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Anonymous
08/09/19 at 7:26PM UTC
in
Career

Interview today

Hi everyone! So I went on a interview today for a civil engineering company. The recruiter told me great things! She said they needed a admin that could wear a lot of hats. Perfect! So I go to the interview I expect companies these days to be diverse so I’m not to worried! I was greeted but just looked at me like “start explaining” so I said hi my name is and I’m here to meet with so and so for a interview. I’m placed in a meeting room for 20 minutes. Then a wonderful lady comes in and says your here for? I explained I’m here for a interview as a admin. She says ok let me let the owner know. The owner comes in introduces her self and says she is wrapping up a accounting meeting and she will be back. The hr comes back in and ask for my resume and starts to ask about my background I give her a run down of everything three different people peeped there head in but never spoke kinda of just looking o see what I look like or be nosy I guess but I stayed focused. She says I like you I will let them know and they should be in shortly. 20 more mins the owner and her son comes in the owner ask a few questions but her son really drills in and is very cold. “He says I need someone to know how to call in a carpet cleaner or painter if the places looks dirty I need someone who can speak to the engineers because they are quite and don’t speak up I need someone that wears a lot of hats. But we can’t handle our calendars anymore all of this is too much this position is new and I know we need someone but I’m not sure how it will work out. “In my head it sounds like the are so unorganized it’s almost scary. So he wants me to be the glue if you are a growing civil engineering company it looks like they need more supporting positions. But hey I’m not there to run there company. After the interview they said the typical “we will know in a week or so since we are still interviewing” we will let you finish your application they shook my hand then disappeared! Lol. I had no one to hand the application to once I was finished everyone ran into there offices and closed the doors. The hr finally came out and said I’ll take your resume. If nothing else I think they will contact you if they need. What I got is there is not structural practices in place they would like for me to train new engineers on there systems that they created that would take time for me to learn then be able to explain right? Lol. I called the recruiter and really told her they seem like they would pay very well. But I honestly don’t think they know what they are looking for. I’m not sure if they are looking for someone that can do the job or someone “who they think fits there culture” it was hard to decipher. Any advice? Should I keep it moving?

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Charlotte Kearney
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65
08/12/19 at 2:46PM UTC
Glad you are looking at the feedback positively. Please do take to heart the importance of writing professionally in a professional setting. It's amazing the opportunities you can miss when you don't heed this. As to family businesses, I have worked for a family owned, family run company for over 30 years. It has been a WONDERFUL experience for me. Now, if you are looking to eventually be made president, GO ELSEWHERE, because yes, family will prevail in such decisions. However, if you want to work for a place where decisions are made and implemented almost instantaneously - this is the type of place that can do that. You don't submit reports to a far off body whose main goal is to make certain all the data in the world has been obtained and poured over before a decision can be made. We have been in business for over 100 years and the spirit and decision making is more like a start-up entrepreneurship.
Carrie Topolski
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2.34k
Empowering women and beyond!
08/12/19 at 3:22PM UTC
Amen. I worked for a family owned business for 10 years. It was a great experience. I moved to a different company to expand my horizons.
Anonymous
08/12/19 at 10:38AM UTC
Thank you for all of the positive feed back I currently have a job just looking for more! ☺️ P.s I use this platform to get advice how ever it may come. Not trying to write a book here and I will always be myself if it bothers you then so be it. Grateful for all of the responses and advice. ❤️❤️
Ella Molnar
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147
Wife, Mother of 3, Nerd
08/13/19 at 3:43PM UTC
I second Charlotte's suggestion to take to heart the advice about writing professionally in a professional setting. I also caution you to consider the tone of a conversation about others, because right or wrong, people will make judgments about your attitude toward themselves from how you discuss situations that stress you or confuse you or seem just wrong. But I also, truly, love that you will always be yourself. I've said elsewhere that I recently spent 5 months looking for a job. The one I finally found seems like a dream so far, though there have been a few surprises. These problems are a mix of good and bad, requiring adjustments to expectations, work loads, time lines, and job duties on both sides. We're gonna do fine. And I got this job by being 100% myself. My infant even spit up *all over* me in the first interview with my project manager. I was trying to be professional, and convince them that I wasn't right for the role, and I wound up convincing both of us that I was right for the role. If I hadn't been so extremely transparent, to the point where most companies would have been put off, I don't think they'd have the confidence I could handle everything they have for me to do. I know that I wouldn't be so sure they can handle my family's needs taking precedence sometimes. So five months into my job search, I decide to risk alienating a company by being 100% myself, with no facade whatsoever -- no formality, no masks -- just pretending I had already worked there 10 years, and that we were discussing the next project I would of course be leading. I was so bold in my claims about myself that I worried I might have come off as cocky or frivolous or just abrasive in some other way. I am two weeks in now, and it's been the best first two weeks for any job I've ever had (and as a contractor, I've had *a lot*). Thinking about it now, I think that being 100% myself, not trying to keep a mask in place, allowed us both to truly communicate, and gave us both the chance to willingly jump into this work relationship with both feet. Please understand, I'm not saying to not be yourself. And if, as I suspected, you