Jobs/Careers

[Kpyna]

dress for the job you want. meaning if you can see what the employees there wear, wear something as close to what they wear as possible -- couldn't hurt to go a little more formal, like wearing a button up shirt to a job that wears polos for example, but wearing a suit to a retail interview will have them be like "ummm we aren't hiring managers sir"

[Pam-the-Lamb]

 Thanks for the advice guys! I've been meaning to get around to replying!

It honestly depends on the job. As you're a guy a baseline would probably be at least smart/black trousers and a white shirt.

It completely depends on the nature of the role.

dress for the job you want.

I feel really bad for quote snipping, sorry So definitely dress depending on the job? I couldn't decide on the colour of the trousers, so thanks Inferna for vouching for mentioning black since it worked for you! I think I have a pair of black trousers somewhere so I'll just need to get a fitting shirt!

How did you guys find the interview process? Were you all sat in a corridor with everyone else and called in individually or was it like a group session and the alpha of the group was victorious? Like, the interview itself should be okay since it's easy to psych yourself up in order to be really enthusiastic and excited whilst having a level of maturity and professionalism but is it like an interrogation process or are they chill?

i emphatically believe in Suit Wearing for an interview. find a suit that fits you in the shoulders (charity shop, tk maxx, etc., it shouldn't be too tight in the back. ask a staff person and if you're lucky you'll get someone who Knows Clothes) and get it taken in. Shoulders are the thing that absolutely has to fit (v. v. v. hard to alter) but if its too long/sleeves too long/a bit fat in the body those can all be catered for @ ur local tailor (you ought to have at least one around the place). even if its like a wedding dress i.e. you wear it once and then it gets moth-eaten until you die it is Very Much Worth It.

a badly fitting suit or smart casual/no suit for the most part screams "i dont Get the interview process and dont respect it either and also my mum dressed and still dresses me" and unless you're interviewing for some crapshoot of a techbro job in silicon valley or your interview technique blows everything else away, you will want a Good Fitting Suit get up even if the job is loose casual clothes.

Still feel bad for quote snipping, sorry again! I'll definitely get a suit for a mock interview that's coming up since it's likely to be prep for a post-grad occupation relating to the degree I'll probably go through the charity shops since it's often like £4 for a suit jacket (I tag them lol) and the trousers aren't much different. We've actually got a tailors in one of the side-streets! Meant to apply for a job there a year or two ago but I forgot and then they move locations


A trip into the city is in order at this point. Maybe Primark?

I'm feeling a little weird at the moment so apologies if this post also seems weird or if I've blatantly ignored something. This'll receive an edit in the morning if that's the case.

[Kpyna]

The only interview I've ever been on was a scheduled time where we meet at either the place of employment or some cafe. However, I had a friend where he's done nothing but group interviews and always comes out totally slaughtering his competition, because he immediately comes across as bright and very confident, and he always says he never rides off of what other people say, it's clearly an original thought. Group interviews are a little hard because I feel like you have to have a dominant and likeable personality... but again i've never done one, this is just what my friend has told me. Interviewing is interviewing, but expect a one on one ten to fifteen minute long interview. oh, and phone interviews exist too. i applied for a snow shoveling job and an oil change job and they interviewed me on the phone and that just sucked because i hate talking on the phone. when they called me like, "can we interview you right now over the phone" i was kind of like "... seriously?". oh, don't even meet me or anything. screw phone interviews.

If you're bring hired for a position that belongs to a big business, check glassdoor.com and see what they ask on interviews. usually you can have time to prepare an awesome well articulated answer for at least half of them. anyways, in an interview, i never act controlling or anything, just confident. i said it before -- confident people are a minority in this world so if you can ACT like it for just a couple minutes, do it because either your employer is confident and will see themselves in you, or not confident and will look up to you. just know the differences between confidence, arrogance, and cockiness. Usually i start the interview not rigid but straight in my chair, and when they start asking questions i lean in a little. usually its pretty chill, i've never been drilled and i think if i was, i wouldn't want to work for them.

[Inferna]

It took me a good 2 years to find a job after I left school! My first interview was for a local oil company doing admin work but I had very little interview experience at that point and was grilled by two people lmao. Most of the others were for big UK companies. A lot of mine were a mixture of one to ones and groups in the same session. It can get quite tiring being 'on' for so long during the group sessions, and then a one to one afterwards. Had a few telephone ones as well. They're not actually as bad as they seem as you can write potential answers down. My first stage at Debenhams was a phone interview which I passed and then the group crap.
Personally I've done the best at one to ones. I would have got a job at new look if it wasn't for the fact I had no retail experience, just because my interview was so good.
Just make sure you have experiences to draw on for the usual teamwork/customer service/etc questions. Practical wise, always make sure you take a few pens, a copy of your CV and any other stuff they ask for.