My second application was for the job of project worker for a new venture called Activities Unlimited. This was started by the local council but then the running of it tendered out to the charity scope. The purpose of it was to provide activities and short term breaks for children with disabilities and their families.
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Getting the Interview
The application form for this job was a more 'normal' one than the previous one with all the information you would expect to be asked for. The hardest bit was showing I met all the criteria for the job, and it was a long list in four sections. Luckily I was able to complete it online as I hate filling out forms by hand, computers have made me soft. The way that I did it was to copy and paste all the criteria then overwrite each section with the relevant experience that I had. As this was the first proper application form I had completed for some years, and I really wanted this job I took nearly a week to complete it to my satisfaction. I was able to give relevant experience for all but one of the criteria so I was very happy with the end result. About a week after the closing date I received a letter inviting me for an interview on Wednesday 8th April at 4.00pm. A couple of days before the interview I got a call asking if they could bring the interview forward by about an hour and in my non thinking way replied that that would be great as it meant I got it over and done with earlier. I then had to hurriedly explain that I meant that the longer I had to wait the more nervous I would be. Then I thought it would be a good idea to just shut up. About 15 minutes after I got that call I received another one asking if I would like it to be moved to 1.00pm. Even better I said! So that was the time we finally settled on.
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Preparing for the interview
This time I had actually remembered to keep copies of all information about the job so was able to look over these and remind myself of what the focus for the job was and the criteria. As with the previous interview I spent quite a lot of time online looking at information about the company and trying to find information about the project. It took quite a bit of tracking down as with it being a new project the information about it was hidden in a site about another project that will be working in conjunction with the new one. I even saw a photo of a couple of the people who were named as being on the interview panel. I also altered my list of prepared questions to fit this job.
Same outfit laundered and ready the day of the interview dawned nice and sunny. I woke in the morning after a not too bad sleep but was in a very negative mood about the whole thing. I think it was because I really wanted the job and was trying to lower my expectations in case I didn't get it. and nerves had really kicked in big time. After giving myself a very stern talking to about my attitude and doing some meditation to calm my nerves, I set off for the interview in a much more positive frame of mind feeling very excited about the job and the opportunity.
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The interview
I arrived at the location of the interview nearly half an hour early so had quite a bit of time to kill before I went in. I used this time to go over my notes and review my application form and to sit and watch the activity going on around me and keep breathing deep and get myself into a nicely calm state of mind.
When I was finally invited into the interview room I was introduced to three people, one of whom I recognised from the picture on the website, and said so, showing I had done my research. This was a very informal interview setting, with sofas and comfy chairs, but oddly positioned so it was hard to keep eye contact with all the interviewers successfully as it meant moving around a fair bit. While the interviewers all had drinks, I wasn't offered one but as I was sat on a low sofa, while I would have liked some water, I would probably have thrown it all over myself so was quite glad there wasn't one there.
The interview started well with all the questions about things I had put on my application form which I was much more comfortable with and felt I answered easily. The interview progressed well with lots of smiling and head nodding so I was feeling pretty confident. I was asked a couple of questions by the woman who's photo I had seen and got a little confused as they were very woolly questions and I really wasn't sure that I had answered them properly but I followed advice I had been given and asked throughout the interview if they wanted me to elaborate any more and was told no that was fine thanks. I felt that it was all going very well and I had made a good connection with the interviewers and answered the majority of the questions well. Then it was my turn to ask questions. I referred to my list and was a little disappointed with the answers, but also quite excited. As this was a brand new project I was told that it would be very much up to the new team that was being put together to make the job work the best, and that there would be team building sessions and working sessions to set up when everyone was finally in post. I was very excited to think that I could be in on the start of a brand new project and have input into how that was set up and run. The interview ended very oddly, with someone coming in and saying the next candidate was waiting and despite the fact there was an ongoing conversation going on I was suddenly told thanks, time to go now,. which I thought was a little odd. But on the whole my instinct said that it had gone very well, with very positive body language from the interviewers, so I was feeling very hopeful. I was told I would be contacted in the next couple of days with the outcome.
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Conclusion and feedback
As I have said, when I left the interview I was feeling very positive about the way things had gone. Having done what I knew were shocking interviews in the past, this felt very different and I felt that I had presented myself very well and positively and fully and adequately answered about 95% of the questions that were asked. The following day the phone rang and with my heart in my mouth I answered the call. I was given the bad news that I had not been successful, then when I asked for feedback was very surprised to be told that they could tell that my nerves had got the better of me and that I hadn't answered the questions as well as they would have liked. I found this very strange as by the time I got to the interview I was more excited than nervous, and had hardly stopped talking through the interview, and they had told me I had answered the questions well.
He did say that my application form was excellent, and if a job became available in the future they would like me to reapply. My immediate reaction was that if I wasn't good enough this time why would I be any better if I reapplied.
I was very very upset not to have got this job, and very down hearted as I felt that in all aspects I had followed the advice about the whole process and given as good an interview as I had ever given and still hadn't got the job. It was only later having spoken to several people with recruitment experience and told them what the feedback was, that I was told that that was pretty much word for word the sort of feedback that was given to unsuccessful candidates when the successful applicants had been decided even before the interview. Looking back this did make sense of the way the interview had ended. I will probably never know if this is the case or not and if it is then this is not an organisation I would have wanted to work for anyway. Sour grapes? Hell yes! I could have done that job standing on my head and been a very valuable member of the team, but now I will never know as I wouldn't put myself through that process with those people again and I found it completely demoralising to do my best and still be unsuccessful. It took me quite a while to get some semblance of my confidence back after this set back.
