coming up and I'm wondering which is the lesser of two evils to disclose. The facts:
I retook my first year at uni three times, every year I took a few exams and passed those, but it took me three years to go to the second year. I passed the second, third and fourth year without problems and graduated cum laude.

The truth:
I fell into a depression, got treatment in the form of medication and therapy and managed to climb out of it and face the issues I had to face. My university was well aware of the situation and helped me enormously. I'm European, so there were no healthcare provider issues to worry about, they paid the largest part of my medication bill.

I'm fairly confident I won't relapse, as the reason for my depression was dealing with the fact I've been sexually abused for several years by a close family member. This is not something I want to disclose, as you will probably understand.
However, without disclosing this, the prospective employer could likely think there's a great chance of relapse, find me an unstable person, have a negative feeling about me, etc. (Of course, this stigma is completely bollocks, just suggesting what they could be thinking.)

The lie:
When people ask me about the reason of those wasted years, I always tell them that I was brought up in a very strict environment, that I enjoyed the independence and freedom of living alone at uni, and became quite a party animal. Quite understandably, after the first two failed years, my parents wouldn't pay fully for my education anymore, realised I had to be more serious and mature, got my act together, found a student job, paid the largest part of that year myself and passed.

This is all true, although I only did party for the first few months in the first year. But I did actually get a job and paid the largest part of the third year. Of course, my friends all know the truth about my depression, so I only tell this version of the facts to people I don't know that well.
However, the prospective employer could think I'm immature, not dependable, etc.

As an aside, I don't have any moral problems with lying about this and I'm a good liar, so I know I can pull this lie off without accidently slipping.

When asked directly about those wasted years, what should I tell them?
I know there's also a chance this subject won't come up, so you don't have to reassure me. I just want to know what the best answer would be, if asked directly.

Throwaway email account: askmehelpme at gmail dot com

velvet glove for the iron fist?

lalalana — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:18:42 -0800

Help my friend not be misperceived so that she can get a job! My friend is super smart, very industrious, a wonderful team member but... makes faces and has a certain demeanor that makes people think that she has, as one person put it, "an attitude problem." This label is TOTALLY NOT deserved, but I do understand why people might get this impression. What can she do to ensure that she comes off as more "likable" in a job interview? She kind of looks at you like a quizzical pug dog saying "WHAT? YOU CRAZY!" It's actually really cute when you know her... She's hilarious, always honest, very considerate. You just have to learn how to read her. She's not even aspergersish or whatever... she gets people... it just takes them a week or so to get her.

Sometimes, though, she's a bit blunt. I've worked with her, and have had to do some "translating" for outsiders so that her valuable ideas are heard in the light that they need to be. Plus, she has two degrees from Ivy League type schools, so that might add to the presumed air of superiority, etc.

I've seen give presentations where she didn't come off this way at all. But she says she can't really control it. She says that in the past, when she's tried too hard to be nice at interviews, it comes off as fake and weird.

Can anyone offer any concrete tips to help her ace job interviews? She's going on the market this summer. Unfortunately, her skill set is such that "interpersonal skills" will probably be a hiring criteria. She has them... just not at first.

First Shot at Full-Time Librarianship

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:08:51 -0800

Attention Librarians (preferably of the public variety): PLEASE help me not blow my best shot at my first full-time Adult Services gig! Long explanation inside, sorry... I love my current job as a reference librarian at a small public library (my first job out of library skool, been there two years now). Trouble is, it's only half time, and the job market in this town is super-tight. After searching for supplementary work elsewhere in vain, I reluctantly began to apply for full-time positions that would require me to relocate.

So I recently got a phone interview for a great opportunity in a much less-saturated job market few states over. The phone interview went swell, from my perspective, and I got a call back the next day for a second interview. They're paying my way to have me out, putting me up in a room, etc. The position sounds great-- it's right up my alley, I'm experienced in the right ways, pay is good and benefits are great, and the system, its director, and my prospective boss seem awesome. It's also much closer to my family. In short, I'd love to take the job.

