tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Oct 19, 2020 19:34:28 GMT -5
I just completed an application for a Director of Operations role where I had to record video answers to questions. My guess is this is basically their screening interview so that they have the answers to their standard questions, but do not have to coordinate time between their HR or hiring manager and all the applicants. I'd never done this before. It was definitely interesting as a new experience. We had an open req for an admin/team coordinator position after one retired, and our HR used something similar. I hadn’t seen it before on prior job postings I was on the hiring team for, but I did like it. It gave me a chance to see the candidates and get a glimpse of their personalities before the interview. Our HR screened them so I only saw the 2 we ended up interviewing.
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Oct 20, 2020 13:55:10 GMT -5
Already received a "thanks, but no thanks" from the job I applied for last week. Oh well. I've been looking at jobs that pay even but would be a good foot in the door on a specialty that interests me. Going to marinate on my options for a bit.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Oct 20, 2020 15:29:43 GMT -5
tcu2003 - Glad to hear it was a good experience from the hiring side. It wasn't much of an imposition on the applying side, though mostly because I'd already done some staging of my office area for other meetings. It would have been more stressful if I had felt the need to clean up my background first, since you can't use virtual backgrounds. One of my dogs wandered into frame at one point, but it was during the question of "tell us something about yourself that isn't on your resume and you haven't mentioned yet" and I was talking about the fact that I used to write a pet blog, so it wasn't completely inappropriate timing.
cktc - Those are hard, but at least they let you know, so that you're not wondering, especially when the job is still posted or is getting renewed postings.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Oct 24, 2020 11:55:46 GMT -5
I hadn't heard back from the Texas job. So Thursday afternoon I sent an email to the hiring manager introducing myself and attaching my resume for his review. He answered back by Friday morning saying he wants to set up an interview for next week. I'm very insecure when it comes to interviewing for a job, so I'm trying not to think too much about it. He hasn't even set up an interview yet so let's not construct castles in the air.
The company's rules are that you have to inform your current manager if you're interviewing for another internal job. Since the interview hasn't been set up yet, I haven't informed my manager. If I get an actual interview of course I'll tell him.
Don't know how to prepare for this. I think I should look at the website of the hiring company (a different subsidiary that the main company acquired a couple of years ago), check the Linkedin profile of the hiring manager, don't know what else to do. Suggestions welcome. I know I should prepare some questions to ask him and I want to be as informed as I can about the company, but I also want to come across as myself. In the past, I've been very scripted and nervous during interviews, but I don't want to do that anymore. I want to be myself and I want to show some confidence. I have to repeat internally that it's ok. Nothing won't happen if he doesn't like me, or doesn't give me the job. I have a job, an income, a place to live, nothing to lose.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Oct 24, 2020 14:08:57 GMT -5
Ava is it a phone interview? One tip is to stand up when you’re on the phone. Helps your voice. Yes definitely get as much info as possible on company and people who work there. Try to get some of this info into the conversation. Good luck!
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Oct 24, 2020 17:32:25 GMT -5
Ava is it a phone interview? One tip is to stand up when you’re on the phone. Helps your voice. Yes definitely get as much info as possible on company and people who work there. Try to get some of this info into the conversation. Good luck! Even if it’s a zoom interview, I would stand. They won’t even know you’re standing, but you’ll feel stronger. I have interviewed people to join my team at work several times since we transitioned to WFH, and I always switch my varidesk to the standing position. Same thing for most of the meetings I run - it just makes me feel more confident and helps me pay more attention.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Oct 24, 2020 17:34:02 GMT -5
The problem with standing is that not everyone is equipped to record/Zoom ourselves standing. If you DO have the option to stand, I agree.
But if you don't, another option is to sit up straight and push your computer away enough that you are visible from the waist or (lower) chest up. You may need a higher chair or even bar stool. But even at (lower) chest height, body language comes through.
You don't want to be a "talking head" (ie only visible from your shoulders/neck up).
Good luck!
ETA: I teach business English/interviewing/public speaking. I marked over 40 student videos this week. The students were encouraged to stand up. Those who had other people film them were fine.
But those who filmed themselves standing up ALL looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame hunching over his computer. They would have done MUCH better sitting, and placing their computer/camera further away.
