By: Destiny C
My Interview Story & Experiences
My very first job interview took place at Tams Burgers, a burger restaurant in Long Beach. The manager only asked me two questions, "When can you start?" and "Do you know how to say hamburger in Spanish?", and the interview lasted only 1-2 minutes. Although I used to find it amusing and absurd, in hindsight, I realize that the most crucial lesson that interview taught me was the importance of understanding supply and demand before walking into any interview.
Embarrassment is the cost of Entry
When recruiters and managers share their recruitment link, they are seeking a specific service. Your objective when responding is to meet their needs. When I first entered the workforce, I attended interviews without much preparation. I used a generic approach when applying for jobs, despite my lack of direct experience related to the job requirements. During interviews, I would talk about irrelevant topics that were not related to the job description. I viewed job interviews as personal narratives, believing that my personal background and enthusiasm would be sufficient to secure the position. While these unique experiences can differentiate you from other candidates, it took me years of being ignored and receiving rejection emails to realize that the key question is: can you provide the experience/service they require? The job description outlines their expectations, rather than being just a collection of words on a screen. This may seem obvious, but as someone who never had guidance when it came to interviews and never had anyone to break it down for me, it was news to me. And prior to learning this, I was going into interviews relying heavily on characteristics to get me in the door, unaware of the fact that I had no chance because I had no experience whatsoever.
Defining the Process of Job Interviewing
Something that helped me get closer to excelling in interviews is defining the process. If you were to google search the word "interview" , it is defined as a discussion. Defining the experience helped me ease my nerves and view the process as less daunting and more straightforward. To me, I was making an appointment to have a discussion about what I can supply to meet their demands, simple. After defining the process and consistently failing forward, I learned that interviewing is also a skill that requires practice and experience. Essentially, you are selling your services to the company, which may lead to discussions on time, compensation, and more if they show interest in you. Understanding that interviewing is essentially a practiced discussion was a significant game changer for me.
Practice Makes Perfect
When I first came across the realization, it did not seem worth it to me. It sounded foolish to practice a discussion I will have regarding me and my experience, but after continuously having my ego shattered with rejection emails and even being ghosted, continuing that route also sounded ridiculous. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing more than once and expecting a different result, so I switched up my tactic. I would also follow up to get advice on why the company did not move forward with me, which is optional.
How does one practice interviewing? Easy, take all the generic interview questions and think of specific experiences and scenarios that apply to them. There were some cases in interviews where I noticed the issue wasn't that I was unqualified, just unprepared, and it reflected because my thoughts were unorganized and my mind would go blank. Half of what I said would sound unbelievable, and I was not projecting my confidence. With that being said, my final message is practice makes perfect. Below is my link to a more detailed guide and tips on how you can practice interview questions.
Thank you so much for reading. As always, if you believe this resource benefited you, all I ask is that you share it with someone who may also benefit from it. Please feel free to like, comment your thoughts, or even share your experiences.
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