Job Seekers thread Mark 2

[CaptainCrunch]

Interview presearch

Ok, so you treat your search like a job, send out 20 or 30 resumes a day. Then out of the blue you get a call or an email. "Hey so and so, we've seen your application and would like to talk to you, we have a space on x day with x person. We look forward to talking to you."

First of all, its ok to treat this like a triumph, like I've said before this is a unique market. Its hyper competitive, and a lot of businesses aren't completely committed to hiring at the moment, and this is where some frustration lies with candidates. They get interviews, and then they progress, and then suddenly they get told about hiring delays, or freezes or unforeseen business circumstances etc.

I don't have anything positive to say about that. In the old days we used to call recruiting a contact sport, now its a collision sport.

Anyways do your quick fist pump, feel good for a second, and have a smoke. Then its time to work on prep.

First of all, realize that the first interview isn't usually all that deep, its usually handled by a recruiter, or by a person in HR, its rare that you're talking to a key decision maker. In other words the first interview is another filter to reduce those 10 applicants down to 3 or 4 because to be honest, the hiring person doesn't have the time or energy to do 10 interviews, then 3 more, then negotiate deals.

So, you're stuck with a recruiter that's looking at check points against the job description and other filters, or a HR person doing the same thing.

BTW I'm going to swerve to the side of the road and rant for a moment. Modern hiring processes are a pet peeve for me. Instead of the old, 2 interviews to offer and a fairly robust and quick hiring cycle. Its now usually a long draggy process with multiple interviews and tests and home work assignments.

I get it, I do, not only has hiring and on boarding become extremely expensive in terms of selection and on boarding, companies are extremely paranoid about hiring failures and the counterfeit candidate, and recruiters are paranoid about enacting guarantees or worse yet losing a client due to a hiring misfire.

At the same time, a hiring source shouldn't be a source of frustration to a candidate or create a negative first impression for a candidate, conversely any relationship cannot be built on suspicion. Ok, rant off.

First of all now that you have a interview its time to add on to your research. Do a deep dive into the company that you're interview with. Of course this is based on role and level. But knowledge is power.

It used to be that you could dive into a companies website and get the 10,000 foot view of the company that you're interviewing with. You should still do that, but also dive into their other social media platforms. These are essential because you need to get your headspace around the concept of double blind. Not only are they interviewing you, but in reality you have the right to interview them and decide if this is an organization that you want to join.


Twitter is great in terms of seeing how serious their marketing efforts are, Facebook can give you a link into the companies potential culture. LinkedIn is another great tool because you can again see their marketing strategy, but get a sense of the who's who in the zoo and where you're interviewer ranks in the organization.

If you're talking to a publicity traded company its a huge bonus, you can get at their posted annual reports and press releases. Why is it important? Because it can give you an idea of the reason for hire. Is it a company with explosive growth? Is it a company that's stagnated or seeing reduced revenue. These are important questions to try to answer because it allows you to put bullets in your magazine for later.

At the same time, I always will google their product or service to see if there are reviews available and how positive on negative they are. These reviews will range from actually resource reviews from the industry, you can also see if they have a positive or negative customer base. Remember you have a right to decide what kind of situation you're heading into.

On top of it, Glass door is a great resource. First of all because you can look at almost a day in the life of the company. Employee reviews, interview feedback from former candidates are all great tools. If there are lots of interview reviews in glass door, you can start formulating your interview strategies.

Now here I want to split things up.

There is a difference between a recruiter review and an internal asset review.

A recruiter review is definitely a filter interview. Most recruiters on the first interview will work off of a call guide. These call guides will list questions and progressions. If I ask this and say this stop the interview type of questions. Beware of those pitfalls, they're not hard to anticipate those questions and plan your answers.

If its an internal asset interview, they tend to be a little more free flowing and in depth, the internal person will have a more detailed feel for the type of recruit they're looking for and they have a distinct feel for the companies culture and requirements so the questions could be distinctly different from a recruiter review. Still beware, its still a filter interview. The intent again to get from let's say 10 resume's down to 3. Expect these interviews to be a little more free flowing.