Ava if you have a friend you trust, you could try a few different set-ups and then decide on the best option.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Oct 25, 2020 10:28:56 GMT -5
I'm not sure what kind of interview it would be. It's hypothetical because he hasn't set up anything yet. He mentioned in his email he uses Microsoft Teams for interviews, but my subsidiary only recently got that installed and is not in use yet. I don't need to add to my anxiety by using technology I'm unfamiliar with during an interview. He also said we can do a phone interview as an alternative. I answered I'm open for a phone interview or a video call. I prefer video call because it's easier and more comfortable for me when I can see the other person.
I agree that standing up would be a great idea if I had the proper set up for that, but I don't. So if this interview actually happens I will make sure I'm seated with my back straight and that the other person can see more than just head and shoulders.
Thanks for all the advice. I'm trying not to think too much about it, not until it's a certainty.
Once he gives me a day and time for the interview I'll start investigating him, the company, and I everything I can learn to be well informed. If I think too much right now, I will start questioning why make myself go out of the comfort zone, I'm not in a bad spot, etc. that sort of thing that holds me back.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on Oct 25, 2020 11:26:14 GMT -5
My work used Microsoft Teams and there haven’t been any problems with it as far as I’ve heard company-wide. A difference between Microsoft Teams and Zoom is that you won’t see you as the same size as the person as you are talking too. You can still change your background if want or just blur it. Many of my coworkers blur it instead of changing the scenery background.
Good luck!!
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Oct 25, 2020 11:41:46 GMT -5
Ava, if you can find them on Glass Door, that could give you some good information. People post there anonymously and you may see some issues to ask them about.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Oct 25, 2020 12:26:34 GMT -5
My work used Microsoft Teams and there haven’t been any problems with it as far as I’ve heard company-wide. A difference between Microsoft Teams and Zoom is that you won’t see you as the same size as the person as you are talking too. You can still change your background if want or just blur it. Many of my coworkers blur it instead of changing the scenery background. Good luck!! Microsoft Teams is one of the products that I am really happy with. It was seamless to integrate and does not cause any problems unlike Zoom or Webex. You also have the web version that does not have to be installed locally. Good luck!
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Oct 26, 2020 17:09:02 GMT -5
Works been really rough the last few months. Ive been trying to hold out for a sales position that would likely get my hours back in line, but the last week I've been talking myself out of just giving notice, too little too late.
This afternoon I got a text from an old boss asking me to consider an underwriting job. My stomach drops at the thought of quitting, but I think I have to respond and see what he's thinking. He's already said remote is fine.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Oct 28, 2020 21:26:03 GMT -5
Spoke with old boss. He has the technical skills I miss and we worked together well. He can be a little high strung but covid has relaxed a lot of that it sounds like. The money would be more than I've ever truly pictured making on a regular basis.
But I don't want to do the job he's looking for. I want to be responsible to fewer people. My problem sales person at current job is being moved to another processor so that eliminates my biggest stressor. I'm pretty excited about venturing into sales again in a limited capacity. Hoping I can make some decent money through the duration of this insanity but get back to a work/life balance of some sorts.
I'm still mulling it over a bit, but will circle back by Friday with old boss.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Oct 29, 2020 6:22:28 GMT -5
I need to figure out the video thing, too. I think my interview tomorrow is on Teams. I've only used that once or twice with a specific CMO, on calls they hosted. I am also debating asking my friend M if I can bring her the dogs for the day so they aren't interrupting, too.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Nov 2, 2020 14:10:01 GMT -5
I have a phone screen on Thursday morning for a position with the county. It starts at $10k/year more than I am making now, which is nice.
Teams is super easy. It will come through like a call and you just answer it, as long as you have Teams installed on your computer. Or they'll give you a link like Zoom. Either way, I've had a lot fewer problems with Teams than I've had with Zoom.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Nov 2, 2020 14:11:11 GMT -5
Ava - Has the interview been set up yet?