I really want to shine in this face-to-face interview. I know the second interview tends to be more about demonstrating how you'd fit in with your prospective colleagues (right?), but as a half-timer I'm a little intimidated. While I'm confident in my abilities and my experience as far as they go right now, I want to show that I'm ready and able to hit the ground running full-time.

Also-- in addition to launching a full-time career, I'd also be moving into a differently-structured system. Current library system: about 25 small branches, with one big main library and a separate administrative entity. My branch is funded almost completely by our small town, is autonomously run by our branch's director, and our focus is on just the community our branch serves. Prospective library system: much smaller-- only three branches of roughly equal size, county funded, all three branch managers under the direct control of the system director, and the focus is on MLS librarians from each branch forming inter-library committees to get most of the system stuff done.

While I like the prospect of the different setup, I want to make sure I'm up to par on best practices, preparatory readings, etc. I do all the typical stuff now: read the literature, go to professional development workshops, go to conferences, etc.; I guess I just want to stand the best chance against the other two candidates, about whom I know nothing.

Finally, I'm not worried about the collegiality piece during the interview; I consistently get praise from employers that I'm engaging, respectful, and diplomatic in my relations at work. I'm really looking for the rest of the puzzle, some "read this!" or "here's what helped me!" tidbits.

So career public librarians: what can you tell me? I have about a week to put my best foot forward, so thanks for any advice in advance!

It's hard out here for a temp.

Metroid Baby — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:22:07 -0800

I’ve been at my current job – as a temp – for over a year. I want and need a more permanent job, but I’m concerned that my temp status might look bad to prospective employers. It was supposed to be temp-to-perm, and after ninety days they would hire me. It’s been more like four hundred days. Since then, I’ve had a decent (though not stellar) annual review and several promises of “oh, we are definitely planning on hiring you, but it’ll be another month or two/we’re having a hiring freeze/we’re talking to so-and-so and we’ll let you know.” Nothing concrete. It doesn’t help that nearly half my department started here after I did, and nearly all are permanent employees (some started as temps from the same agency, in positions identical to mine). So I strongly suspect that they’re not really planning on bringing me on permanently. I’ve been periodically asking my supervisors for updates on hiring, but I’m worried that if I badger them too much they’ll let me go entirely.

Ideally I would like to stay at my current job and be a full-time employee, but I’m growing less and less confident that this is a possibility. So I’m thinking it’s time for me to search elsewhere. It shouldn’t be too hard for me to find a similar position with full benefits at another company, provided I invest a good amount of energy in my job hunt, but I’m worried that “I’m a temp” will give hiring managers pause. It came up during an interview I had last summer, and I didn’t handle it well. I know it will come up again.

Is it necessary to reveal temp status up front? Is it as much of a red flag as I fear it is? How can I talk about it during interviews and still make myself look good?

(And am I right in thinking that permanent employment at my current company is pretty much a lost cause?)

How long does it take to become good at conducting job interviews?

crazycanuck — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:12:36 -0800

How long does it take to become good at conducting job interviews (as an interviewer)? Lately, I've been conducting job interviews at work. I've interviewed three candidates in the last month or so. I suck at this. Please help me.

I am one person on a circuit of interviewers. I am not the hiring manager (my boss is). The candidate would be hired as my peer.

My job is to ask questions assessing whether candidates have the day-to-day skills required to do my job. The problem is, all three candidates I have interviewed are switching careers. I always get them to talk about how they developed past projects that were similar (which they submitted to show aptitude), but they just bomb out on the questions that I ask because they are unfamiliar with the framework we use to do the job in a professional capacity.

Once the candidate bombs a question, I get really thrown off. I have no idea how to interview career changers and how to try to tease out whether or not somebody is likely to be able to learn our framework.

I also bungle interview timing. I tend to get to the end of the alloted time without having asked questions about some areas of interest. I can't put my finger on where or how I get off-track.

All three of the interviewees also asked me at various points in the interview "what are you getting at". I guess people are trying to figure out what I want to hear.

