Effective and Ineffective Interviews:

In the past when I have participated in a job interview it tends to be a stressful situation. The environment is a stressful one because there are a lot of nerves that surround it. In the past, I have had interviews that felt they went well and ones that I felt I could have done better. However, I do feel we read into it more than the interviewer does because they have multiple people to think and weigh the options. Each interview has a different atmosphere to it due to different interview settings and interview committees. I have found I prefer interviews that have two to five people in them because the conversations tend to be more organic and have different people’s points of view.

The most positive interview I was a part of was last month when I was interviewing for a marketing position. The company is local in my hometown and I have volunteered for the nonprofit for quite some time. What stood out to me was the demeanor of the interview committee. They did not have the feeling that they were better than me and wanted me to be intimidated. They made it feel very welcoming and encouraging. They genuinely cared what I had to say and looked forward to hearing my past experiences and thoughts. Something that stood out to me was some of the personal questions they asked that necessarily were not apart of the job description but me as a person. They asked me questions such as my favorite things to do in my free time as well as what brought me joy in my personal life, work life, and social. Having an interview where the committee was personable made me feel like the interview went well.

The most recent interview that stands out to me was this company’s order of interview process. This company had a three-step process. Each process had at least two people in all of the interviews, by the last one I had felt more confident and less nervous. That ultimately made the interview process feel like they genuinely care about the tasks the employee is expected to do, the person they are, and lastly, how they can improve the company.

Something that seemed ineffective in interviews was when they had six plus people in the interview. That made me feel very intimidated and I did not know who to address during those questions. They also would go out during the break and talk then come back in and continue the next portion. It made my nerves feel much worse and made me feel way more overwhelmed. I also do not mind when there is just one person interviewing me however I have found it is more comfortable with just a couple of people.

Having different interview experiences has made me well-rounded and prepared for future interviews. I have learned what works best but also how to handle the situations I do not prefer. Overall each interview experience teaches something that can be applied to the next one positive or negative, Effective or ineffective.

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