Now here's another thing that's important. absolutely research the person that you're interviewing with. If they're in LinkedIn and attached to the company, how long they've been there. Are they a junior or senior role. You can use this to formulate later questions.

If its a recruiter do a quick review of the firm they're with, it will tell you everything about their interview process, what questions they might ask and how good they are in terms of setting benchmarks and next steps and sticking to them.

Once you have done you're health dose of research, its time to whip out the job description and go through and compare and contrast. A job description looks entirely different if you know if a company is in growth mode, if they have a positive public face or a negative reputation.

Then take the job description and do a quick bit of research on the industry understanding of the role, again google is your friend. You can quickly compare and contrast the job description to the expectations of the roles, this can add on to your questions.

Once you've done this, take some time and sit down and put yourself in the recruiter or interviewers role. Start writing down questions that you would ask. Range your questions from the mundane, tell me about yourself, to the detailed, tell me about your experience doing XYZ, why did you leave these companies. Tell me about your salary range. You might not be asked these questions but it good to have contingencies so they don't take you by surprise.

Ok, I know the above sounds like a ton of work, but think of it this way

1) Practice makes perfect, as you keep doing this with your searches you'll get tremendously effective at it. You can also discard unimportant aspects of it.

2) This primary research means that as you progress along your research becomes easier, as your filling the holes instead of planting the lawn.

Practice, Practice Practice.

I can't tell you how many people I've interviewed that are clearly nervous about the interview. Its natural, don't worry about it, however the most important thing in an interview is that you sound confident and relaxed and most importantly not desperate.

So practice is important. Its ok to ask a favor from a friend or a family member. ask them to help you with a mock interview. You've created a list of expected questions. you've got a job description, ask them to interview you. In fact ask them to be a complete jerk in the mock interview, ask them to try to knock you off balance, to dig in on questions, tell them not to do bizarre questions ie if you were an animal what would you be. But get them to ask you questions off of your resume and the job description and your questions script. Ask them to ask the brutal questions. Why did you leave this company? Why have you had so many jobs? What did you like about this job? What ground your gears with this job.

A mock interview should be harder then the real thing. One of the best things that you can do by the way is record the mock interview so you can review it later. It sucks people hate recordings of themselves. But you're not as much looking for the technical aspects of the answer as much as how you sound. Do you hesitate, take a long time between answers, inadvertently use things like, like and um. Did you sound prepared. Did you sound psychotic or robotic.

Then thank your friend or family member and promise them a nice lunch when you get the job.

Again I know this sounds like a lot of work, and normally you could get away with it, but in the hyper competitive market your willingness to prepare and practice can really separate you from the pack.

Then last but not least, the night before the interview and the day of the interview until about an hour before. Relax, don't think about it all that much if you can. you're fully prepared, you have your research, you know who your talking to, and you have a rough idea of what you're going to be asked.

Tomorrow the interview. The pitfalls and the insanity that can occur if you lose control.

[ah123]

I am trying to get a sense of the market for IT business analysts. I have a term position right now, and there is a chance it might become permanent. I can’t really say that I like this job, but it is a pay cheque.

I see a lot of postings on Indeed and LinkedIn, but that doesn’t mean anything...

Anyone have any insight what is happening in the BA market?

[FLAMESRULE]

Great writeups CC. It truly is a very strange and unnerving time in the job market.

I'd suggest anyone looking for new position to take CC up on any future offers of resume/CV reviews. I had some great feedback as we were both going through our searches and hopefully helped CC out on working with startups.

After the O+G producer I worked at sold last January it's taken me 13 months to finally land a new role, start end of Feb. It's a major change as I've transitioned out of O+G and into Renewables so I'm super excited.

But...it will have it's challenges. The biggest is really changing the expectation for total comp. I've taken about a 35% base pay cut, alot less "perks", different ethos (which I am very happy about), etc.