I leave the interviews feeling like I didn't really ask the right questions to figure out whether or not this person has the aptitude to learn the skills we need. I'm left making a hire/no hire recommendation based on a gut instinct for "team fit" than anything else.

I know about behavioural based interviewing but I don't know how to ask probing questions. I usually follow up with one or two questions, but I don't think that I really get to the bottom of an issue.

So, how do I learn how to do this? How do I practice interviewing without running the risk of making/recommending bad hires? Do you know of good books or resources that can help me? And how many job interviews did you do before you felt comfortable with the process? Thanks

Interview questions for intranet content manager position

hootch — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:25:40 -0800

I've been asked to do a short job interview with some candidates for an intranet content manager position. I've never been on that side of the interview table before and need some help coming up with good questions to ask. I'm a web developer for the site and they've asked me to do a 5-15 minute interview with each candidate to gauge their tech savvy and compatibility with me, since the person will end up working with me quite a bit. The position is mostly about writing news articles for the site and supervising other publishers' work on the site to make sure their pages fit within the guidelines for the site. They also have a hand in guiding the development of the site as far as new initiatives, selecting which feature requests get developed, etc. We have a publishing system where they use Word to create content for the site, so they won't need to know HTML or anything, but they can't be completely clueless about technology either. What would be some good questions to ask to gauge their general technology knowledge?

The only question I've been able to come up with is asking them to give an example of how they currently use the Internet that might be a bit out of the ordinary ("I store all my address and phone number information in Yahoo Address book so I can access it from anywhere while only maintaining it in one place" vs. "I use it to check my e-mail.").

Entry Level Editing

EatTheWeak — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:33:08 -0800

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with an editor at the local newspaper to get some information on what they look for in employees. I was hoping the web's finest Hive Mind would have some thoughts on how to squeeze the maximum benefit out of tomorrow's encounter. Earlier this week, tired of not quite knowing how to proceed with my career, I decided to call up a bunch of the local businesses that I'm keen to work for to find out what they're after in employees. This included the local daily newspaper, where I left a message with the editor in charge of the layout and copy-editing departments. Of all the potential jobs at a newspaper, it is these two areas that interest me most.

Today, the editor was nice enough to call me back. I told her the purpose of my call, and to my great surprise and delight, she invited me to come meet with her in person tomorrow.

This isn't quite a job interview, of course, just a chance to get some good information from a professional. That said, my aim is to find living wage employment in a field that interests me. So, here's what I'm wondering - what can I do during this meeting tomorrow to make an impression on this editor, and perhaps even squeeze out a job offer? Aside from the usual interview etiquette and a clean appearance, what would catch the eye of the average editor? At the very least, I would like her to have a fond memory of our meeting, so she'll remember my name when she sees it on a resume in a few months.

The meager experience and education I hope to trade upon tomorrow is as follows -

One year with a small town weekly paper, reporting on matters banal as notable local flower gardens and grave as the shooting death of a Sheriff's Deputy. I was also responsible for the weekly police reports and taking photographs. The bad news is that my clippings from this time have gotten lost in the course of a couple cross-country moves.

High marks in my college journalism course, and a great deal of responsibility for the student paper. I wrote news articles, editorials, supplied the cartoons and served as copy-editor. You could have called that paper the EatTheWeekly.

Training and experience as an English tutor, with all the burrowing through The Elements of Style that comes with it.

Thank you so much for any thoughts you might have to offer.

How should I dress for my interview?

needs more cowbell — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:30:30 -0800

How should I dress when interviewing for a job as a veterinary technician? If I were interviewing for an office job, I'd dress formally, but that seems like a strange choice for a job where I'd most certainly be dressing for comfort and practicality if hired. Would it be okay to wear a polo shirt with jeans or khaki capris and sneakers?

There's also the reality that the interviews are -at- veterinary offices and there's a nonzero chance that I'd get formal clothes dirty/covered with cat or dog hair/etc.

Piggyback question if you'll indulge me: is it true that if a job listing doesn't specify "no calls" it's good/OK to call to follow up a few days after sending your resume by fax or email?

