Back By Popular Demand!

The date is the 8th September and a good day for me to say the least as I end up with three interviews lined up by the end of it!

Firstly, I receive a call from Company B (see previous post on my attempts at becoming a Recruitment Consultant) who I was previously rejected from, to say that they now had the budget for an extra Graduate and if I was still interested, then they wanted to invite me down for an informal interview. I had put becoming a recruitment consultant to the back of my mind after all the rejections, but I had nothing else in the pipe line so decided to say yes and the interview was scheduled for the next day (9th September).

My second call is from a company in Swindon (I'll use my imagination and call them... Company D!) and the role is for Graduates who are interested in a career in Sales. Again, I'm not too sure why I applied for this role in Sales but it would definitely equip me with invaluable skills that would come in handy throughout my career. The phone call is also a brief interview (the one thing I like about phone interviews, I can do them in my pajamas!!) and I am then invited to a face-to-face interview for two days time (10th September). I agree and am told that it will be a formal, competency based interview and I am to bring with me my passport and two pieces of coursework that highlight what I can bring to the company. I hadn't been asked that before but luckily for me I still had all my university work on my laptop so all I had to do was print off a couple that would show off my skills.

The third call is from another recruitment consultancy (lets call them Company D) who I had given my CV to through a friend of a friend as I knew that someone was leaving. The person that I speak too is pretty keen and the only day left that I can do is Friday 11th, however, he tells me that if the interview goes well, then he would like me to meet his manager who will be in the office on Friday so is it possible for me to come in on Thursday? I tell him that I already have an interview arranged for that day at 12.30pm but I could come in first thing (this is meant to highlight how enthusiastic I am, or something along those lines). So, the interview is arranged for 9am on Thursday 10th September.

By this point I can't believe how popular I am?! But I also know that the next two days are going to involve two 6am starts (before everyone starts shouting at the screen, 'I get up at 6am EVERY day', those of us who are unemployed don't!) and be pretty full on. So to summarise, I have an interview with Company B on the 9th, and interviews with Company D and E on the 10th. I do my usual preparation and keep everything crossed that one of these interviews will lead to a job!

Wednesday arrives and I'm not too nervous about Company B as I know that it is going to be a pretty informal interview, plus I'm not too fussed about getting the job. During the interview I find out that the start date is the 21st September and that the other person that they are going to interview is going to be on the 14th, which if I was successful, would leave me with less then a week to find somewhere to live and move down to Basingstoke. This is my main issue which I express as the other Graduates have had three weeks to suss out the area and find somewhere to live and I will have about three days. Anyways, I'm there for just over an hour and leave feeling not too bothered about whether I am successful or not.

Thursday is here and I am dreading it! I attend my first interview at 9am with Company D and it seems to go well. The person who interviews me does a lot of the talking which is my kind of interview AND he tells me that he is very keen. This is a great start to the day so I head off to my second interview with a smile on my face, little did I know that by the end of the day I would be in tears...

I don't have that long to get to Company E and I arrive just in the nick if time. I head to reception and explain that I am there for an interview to be told that the person who is interviewing me is running a few minutes late. Half an hour later the person who is due to interview me turns up and we commence the interview, however he doesn't even have my CV printed off and has to keep checking his laptop which keeps going into hibernation. I let this slide and as I mentioned earlier, I was told that this interview would be a formal, competency based interview and to bring along two pieces of coursework to highlight my skills for the role. This is mind the questions that I was asked didn't exactly test my competency skills, I was asked questions such as, 'Do you have any siblings?', to which I answer yes and that I was the youngest, I am them asked, 'Does that mean you are spoilt because you are the youngest?' WTF?! If someone could please explain to me what this has to do with being a Sales person I would greatly appreciate it. And I'm sure you've also probably guessed by now that I wasn't asked to present my coursework to the interviewer either!! I then have to complete a test, which out of all the tests I've done, this one was p*ss easy and I felt kinda insulted that I had to do it! I then had ANOTHER interview this time with one of the Directors. I will describe her for you: middle aged but dressing like she was about twenty i.e. long, fake blonde hair, fake boobs and the longest fake nails I have ever seen!!! Not really what you would expect a director to look like lets be honest. Shes pretty hard-faced firing the questions at me like there's no tomorrow, I think I do pretty well with keeping my cool and being a pro at interviews now(!), I can tell that she is trying to get a reaction out of me. I don't rise to it and she then goes on to say something that completely shocked me, 'Your voice is wrong for sales because it goes down at the end of each sentence making you come across too laid-back.' I was speechless. All I can say is, 'okay'. How can someones voice be wrong?! She also has the great pleasure in telling me that, 'I've been in sales since I was fourteen years old and when I walked into Company E I saw a mess and when I came in the next day I saw an opportunity!' Seriously, this women was a your steroetypical Businesswomen, i.e. a Bitch, and someone that I definately didn't want to be like! Finally the interview ends and as soon as I step outside the building I burst into tears!! I have never had anyone make such a personal comment in an interview situation before, add to the fact that I had had two interviews within twenty-four hours, I was done.

Least to say I didn't get that job either and when I received the feedback I mentioned to the women who had told me that the interview was going to be formal that it really wasn't and all she could say was, 'well, that's how we like to do it here'. If that's 'how you like to do it', don't tell me that it's going to be the complete opposite, stupid...

I was all interviewed out, and looking forward to the weekend more then ever as it was my Birthday, bring on the celebrations!!