Couple other points that helped me.
1- Really work with your network, you never know who could help out.
2- Upgrade skills through a MOOC (EdX/Coursera etc). This helped me.
3- Reach out to orgs in your industry (or adjacent/similar industry) for any mentoring opportunities, builds the network
4- Join at least a few webinars a week. Again, helps build networks, meet new companies, understand the market and whats hot/coming/changing etc.
5- Job postings go in spurts...roll with it. I had about a 10% response rate (PFO's) and at best a 1% interview rate. So keep the expectations in check if you're not getting a warm intro/lead.
6- Be yourself and be honest in any interview. This took me a while to get, but at the start I was trying to be the employee I thought they wanted and not getting offers. For the job I finally landed I was completely relaxed and myself, and was honest enough to tell the President that I didnt think a certain idea was very good and outlined why knowing full well that she had started a company using this production method. She was a bit taken aback but in the 2nd interview she said that was why I was getting an offer. She liked my personality from a team perspective and that I was honest.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by ah123

I am trying to get a sense of the market for IT business analysts. I have a term position right now, and there is a chance it might become permanent. I can’t really say that I like this job, but it is a pay cheque.

I see a lot of postings on Indeed and LinkedIn, but that doesn’t mean anything...

Anyone have any insight what is happening in the BA market?

I'm an IT PM and I think both markets are somewhat similar. There are A LOT of us available in the market and a lot of us applying for any posting therefore companies can be ultra-selective. They can likely get more experienced people for less money, which may or may not be a good thing for them long term.

I know fantastic BAs who are in similar roles to you or in a role that isn't their dream gig, but it is a job. I think one needs to be happy with what one can get right now and as long as they aren't hell to work for, asking unethical practices, or the stress isn't unbearable, riding things out for a year is prudent. I think everyone is hopeful end of year/post vaccines things stabilize a bit.

By all means, keep an eye out as there is nothing wrong with applying and hopefully interviewing just to stay connected with the market and to stay sharp.

[CaptainCrunch]

Haven't had a chance to write the interview segment, I was going to do it this weekend when I have more time.

[CaptainCrunch]

Next up, I want to talk about interviews. To put this in a bit perspective, over the last 2 months I've been involved in a project that involved hiring 300 Case Workers and Contact Tracers for AHS, so I've shaken off some of the rust over my interviewing skills. I'm also going to try to give a perspective from both the view point of the Interviewer and Applicant. I'm also doing this as a general interview guide, I'm not going to split this into first and second interviews. I just want to get a general over view out there.

In terms of the interviewer, I have different goals for different interviews. In the first interview I'm looking for red flags and strong reasons to move you on to the next round. In the second interview I'm not as much looking for red flags as comparatives between the two finalists. In order to do that I'm really going to try to create a discussion that allows specific comparable points between the candidates.

Everything that I do in an interview is to measure you in terms of three categories. Skills Knowledge and Behavior

1) Skills - Do you have the specific skills that we're looking for to fill the role. How do you fit in comparison to the Job Description that I've been given.

2) Knowledge - What's your knowledge base in comparison to the knowledge requirements of the role. That includes, proven knowledge and educational levels.

3) Behavior - Will you fit into our corporate culture, or are you a potential disruption. Can you get along not only with whoever is managing you, but also the people that you might be managing or working with. This is not about how good natured you are, Or even specifically around your work ethic. A organization is usually very strategic based on the culture that they've established. It allows them to easily define the type of people that they want to walk through the door every morning and stay.

Now as an applicant. You are also interviewing and evaluating the company. You have an absolute right to dig for red flags of your own as long as your somewhat strategic around it.

So how do you prepare? We talked about this earlier, break down the job description, you can usually pull a lot of information around the holy trinity of Skills, Knowledge and Behavior. Usually a job description will talk about the company and what it offers, the specific duties of the role, and the knowledge, experience and educational requirements that you need to have to be a successful candidate. Usually when I'm preparing I tend to break down the job description by those descriptors. and then start guessing at the questions that they might ask so I can go back into my resume and frame my answers and stories.

Pre-planning means a lot of guessing, but if you can put yourself into a position to have an idea of the line of questions, you will be a lot more relaxed and thoughtful in your answers. Now what you want to do with your answers is create the examples or stories.

Here's a helpful hint. Recruiters and interviewers aren't all that innovative. Like you they prepare their questions, however the especially dangerous interviewers will innovate around how they present the question.

For example, you might get a question that's framed as

1) I see you have a lot of sales experience in the software field, tell me about that?

Then you go on a long winded story about your experience.