are writing differently in this forum than you would in a corporate communication, then just keep in mind that this is a forum for women at work. We don't expect business-level formality or masks. But your informal writing style comes out the way you speak, and that's hard to read sometimes, especially for those of us who were taught that professionalism includes proper sentence structure and grammar anytime you're in public, not just at work. I do love your attitude. You seem friendly, down to earth, eager, and ready to just deal with whatever comes your way. Your gratitude you've shown on this forum, over and over, is going to take you very, very far in life. You have a way of connecting and responding with people that is going to help others *want* to help you accomplish your goals. I'll clarify: you are going to find the right role. I don't think this particular company is it, not right now at least. You're jovial, and they're tense -- not usually a great match. You're ready for next steps, and they don't know which way is up. The chaos just in the interview had you checking in with this forum, seemingly wondering if it was just you, or was this a bit off. It was not just you. It's a bit off, for you. A more experienced person (read, an older person), someone who would command respect just from their demeanor walking in the door (not someone who got peeped on without even the courtesy of a greeting), will probably do better. My understanding of the situation, the way you tell it, is that the parents want someone to make up what their son lacks, and the son doesn't want anyone who could be seen as anything other than his personal secretary. You represent your skills as being more competent than that, and I have no reason to doubt you.
Ella Molnar
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147
Wife, Mother of 3, Nerd
08/12/19 at 5:02AM UTC
The advice about staying away from family-owned businesses and taking a night class or two on professional writing and personal branding isn't entirely terrible advice, and I agree with Janet's content, though not her tone necessarily. I read the post with the assumption that you don't write like this in a professional capacity, but only in a familiar capacity. But Janet's right, it is becoming a dismaying trend (I like her word!) for people to fail to see community forums like this one as an extension of their professional selves. Dorii, you should know, when I am hiring someone, I search for her on all the social media I know of, and I ask others to do the same. I need to know, if serious s**t goes down in the office a year after this person is hired, when she's comfortable with her team and the role, will she have the composure to handle the situation professionally, or will she default to a less-professional attitude which will exacerbate the situation? If I am looking at someone in particular to run the admin side of my business, and I see: * she's written a post in which she never used the correct article "an" in front of a word beginning with a vowel, * she misspelled "you're" and "too" several times, * and she replied to strangers with presumably more years of life to their names, and more work experience under their belts, than she has with "LOL" as the end of every other sentence, then I wonder how serious is this person? If she says "LOL" at her own serious thoughts and accusations, as well as in response to serious advice, and can't remember basic rules of grammar in a public forum, how could she be the face of my company when we're so messed up as it is? And if she's going to bad-mouth me before she even works for me (granted, no company names are mentioned, but, if you get the job, I presume it goes on LinkedIn, and so any one reading the post later or following up will know), knowing that I'm weighing her qualities against those of other candidates, then what cause do I have to believe she would not bad-mouth me once I'm paying her, and she *really* knows how much I don't know about the admin side of running a business? Dorii -- I say all this with fully positive intent: you are in a public, professional, forum right here. Behave as such. You are not out at dinner with your girlfriends. You don't know who is on the other screen reading your posts, and you don't know who might recognize you, see you talking about themselves or another company, and decide you're not a fit for them, either. I did not interview you, but I think you're right they will not call back. If I saw someone talking about my faux pas (or someone else's!) with "LOL" tacked onto every sentence, I would not call her back, either. My takeaway would be that she is laughing at the pain of the person interviewing her to fix it. If I saw a person who claimed to be corporate-level, but wrote just as casually as she speaks, I would stress out more at the thought of her trying to communicate with some of my more obstinate employees, or the ones who speak poor English. I would be afraid that while writing documents for my company, she would use informal language, or miss things, and the employees who rely on written communication to understand would be confused, misdirected, or stressed out trying to make heads and tails of your words. If this is the level of detail you pay to a post on a women's work forum, requesting advice or assistance on your own personal matter which you presumably are invested in, what level of attention did you pay to the application someone else gave you, which you were interrupted several times while filling out, and have no actual personal interest in? I presume you're at home, or at a friend's, or in a coffee shop, but my point is, you've got time here to get your words right and say what you mean. You didn't take the time to polish your image when you had it -- did you even notice what you missed when you didn't have the time? It's also important to know -- not every family-owned business sucks to work for. Most do, though, even if they're trying not to. You need to read their articles of charter, and do some really deep research before deciding to work for a family-owned business. The thing is, when/if things go south, they are a *family* business -- they always put family first, and they always put their family first before yours. They don't hide that fact, though they may gloss over it, but somehow, so many people don't understand it. This company sounds like a mess, and you sound incredibly young to take on that kind of a role. I'd pass this time if I were you: they don't have time or resources to be a stepping stone for you or to help you grow professionally, and you are going to wind up lost in their chaos and frustrate them to pieces with your friendly, exuberant, informal attitude.
