Post
by Guest » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:01 am
Hi,
I'm sorry you are having a hard time. I just want to say, that although the quote about the coward dying a thousand deaths may be a vivid way to describe your feelings, it may also being adding pain to your situation to keep saying it to yourself. Not all quotes are good quotes, and that seems a little verbally abusive to me. The job interview wasn't a life or death situation, and you are not a coward because you went to the interview and took a chance! That's the opposite of being a coward by a long shot:).
Also, I am someone who employs caregivers for my son with autism. I have a rigorous interview process where the candidate is expected to read a website. Now, I have added that the candidate take a short quiz about the information, and then fill out an online application. I added the quiz because a few weeks ago, I interviewed someone and asked her repeatedly if she had read the website and told her how important it was to read it. She kept saying she did each time, and then I got to a specific question at the interview, and she admitted that she skimmed parts of the site and barely read it. At first it appeared to be an honest mistake(a good employer will be O.K. with honest mistakes), but then when I looked at the site with her there, the directions were clear, and not to mention I asked her several times before she admitted the truth.
So, what's my point in telling you this? Her not being honest from the beginning was what made me eliminate her. Honesty about mistakes is really important in working with my son, and I expect mistakes, but not dishonesty about them. You were honest, and it wasn't even your fault, and if this position is one worth having, the employer will be happy that you were honest about not having known all of the requirements. If you didn't meet the requirements for the position, please do not take that personally. You just never know how it's going to work out. I, especially, know that now from being an actual employer. I don't think a knock on a door ruined your chances, and if it did, then you really don't want to work there because it will be just as depressing as where you are now.
As an interview candidate, I know one time I applied for a job where I had to take a test. It was at a time where my counselor acted like being employed outside the home would be the answer to all my problems(it wasn't.) Well, I took the test and never got a call for an interview. My counselor said that I had sabotaged it because I wasn't prepared for the test. A few months later, I got a call where I was offered the position with barely an interview. I said, "Oh, I thought I didn't do well on the test!", and the employer told me I had a very high score on the test. If time passes, and you don't hear from the employer, you can always call and ask them to tell you some of your strengths and weaknesses as a learning experience. Oh, I also eventually got another job one time, where I was told after the fact that I had the best interview skills of any candidate they'd ever had. However, I wasn't give the job initially because they thought someone else would be more likely to stay permanently. Another part time temp. position came open, and they gave it to me, and then that person that they thought would be more permanent quit, and they offered me the original position(I didn't take it though for personal reasons regarding my son, and in the end it worked out better for me.) So, you just never know is my point!:)
Sorry to go on, but I think too much emphasis is put on performing perfectly at an interview, so much so, that it ends up being the interviewee "acting" to get the position that can end up not being a good fit and the employer acting to get the position filled. I think candidates and employers should be more honest about what they really have to offer, and that that works out better in the long run.
It's O.K. to have hope for the interview and job, and also to keep looking and taking chances if it doesn't work out. You aren't a coward. You are a success:)!
Take care,
luvpiggy
So that was a bad start.