A good recruiter will frame the question around specifics of the job description and the skills, knowledge and behaviors.

2) This role requires you to have a strong level of sales experience with technology or software. Why don't you talk to me about your experience and where you were successful and where you struggled? Its a blatant question designed to knock you off guard.

So here's my pointer to every question.

Try to make the question specific. don't be afraid to frame your answer before you start diving in.

Well Mr Jones, I have a lot of experience in both areas, but I noticed in your company profile that you have a strong emphasis around this product. Its very similar to my work in XYZ where I . . . . I was very successful in terms of exceeding my target. I will admit that one aspect was a big of a struggle, but I overcame it doing this and I saw these results.

You've disarmed it by giving them what they want, but keeping control of the narrative and not letting him or her dig in to what you're not saying.

Ok, I know I'm going in different directions. But the other question that I love to ask are basically role playing questions.

A example of this is

In this role you're doing all of your work over the phone. This is different then in person meetings, so tell me how you'd gain trust, with a potential client over the phone and start building a selling relationship?

This is a pit fall question, that's why your prep is important and you need to plan for specific theoretical or role playing questions. Too many people know this is coming and don't prepare and go into a rambling answer that shows that they're not a good behavior and skills fit.

If you've prepared and guessed on the type of role plays that could happen you can answer the question like.

In these jobs a primary part of my day to day activity was connecting with prospects and clients over the phone, and I could usually convert xtz% to a client. I did that by and then describe what the steps are.

Again I want to emphasize that role play questions are deadly because I can compare you with every other candidate and their answers.

The other deadly question is based around the open ended question that leaves the narrative to you. Its a live hand grenade.

So examples of that. "I want to learn a little bit more about you. Tell me about yourself?". You have a lot of experience in our field which is exciting, what drew you into the field? What was your favorite role etc?"

They want to test your communication skills and critical thinking. Absolutely frame the discussion with a question.

Tell me about yourself? What do you want to know? What drew you into the field? That's a broad question, where would you like me to start?

This way instead of going into a rambling life story you can be succinct and hit points that relate to your understanding of the organization, the skills, knowledge and behavior, and be able to give linked answers to your high points.

The tell me about the time and how you dealt with it, are also deadly redflag questions. "Tell me about the time when you weren't happy with a co workers results" "Talk to me about a time when you weren't as successful in a previous job as you thought you would be".

Too many people are glib about answering these questions. Or use a fairly generic response. "I kicked his a$$ and made him fly right". "I didn't hit my sales quota and I decided to change my script, work harder". Before your interview try to map out these questions. They're not hard, create an answer that links back to real work examples.

The other tactic that I used was basically when a applicant talks about his superstar appeal, mega star performance is simple. "That's really awesome, which company was that at? Do you mind if we talk to your former supervisor about that?". This is what we call hammering a counterfeit candidate. I will often try to dig out at least two different check points on this. Why? Because the common answer is, we'll that manager doesn't work there anymore. Two managers that could back up the superstar answer that aren't working for two distinctive companies is a red flag. Telling me that they wouldn't be comfortable or their named person wouldn't be comfortable is a red flag. This is why when your answering questions, its really important to be honest, don't exaggerate and be a bit humble. The 60's and the day and age of the BS interview are over.

Ok. So now you've got a chance to show your knowledge, interest and vetting skills. Have questions around the company and the interviewer. I tend to ask a lot of questions.

"Is this role a new role or a replacement?" "What happened to the person that was doing this role?".

"What do you like about working here?" "If you could change one thing here what would it be?" (You'd be amazed at how honest interviewers are if you've established a good dialogue. "Talk to me about your sweet spot client?" "I've looked at some of your marketing, what do you do to help bring qualified prospects in". (By the way, if they say its all cold calling, I'm outtie). "Talk to me about your onboarding process?" etc etc. This shows prep and interest, and it also allows you to control the end narration which is crucial.

So what happens if they suddenly pop into the compensation discussion? Its a deadly and tough question. Lets be honest, they have a range in mind. Its in the hidden part of the job description that you don't see. Its a range with a preferable pay and a extreme high end only to be paid to a high caliber candidate.