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Nov 3, 2020 9:57:21 GMT -5
My interview is in an hour. I was ok until yesterday night, but I woke up at 5 am this morning, and I'm very nervous right now. Now I don't even know why I thought it was a good idea to apply. And I haven't interviewed in years. I have read a little bit about the company, the job, tried to come up with answer to possible questions ,etc. Not too much, I just want to be myself, not too rehearsed or anything. Thanks for asking shanendoahAnd thanks for the information debthaven. I looked it up and I hope it helps organize my answers better, so I don't ramble.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Nov 3, 2020 10:09:10 GMT -5
My interview is in an hour. I was ok until yesterday night, but I woke up at 5 am this morning, and I'm very nervous right now. Now I don't even know why I thought it was a good idea to apply. And I haven't interviewed in years. I have read a little bit about the company, the job, tried to come up with answer to possible questions ,etc. Not too much, I just want to be myself, not too rehearsed or anything. Thanks for asking shanendoah And thanks for the information debthaven . I looked it up and I hope it helps organize my answers better, so I don't ramble. Let us know how it goes!
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Nov 3, 2020 10:16:34 GMT -5
My interview is in an hour. I was ok until yesterday night, but I woke up at 5 am this morning, and I'm very nervous right now. Now I don't even know why I thought it was a good idea to apply. And I haven't interviewed in years. I have read a little bit about the company, the job, tried to come up with answer to possible questions ,etc. Not too much, I just want to be myself, not too rehearsed or anything. Thanks for asking shanendoah And thanks for the information debthaven . I looked it up and I hope it helps organize my answers better, so I don't ramble. Let us know how it goes!I will. Thank you.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Nov 3, 2020 10:35:36 GMT -5
Ava good luck, you got this.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Nov 3, 2020 12:21:32 GMT -5
The interview was with the HR rep. As you know, I hadn't interviewed in years, so I'm rusty. Thankfully, I've been doing sessions with a therapist and we talked about my insecurity and how nervous I get in certain circumstances. The great win for me was that I was a little bit nervous, like a normal person, but it wasn't out of control. Also, I was very natural and showed myself as I am.
For what he told me, I think they need someone with more experience than me. I have what they want but not as many years of experience as would be ideal. He asked me to send him a sample of a credit write up and he'll forward it to the managers. If they think I have a chance for the job, he'll contact me again for another interview, this time with the managers. He said they are in the early stages of interviewing candidates.
I don't have many credit writeups, and most are small deals, but I'll send him what I have. Like I said, I want to be myself and give them what I have. I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not.
Thanks for all the support!!!
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Nov 5, 2020 18:23:46 GMT -5
Ava - Sounds like it went well. And don't sell yourself short. You don't get more experience without reaching for the jobs that will get you more experience.
chiver78 - I forgot to ask how your call went last Friday, so, how did it go?
My phone screen went fine today. It was very quick. 15 minutes, 5 questions, HR rep asking the questions. 4 others on the line taking notes. I think I did well on the questions. Their timeline is quick. I should know tomorrow if I make it to the next round, which will be next Tuesday. Third and final round next Thursday.
I have decided that in addition to continuing to apply to jobs that really appeal to me, I am going to get some certifications as a Life Coach. I am not expecting to quit my day job or anything, but start this as a bit of a side gig. My favorite part of my job is sitting with my staff and talking about their goals and helping them create plans to reach those goals. I am excited about that. Now I just need to create the time to start going through the courses I purchased.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Nov 5, 2020 19:08:25 GMT -5
I have 2 telecons on Teams tomorrow. Never used Teams so hope no problems. Position is remote consultant for a biotech company in Texas
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 5, 2020 21:48:37 GMT -5
shanendoah - thanks for asking! my call sent mostly well, I think. I wasn't sure on one guy of seven, but the rest went pretty well. senior director paused a sec and said yah, that's exactly the right answer, for a couple things. pretty encouraging. I still don't know if I want to make the jump for logistical reasons, but I have time to figure it out. as far as your own call, that sounds great. and yay for the quick timeline. I've missed your earlier posts, bc I only jumped back in here to post that I had the interview. are you actively looking, need to look, etc? either way, good luck! 🤞
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azucena
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Post by azucena on Nov 6, 2020 6:56:34 GMT -5
Ava - Sounds like it went well. And don't sell yourself short. You don't get more experience without reaching for the jobs that will get you more experience.
chiver78 - I forgot to ask how your call went last Friday, so, how did it go?
My phone screen went fine today. It was very quick. 15 minutes, 5 questions, HR rep asking the questions. 4 others on the line taking notes. I think I did well on the questions. Their timeline is quick. I should know tomorrow if I make it to the next round, which will be next Tuesday. Third and final round next Thursday.