Why am I looking to change jobs... OK, here goes.

azpenguin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:31:23 -0800

My wife is dusting off her resume and getting ready to stop by a few local businesses. But there's one job interview question she's not sure how to handle: "Why are you looking to leave your current job?" She's been at this job for about 16 months. It's been good to her; it's helped her break into the field. She's worked her ass off too; she has always taken a lot of pride in her work. The reason she is looking to leave is the owner's management style. More specifically, because he doesn't have one. He hires people that walk in the door, with no interview, which has resulted in bad hire after bad hire. He has not taken any disciplinary action against anyone the entire time she has been there. No one knows what hours they will work form one day to the next; one week she might get 25 hours and the next week 70. People are choosing what work they will and will not do. Meanwhile, the place is always dirty, because no one is cleaning (which is their job) and no one's holding their feet to the fire to do it. She can't take care of the place by herself, and she's grown very tired of trying to do so. She also suspects that this business will not be around for a terribly long time with the way it is being run. But, you really can't lay out a litany of things like this in a job interview. What should she say when they ask her why she wants to leave her current job?

Defending my depression

electriccynic — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:08:44 -0800

How do I defend my mild depression against a HR Director? I've signed a contract for my new dream job, except the HR Director wants to see me quite urgently over the medical questionniare, in which I disclosed my very mild history of mild depression. (a diagnosis I sought on a whim really so I could get these happy pills. They don't do much either way but I just kept taking them because... well, it can't do any harm can it?)

What can I say to the HR Director to assuage her fears? The job's in the UK media, so I'm surprised it's such an issue for them.

Job Interview for my First Postdoc - help!

TheOtherGuy — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:04:55 -0800

I have just finished my PhD (Biochemistry) and will shortly be having a job interview for my first postdoctoral position. What can I expect in the interview? Any advice? i am a pretty confident person, and I would like to think I am pretty articulate about science. But I really don't know what questions I can expect to be asked in my interview. I have a phone interview for a position in a research group in the UK.

I find that meetings and interviews are generally a little less structured in science, so I guess it really depends on who is conducting the interview - hence the difficulty in knowing what to expect! Naturally I have looked into the background of the lab, even speaking to past and current members (at the recommendation of my potential boss), so questions about the science itself are fine. But what can I expect to be asked about my suitability as a person and a worker, and medium to long-term career goals?

So have any Mefites been in a similar situation? What questions were you asked for your research position? what advice would you give?

Thank you in advance!

Interviewing for a job with another offer already out there

apple scruff — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:11:46 -0800

I was offered a job that starts next week. I have an interview tomorrow for a job I'd rather have. How should I approach this during the interview? When it rains, it pours.

After not working for a while, I was just offered a contract job with one company. They want me to start at the end of next week. I have accepted the offer, but tomorrow I have an interview for a full-time job that I would much rather have. I am not sure how long they would take to make the decision, but I am wondering how, or if, I should mention that I need an answer as soon as possible about my prospects with the company.

Some additional info: the job I'm interviewing for is an entry-level position for a smaller company and I believe there's only one round of interviews. I'm also fairly confident that I will be offered the position (I'm not sure, of course, but my general feeling is one of positivity). Advice, personal anecdotes, and anything else helpful or interesting would be appreciated. Thanks :)

Need me some writin' samples.

juliplease — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:36:25 -0800

I need two writing samples for a job interview today but I only have one. The interview is at 4 EST and I found out about it at 11. They requested that I bring along 2 writing samples. I have a business letter sample (a recommendation I wrote for a colleague's grad school application) that I'm comfortable submitting. However, I just moved and I don't have anything else. I have no college writing on this computer and everything else is in transit. I realize now that I should have just said all of this on the phone but such is life; I don't think calling back and explaining now will come across very well.

I did write jacket copy for a few published books, but it's very niche writing and I'd have to buy the books this afternoon. Should I purchase the books or just generate an entirely new paper on... something... this morning?

The position is a new one at an Internet start-up-ish company. The samples they requested are supposed to demonstrate "outstanding communication skills".