Don't blurt anything out, don't be afraid to ask what they're thinking in terms of a range, and if you're asking that, shut the heck up immediately after, you've lobbed that grenade back into their court. If he or she pushes for a range. Use your research. "Well Bob, I did a little bit of due diligence, for the role your looking for, I've seen a range of this to this. I've also earned this in similar roles in terms of total compensation. Is this in the range that you're thinking of for this role? They will honestly answer that. Don't convoluted the discussion though by diving into total compensation discussions, its nebulous and can trip you up. This is the one big question that can be disarmed through research, and understanding the industry that you're diving into.

So you get to the end. The interviewer thanks you for your time. You hang up and walk out the door, and pump your fist. Nailed it. Nope, you've been successfully bounced.

Most importantly, at the end of the interview you should do a few things.

If you like the job, restate it and why and how it matches to your skills, knowledge and behavior. Then ask a probing question "Is there anything that we missed talking about that you really wish you'd asked?". "How do you feel about the fit between me and the role?" Don't be afraid to ask. I want to emphasize that interviewing is a sales task not a get to know you task. As an interviewer I want the applicant to try to find a way to close me, or make me feel better about passing you through or just passing on you.

Make absolutely sure that you ask for next steps and timelines. And ask for the right to touch base or communicate with the interviewer. Too many people that I've coached don't do this because they're scare to look pushy.



The below is actually a communication with a friend of mind that I had last week, and he found out yesterday that he was out of the running.


"How did your interview go?"
"Awesome I nailed it"
"Great what happens next?"
"He said he'd call me in a couple of weeks when they're done interviews"
"Oh ... and?"
"He told me that he enjoyed our conversation"


90% chance that you're not getting through.


Every interviewer has next steps, every one, especially for the person that really nailed it so they can fight the market for him or her. So while you're waiting for a call, that candidate has submitted references, probably done a home work assignment, gone to to police for a background check, done a second interview and been offered. You might hear back if the other candidate falls through, but more then likely you won't.

Also, make sure you get contact points. I had one gentlemen. "Nailed it." "Great you should send him a thank you email, and call him in a few days." "Oh I don't have Doug's contact points. Doug who, maybe we can look him up?" Well, you get where this is going.

The question of homework - Most interviewers will at some point give you a home work assignment. Hey solve these problems. Take these on line profiles, Do a action plan of your first 30 days. Whatever. Its common and again it allows me to filter people and look for terminal redflags. For some, doing psychometric profiles, whatever cool. But indepth homework, I will usually push back as much as I can, I won't usually do them without either pushing for a next steps, or at least asking why, especially given my verifiable skills and knowledge. I stupidly did a whole plan to help a company with their marketing last year. I didn't get the job, but I sure see some of my ideas in action. It pissed me off.

The last question, the matter of dress and appearance. I'm old school, Since I have one chance at an impression, I also believe in showing a level of professionalism so I'll dress one level above based on company profile. If they're business casual, I'm casual formal ie sports coat, tie. If they're casual formal, I'm in a suit. Part of my research to be honest for on site interviews was to drive by the day before and see if I could parse out how they dressed.

I think that's all. Remember that an interview is a sales job not a conversation, that pre prep is king, if you have someone you can mock interview with absolutely do it and make it brutal.

Hope this helps.

By the way, in my current role, I'm doing more quality assurance then just interviewing, I'm doing spot checks on recruiters and taking on some second interviews, just to ensure the quality of the candidates coming through the first part. The main reason why is I'm considered a tough interviewer. So take the above for what it is. But always plan for the worst fire breathing, hot coal walking interview and everything else will be gravy.

[RichieRich]

I'm enjoying these CC... keep up the good work. You're really getting your points across well, in a nice conversational tone, and giving sufficient examples that I think most people can relate to the majority of what you're offering. I wish I'd had this perspective a couple months back.

[CaptainCrunch]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.

I'll put something up on the post interview actions. I think its important. As well it was mentioned above. But I'm open to helping people with some one on one resume and interview coaching whenever they want to do it. I don't have like office hours for it or anything. I sincerely want to help people out in these really ####ty times and its the only way that I can think to do it. Just reach out to me.

