It’s Monday evening, and I don’t know about you lot but I’m bloody knackered. 9 hours in the office and I’m ready for the weekend. I have to say that, over the last year, my day job (sadly blogging doesn’t pay the bills!) has been pretty tough and, when my friends ask me about work, I probably sound like a broken record as I bemoan my fate. ”Why don’t you get another job?” they often suggest, some of them helpfully, others in despair after hearing yet another tirade about my day.
The thing is, it isn’t that simple. Even living in London where there are thousands more opportunities than elsewhere in the country, it’s dog eat dog out there. As a public sector worker, I, like my colleagues, probably find it tougher than most to move onwards and upwards. As a graduate in 2001 the Wednesday edition of The Guardian was flooded with jobs that tickled my fancy. These days those that land in my inbox from a variety of websites do little to inspire me – and those that do just wouldn’t pay the bills. Even more frustratingly, when they do, the recruitment process always seems to trip me up at the last hurdle. Yep, you guessed it – the interview.
Time for an interview intervention…
I’ve nailed the application form but, out of about five interviews in the last year and a half in my own organisation alone, I know where my weakness lies. You see, interviewing is an art I have yet to master. But being the stubborn northerner that I am I will not give up – and submitted yet other application only yesterday.
It is easy to get despondent when applying for jobs. I know that I am fortunate to be able to do so whilst having a regular salary coming in and have plenty of friends who have spent months sat on their sofa filling out application after application without as much as a whiff of success. But all of those people eventually got there – including those in the public sector like myself. The secret is to keep going – and, where possible, ask for feedback.
There is one manager in my service who has interviewed me three times in the last year. Every time he phones me up to tell me that I have (yet again!) been unsuccessful, I immediately ask him for feedback. And every time we sit down to go over my shortcomings at that crucial stage, I can see that I am getting better – and closer to moving into a job that will get my juices flowing again. After my last interview he told me I had given my best interview yet and, if it wasn’t for a stronger candidate, I had stood a good chance. I admitted to him that I had changed my interview technique – but didn’t tell him how.
Different interview techniques works for different people. Until my last interview I had painfully prepared for every eventuality, packing my examples with elements that ticked all the boxes in the person spec. The result? Long, waffly answers that didn’t answer the actual question in the interview – and a very stressed out Shelly. Last time I pulled it right back, thought about key bits of work I had done in the last year, made a few notes, and got a good nights sleep before the main event.
Okay, so I didn’t quite hit the mark with my pared down approach to prep – but I am getting closer. And you know what the first thing my manager told me when we sat down to dissect my performance? He told me he admired me for keeping at it and not giving up. And, although we don’t always see eye to eye, I think he really meant it. Hopefully next time I won’t have to have that conversation with him though…
Happy job hunting everyone. And wish me luck!
