Fun Stuff > CHATTER

Office Work & Job Interview advice

(1/4) > >>

blanktom:
Not sure if this merits a new thread but here goes!

I recently quit my job and after a couple of weeks unemployed, I've landed myself an interview at a marketing agency right in the centre of the city that I live in, about a 15 minute walk from my house. I'm pretty confident, but I've never worked in a office before, all my jobs have been in retail or catering, but the lady sounded really enthusiastic on the phone, and I'm thinking the fact they called me about an interview less than an hour after I emailed them my CV is probably a good scene.

So basically I'm asking for advice on how to go about this interview. Also, if (fingers crossed) I'm successful, are there any pointers on the whole 'office' experience?

Lunchbox:
Go you!
I was in much the same situation when I was interviewed for the job I have at the moment - I'd never really worked in an office but wheedled my way into the position by listing my waitressing skills and how relevant they were to office work - work quickly to reach deadlines, communication, delegating, teamwork, blah blah.
Dress up as best you can for the interview. Even if they're a casual work environment they'll appreciate seeing you at your best. This means button-down shirt, slacks, and leather shoes. Tidy your hair as much as possible, even if you think you look dumb.
Also, if they sound eager on the phone, they probably are actually eager.

After the rush of working food or retail, office work can feel a bit boring. But it's okay! Being able to take actual breaks and getting to sit down all day is totally worth it.

As for 'office' tips, every single office is different in their work ethic, work relationships, office etiquette. Just make sure you keep your desk and any common areas you use as tidy as possible (again, after working food and retail, this is second nature).

I'm sorry! That wasn't very useful.

But go for it!
And good luck!

A Wet Helmet:
My advice is pretty typical and largely already said.

Dress nice.   Not like, "Hey, this looks pretty good compared to how I normally look."  But like, nice-nice. (Of course, I have no idea how you normally look, but I'm projecting my own 'normal' wardrobe of running shorts and a bad brains t-shirt onto what I think everyone hangs out in).    I wear a full blown suit every single day to the office and believe me... Outside of work I'm about the furthest thing in the world from what you'd think a "suit" is. 

Project confidence without arrogance.   Confidence goes a long way.

Know something about the company you're interviewing with.   Be able to speak with a fair degree of intelligence about what they do.   Do research!  Have prepared questions.

Send a hand written thank you note after you're done to the person (or people) who interviewed you.

Take several copies of your resume with you.  Take a notebook and ask if you can write things down.  It shows interest.

Learn from the interview.  If you don't get the job analyze what you think you did well and didn't do well.   Prepare answers for the questions you don't think you did well on.

Smile and make eye contact.   

Once you get the job, try to take cues from your coworkers as to the standard of behavior.  Every place is different.  Every group is different.  My boss and I --my team and I, honestly-- behave much differently around just each other than we do around anyone else in the company.  Shit we say to each other regularly would get us fired in about ten seconds flat outside the group.  You've got to know who you can get away with stuff like that with and who you can't.   

Pick a mentor or two to learn from, but choose carefully.   The phrase "office politics" came into being for a reason.

All this comes from about a decade now of office life at a few different places.   I recently left a company I had been with for several years.  After about a three month search start-to-finish landed a gig with a big, big player in industry.  Honestly, I don't know if there is anyone else in my business I'd rather work for.  Getting there though took a couple rejections, a couple of turned down offers, and a lot of really nasty uncertainty and self doubt.  Things do tend to work out in the long run, and even if you end up working someplace that sucks, you can learn what not to do from it.

blanktom:
Thanks guys, this is all really good advice. One problem now;

I've got a couple of friends who went for interviews with the same place when they were recruiting and they've told me that the job itself is not exactly what they expected. It would seem my business jargon translator isnt that great. 'P2P Marketing in the field' actually means knocking on peoples doors asking them for money for charity. I dont know if you get much of this in the US, but its really common in the UK. My two friends said after the first interview they were asked to do a voluntary day of work in said 'field' doing the whole knocking and begging thing. Also, there's no basic wage or salary, the whole thing is commission based.

TL;DR Friends tell me job is shitty, I'm not so sure anymore.

Barmymoo:
Don't do it. Asking for money is soul-destroying, particularly if it is for a good cause, because only about 1/20 people ever give anything (it may be a little different if you are actually on their doorstep but potentially even worse) and if you are working on commission they think it is appalling and may change their mind about giving.

On the other hand if there's a prospect of promotion to a better role with a real salary, it might be best to take it and work up as jobs are hard to come by at the moment. But otherwise you are potentially doing yourself out of a regular salary by committing to something without one.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page