Also

The Alberta Government has reopened its searches for Contact Tracers and Case Managers for another short run. Both are limited time contract roles. With the Case Manager you have to have a health care certification in Alberta.

I'm also on another project where we're looking for psychologists and experienced social workers.

[CaptainCrunch]

Oh another huge piece of feedback.


When you apply for a role, make sure you're using a completely up to date resume. I had an interview today and when we went through the resume there were inconsistencies between what he was telling me and what was on his resume. This raised a ton of red flags for me. when he admitted that he hadn't had the time to update his resume it made his attention to detail and seriousness of the application look questionable.


You're presentation is everything.

[CaptainCrunch]

We're still looking for senior level developer freelance developers.


DM me if you're interested or have someone else in mind.

[_Q_]

Another week, another interview....

I think I'm going on the 20th interview now in the last year and still no job offer. It's getting extremely frustrating and demoralizing going through this process. Before this pandemic hit, I used to be able to land around 60% of the jobs that I interviewed for. Now I'm 0 for 20.

Anyone else going through this?

[Deviaant]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Another week, another interview....

I think I'm going on the 20th interview now in the last year and still no job offer. It's getting extremely frustrating and demoralizing going through this process. Before this pandemic hit, I used to be able to land around 60% of the jobs that I interviewed for. Now I'm 0 for 20.

Anyone else going through this?

Sure am. I have had 1 zoom interview in the last month. Its frustrating, soul sucking and hard to stay positive.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Another week, another interview....

I think I'm going on the 20th interview now in the last year and still no job offer. It's getting extremely frustrating and demoralizing going through this process. Before this pandemic hit, I used to be able to land around 60% of the jobs that I interviewed for. Now I'm 0 for 20.

Anyone else going through this?

What you're going through is absolutely not unusual. Just remember were in extremely unusual times. Just to put it into perspective, we're at historically high levels of unemployment, with Alberta at nearly 11% and Canada I think at 9.4 but that might be higher after the 200,000 job losses.

Also I believe that a lot of companies are holding back on hiring until this pandemic is over and the economy starts to recover.

So you're dealing with a highly constrained market with a lot of people applying.


I've talked to a few searches and its the same thing as you're going through, and its a bit spirit crushing. If I was religious I'd be saying prayers of thanks that I found something to do.

I know it sounds like sh$$$$ cookie cutter advice, but two things. Its still a numbers game, Keep applying, keep experimenting with your resume's in terms of looks and wording and messaging. If you need help, absolutely let me know, I'm here for that. At the same time the thing that saved my sanity to be honest, was taking that project management course, it allowed me to focus on something else and at the same time I felt like I was accomplishing something.

Also check up Meetups.com there are lots of free networking groups that are meeting virtually. See if there are any groups relevant to your field, networking is networking. Plus it lets you talk to other people.

I have a friend who's now viewing sending out his resume's as going through the motions. Why? Because he's not getting any responses. At his point, I told him to take a few days away and find another project to clear his mind. Then come back to his resume and his cover letters and his search refinement with fresh eyes.

Again I want to put this out there with all sincerity. I'm here to help, resume's interview prep, even if you want to talk about search strategies, or hell even if you want to vent. Whatever.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Another week, another interview....

I think I'm going on the 20th interview now in the last year and still no job offer. It's getting extremely frustrating and demoralizing going through this process. Before this pandemic hit, I used to be able to land around 60% of the jobs that I interviewed for. Now I'm 0 for 20.

Anyone else going through this?

Yep, its extremely demoralizing. I thought I was really good at my past jobs and that even though I was transitioning out of O+G that it wouldn't be hard. Lol, it is a crushing market in Calgary. Try to make connections outside of YYC tho, it did lead to a few interviews.

I was easily less than 1% on interviews/applications. Keep your chin up, step away for at least 1 day a week to focus on yourself, but keep grinding. And apply for as wide a range of positions as you can.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by FLAMESRULE

Yep, its extremely demoralizing. I thought I was really good at my past jobs and that even though I was transitioning out of O+G that it wouldn't be hard. Lol, it is a crushing market in Calgary. Try to make connections outside of YYC tho, it did lead to a few interviews.