I have decided that in addition to continuing to apply to jobs that really appeal to me, I am going to get some certifications as a Life Coach. I am not expecting to quit my day job or anything, but start this as a bit of a side gig. My favorite part of my job is sitting with my staff and talking about their goals and helping them create plans to reach those goals. I am excited about that. Now I just need to create the time to start going through the courses I purchased. Shane - given your advice here is solid, I think you'd be great as a life coach. Besides goal setting, if there is a track to focus on work/life balance that's a desperate need right now and for the foreseeable future.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Nov 6, 2020 15:37:54 GMT -5
jerseygirl - Let us know how it goes. As I said, I've been pretty happy with Teams.
chiver78 - Sounds pretty encouraging. It can definitely be hard to decide to make the jump. Logistics may be slightly easier going forward. I am looking mostly because I've been in my current role for 6 years and I am no longer feeling challenged. I am looking for something new, and honestly, for something that pays a little better. Raises have been only 2%, and this year won't be at all. I'm still looking at government, so raises won't be much better, but this position starts at $10k/year more than I'm making now.
azucena - Thank you. If I specialize, career and career/life balance would likely be my areas. I'm taking the courses on some level more for the tools (so I don't have to create my own) and the training on how to launch my career coach business. That's actually the part I am most uncertain about. I am very bad at marketing.
I did hear today that I am moving on to round two for this job. So I'll have a Zoom interview Tuesday morning.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Nov 6, 2020 15:51:24 GMT -5
Teams was easy to use. Thanks for info on using it, decreased anxiety that I get when using new program. Both interviews went well, they were interested in my background working with about 10 companies and that I was able to incorporate benefits from different processes in these companies I emphasized keeping the final goal of getting drug approval and marketable during all the intermediate steps and focusing on value added Probably will be having another round next week. I liked that the company is midsize and has drug with a really unique method of action, nothing like it on market or being developed
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Nov 12, 2020 9:10:04 GMT -5
Guess what? I was finally made officially FT after the union nonsense was over and the current employees voted to send them packing. Dues would basically be our total yearly raise, if not more, so totally not worth it. So finally FT which is needed in this time of ACA so I can afford minimal healthcare benefits. My 2018 return and some prior, I paid the penalty, because it was cheaper and I wanted to pay my rent.
I haven't done much research yet, but a coworker thinks if I got this associated nursing degree or something like that I could be qualified to do what he does, which includes healthcare and data aspects which I strongly prefer over hands on nursing. (Do not want feces flung at me or getting hit, punched and kicked by patients) Said its a six figure kind of job, so I'm leaning to sign me up!
Before Covid shutdown the libraries I was going to do an exploratory interview/talk with someone high up in the local library. My Mom got an MLS, and I think I could be a librarian for awhile and it certainly would pay better than front desk person/pinch hitter in medical facility. Without lots of schooling I think that would be half the pay of the above, but I would love it. The plus for the medical opportunity is they will always need some who does Clinical Claim Reimbursement/MDS and the like.
In either case, my plan is mostly online school as I will need to continue to work FT. If I do the medical degree, work may reimburse me after I pay for each course and complete it, which is good, but as huge of a benefit if they could subsidize it up front.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Nov 12, 2020 10:14:50 GMT -5
Oh, and I applied for the newly open (again) Unit secretary position. I don't expect much as the manager has hired three different young black women for the position in the last two years, and the one that left prior to that was a black woman closer to my age. The pay is better than my front desk position and I would work M-F instead of my current schedule which has me off today and always working one weekend day. I would love to get two days off together, which really helps when I need to recover, plus it does not have the issue of coverage for bathroom breaks like my current position.
It can be more stressful if we have a full house, but with Covid, that may not come until late 2021 or 2022. By then, I would have learned to let the nursing station drama roll off my back. I covered that position several days a week depending on front desk coverage for a few months in 2019.
I'm not sure of the pay but it is a minimum of $1 to 2 more an hour than I am making currently.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 12, 2020 12:39:44 GMT -5
tomorrow will be two weeks post-Zoom interview. I think they have decided on someone else and are going through the offer process there at this point. I'll reach out as a follow-up tomorrow if I don't hear anything from the HR liaison.
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