_____________________________________________________________________
Getting the Interview
The application form for this job was a more 'normal' one than the previous one with all the information you would expect to be asked for. The hardest bit was showing I met all the criteria for the job, and it was a long list in four sections. Luckily I was able to complete it online as I hate filling out forms by hand, computers have made me soft. The way that I did it was to copy and paste all the criteria then overwrite each section with the relevant experience that I had. As this was the first proper application form I had completed for some years, and I really wanted this job I took nearly a week to complete it to my satisfaction. I was able to give relevant experience for all but one of the criteria so I was very happy with the end result. About a week after the closing date I received a letter inviting me for an interview on Wednesday 8th April at 4.00pm. A couple of days before the interview I got a call asking if they could bring the interview forward by about an hour and in my non thinking way replied that that would be great as it meant I got it over and done with earlier. I then had to hurriedly explain that I meant that the longer I had to wait the more nervous I would be. Then I thought it would be a good idea to just shut up. About 15 minutes after I got that call I received another one asking if I would like it to be moved to 1.00pm. Even better I said! So that was the time we finally settled on.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Preparing for the interview
This time I had actually remembered to keep copies of all information about the job so was able to look over these and remind myself of what the focus for the job was and the criteria. As with the previous interview I spent quite a lot of time online looking at information about the company and trying to find information about the project. It took quite a bit of tracking down as with it being a new project the information about it was hidden in a site about another project that will be working in conjunction with the new one. I even saw a photo of a couple of the people who were named as being on the interview panel. I also altered my list of prepared questions to fit this job.
Same outfit laundered and ready the day of the interview dawned nice and sunny. I woke in the morning after a not too bad sleep but was in a very negative mood about the whole thing. I think it was because I really wanted the job and was trying to lower my expectations in case I didn't get it. and nerves had really kicked in big time. After giving myself a very stern talking to about my attitude and doing some meditation to calm my nerves, I set off for the interview in a much more positive frame of mind feeling very excited about the job and the opportunity.
_____________________________________________________________________________
The interview
I arrived at the location of the interview nearly half an hour early so had quite a bit of time to kill before I went in. I used this time to go over my notes and review my application form and to sit and watch the activity going on around me and keep breathing deep and get myself into a nicely calm state of mind.
When I was finally invited into the interview room I was introduced to three people, one of whom I recognised from the picture on the website, and said so, showing I had done my research. This was a very informal interview setting, with sofas and comfy chairs, but oddly positioned so it was hard to keep eye contact with all the interviewers successfully as it meant moving around a fair bit. While the interviewers all had drinks, I wasn't offered one but as I was sat on a low sofa, while I would have liked some water, I would probably have thrown it all over myself so was quite glad there wasn't one there.
The interview started well with all the questions about things I had put on my application form which I was much more comfortable with and felt I answered easily. The interview progressed well with lots of smiling and head nodding so I was feeling pretty confident. I was asked a couple of questions by the woman who's photo I had seen and got a little confused as they were very woolly questions and I really wasn't sure that I had answered them properly but I followed advice I had been given and asked throughout the interview if they wanted me to elaborate any more and was told no that was fine thanks. I felt that it was all going very well and I had made a good connection with the interviewers and answered the majority of the questions well. Then it was my turn to ask questions. I referred to my list and was a little disappointed with the answers, but also quite excited. As this was a brand new project I was told that it would be very much up to the new team that was being put together to make the job work the best, and that there would be team building sessions and working sessions to set up when everyone was finally in post. I was very excited to think that I could be in on the start of a brand new project and have input into how that was set up and run. The interview ended very oddly, with someone coming in and saying the next candidate was waiting and despite the fact there was an ongoing conversation going on I was suddenly told thanks, time to go now,. which I thought was a little odd. But on the whole my instinct said that it had gone very well, with very positive body language from the interviewers, so I was feeling very hopeful. I was told I would be contacted in the next couple of days with the outcome.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion and feedback
As I have said, when I left the interview I was feeling very positive about the way things had gone. Having done what I knew were shocking interviews in the past, this felt very different and I felt that I had presented myself very well and positively and fully and adequately answered about 95% of the questions that were asked. The following day the phone rang and with my heart in my mouth I answered the call. I was given the bad news that I had not been successful, then when I asked for feedback was very surprised to be told that they could tell that my nerves had got the better of me and that I hadn't answered the questions as well as they would have liked. I found this very strange as by the time I got to the interview I was more excited than nervous, and had hardly stopped talking through the interview, and they had told me I had answered the questions well.
He did say that my application form was excellent, and if a job became available in the future they would like me to reapply. My immediate reaction was that if I wasn't good enough this time why would I be any better if I reapplied.
I was very very upset not to have got this job, and very down hearted as I felt that in all aspects I had followed the advice about the whole process and given as good an interview as I had ever given and still hadn't got the job. It was only later having spoken to several people with recruitment experience and told them what the feedback was, that I was told that that was pretty much word for word the sort of feedback that was given to unsuccessful candidates when the successful applicants had been decided even before the interview. Looking back this did make sense of the way the interview had ended. I will probably never know if this is the case or not and if it is then this is not an organisation I would have wanted to work for anyway. Sour grapes? Hell yes! I could have done that job standing on my head and been a very valuable member of the team, but now I will never know as I wouldn't put myself through that process with those people again and I found it completely demoralising to do my best and still be unsuccessful. It took me quite a while to get some semblance of my confidence back after this set back.
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