Jackie Ruka
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2.07k
ProfessionalHappyologist Thrive in your purpose.
08/12/19 at 2:07AM UTC
Dorii, Companies will show you who they are, even small family run companies. The minute you walk in the door you are in the interview process, it's a two-way street. How they speak to you, treat you and engage with you is a tell tale sign on how it will be working there. You are interviewing them , as well, in other words. Your gut is telling you how unorganized they are, which is good, they need help. However, it's important to be treated like a professional. My feeling is, you can do better in a more professional environment where you can grow. Best of luck on your career journey.
Michele F
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14
08/24/19 at 4:09PM UTC
Well said!! I remember onetime emailing a supervisor 3 different times, all along knowing that I probably didn’t get the job, but felt on the third email to say...”thank you for taking your time last month to interview me as I feel like I was a good fit for the job, as however you felt differently and that’s ok, but keep in mind that when your interviewing someone there also interviewing you as well”.
Anonymous
08/11/19 at 10:40PM UTC
I’ve been on those sorts of interviews and taken those sorts of roles. Earlier in my career, I wouldn’t have blinked at it and saw it as an awesome opportunity. Now, a little more seasoned and having seen the underside of being brought in to “fix” administrative messes, I’d say you really need to get some things clarified and confirmed in advance. The worst case scenario is something like they want you to help them put together a world class facility or program but with no help and no budget (and the jokes on you because they actually want you to do 5 jobs for the price of one?). It could also be that they have no plan in place for your professional development. These are the sorts of things that you run into in a company that’s never taken administration seriously. It’s a big undertaking but worth it in experience if you can vet them and get assurances in advance. Good luck in your decision making!
MJ
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631
Accounting consultant
08/11/19 at 10:19PM UTC
If you are looking for a long term employer with opportunity for growth do not take a job with this or any family company. Keep in mind the not so nice son has slot of influence on mom, and will be running the company eventually. Once a relative or family friend graduates college they will take your job. And families who work together bicker and complain about each other and try to get you involved. Unless you are looking at it as a stepping stone or to get experience, stay away.
Anonymous
08/11/19 at 9:32PM UTC
Thank you! For your advice. I will definitely take this advice into another interview. When they moved me to another room to make room for another interviewer when I was not done with my interview was the last red flag I needed. Probably not the job for me looking back at it. But thank you again for the words of encouragement!
Afo Ogbeyalu Kalu
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214
08/11/19 at 8:06PM UTC
Hi. As I was reading about your experience during your interview, what came to mind was that perhaps the parties involved were demonstrating negative interviewing techniques to measure your resolve to overcome "interview hurdles", and to hear examples of how you have dealt with similar situations in the past. For example, when the owners shared with you that there was a need for an admin able to wear a number of hats, who could be proactive, and call service professionals for carpet cleaning and the like, that was the challenge for you to state times you have done something similar, and how your ability to problem-solve "saved the day" for your past or current employer. Behavioral Style Interviewing: sharing with them past actions that prove to the interviewers that you are more than capable of succeeding at their company. If you are still interested in that position, I advice that you send to the owners and their HR associate thank you letters, and in the letters, identify ways in which you believe you could solve some of the problems they shared with you during the interview. So first paragraph, the thank you for interviewing me last week, yada yada yada. The second paragraph: while reflecting on the discussion we had regarding yada yada yada, it reminds me of the time I was instrumental in yada yada yada . . . Then close with third paragraph encouraging them to reach out to you if they have anymore questions . . . I hope I've been helpful.
Anonymous
08/10/19 at 8:55PM UTC
Callath.... hey there. I honestly don’t think they will be calling back lol. If with the hard questions I was asked I had a strong rebuttal back he would drill on more to try and trip me up but I have been interviewing for months now lol so this was a piece of cake but they just seemed out of touch and he kept saying I don’t want to scare you. Lol, well me being a personal assistant to you your mom and dad is scary enough lol I don’t think I can fill those shoes lol. Salary was lovely! But I don’t think I want that kind of stress lol. ❤️❤️

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