I was easily less than 1% on interviews/applications. Keep your chin up, step away for at least 1 day a week to focus on yourself, but keep grinding. And apply for as wide a range of positions as you can.

Maybe I just need to vent right now.

I interviewed for a job in Victoria in September. Got to the final round of interviews with the executive team and it became clear that they were looking for one individual to take on the job of a whole department of engineers, but being paid as an intermediate - which was odd and not clearly stated in the job description. Needless to say that I didn't get an offer, even though I had performed well throughout the entire process. What is incredibly aggravating is the job was re-posted again in October and then again last week. It's obvious that with a whole slew of qualified engineers out there looking for work, they are being way too picky to fill that role. If I had been passed over for a more qualified candidate I would probably be OK, but nope, they would rather not hire anyone than bring me on board. It's incredibly demoralizing and insulting.

Last month I got passed over for a job as a regulatory engineer in Vancouver. Again, I wasn't chosen, yet they keep re-posting the job description. Even though I got far in to the interview process, they weren't pleased with the take home assignment that I was given.

This job market can #### right off. I've almost developed an unhealthy hate for any and all employers now.

[CaptainCrunch]

I feel your pain, and its a tough spot.


One thing when talking to employers is that they're especially worried about the hire right now because of the costs of onboarding.


So if they're paying an intermediate level pay, for someone senior, they're worried that they'll be on the clock and when the market turns they'll quickly lose that person to higher pay or a better skill to requirement match.


The second piece about the roles staying open, its become a fishing exercise for them and a certain amount of paralysis has set it.


I'm not excusing their process of behavior, but getting to interviews and getting an offer are like walking a tightrope over the Niagara Falls with 200 other people on the same tightrope.

[FireGilbert]

^they have take home assignments as part of interviews now? That seems like overkill and disrespectful of the applicant’s time.

Keep your chin up. At my last unsuccessful interview I was given the impression I was the 2nd choice but a couple weeks later saw the job add open again. Turns out they had landed on one ideal candidate who later turned down their offer. Instead of coming back to me they decided to re-open the search to find someone similarly ideal. Not sure when they filled the roll but it worked out for me when I found a better job a few months later.

[RichieRich]

Just got a request for an interview... by way of providing a 2min video addressing a few specific questions and how I would manage/approach the solution(s). Any advice for a video? I've never done one.

It's about putting it together first and then submitting to them. Feels really awkward... like I need a TV squad to help rather than a personal and direct conversation. Give me a real interview, even a video interview, over this.

[CaptainReboot]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

^they have take home assignments as part of interviews now? That seems like overkill and disrespectful of the applicant’s time.

Keep your chin up. At my last unsuccessful interview I was given the impression I was the 2nd choice but a couple weeks later saw the job add open again. Turns out they had landed on one ideal candidate who later turned down their offer. Instead of coming back to me they decided to re-open the search to find someone similarly ideal. Not sure when they filled the roll but it worked out for me when I found a better job a few months later.

I interviewed with a software company out based in Switzerland back in the fall. I had to prepare two presentations. One was me pretending to sell their product, the other was me pitching an enhancement to their product. A lot of larger IT companies will put you through hell if you want the job. I know two people that were lucky enough to get an IT job at Amazon and both had to go through something like 10 rounds of interviews and tests along the way. Microsoft, HP, etc are all like that if you want to work for them.

[CaptainReboot]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

Just got a request for an interview... by way of providing a 2min video addressing a few specific questions and how I would manage/approach the solution(s). Any advice for a video? I've never done one.

It's about putting it together first and then submitting to them. Feels really awkward... like I need a TV squad to help rather than a personal and direct conversation. Give me a real interview, even a video interview, over this.

Do you already have the questions they want you to answer?

I got a interview at one of the “Big 3” firms for a consulting role before Christmas last year. It was a pre-recorded virtual interview. There were probably like 6 or 7 questions they asked and I had to record the answer. I didn’t know what the question was, and I had like 30 seconds to think about it and then it would start to record and get submitted. They had a practice page and questions but it was super awkward to do. Surprisingly, the actual recording was not that bad.

I wrote down answers to potential questions and just rehearsed those as best I could.