Foo - How not to go on a Job Interview...

It's just a rant ... What's wrong with the young kids now a days..
I had 2 kids in the early 20's come over for a interview, an they don't even have a polo shirt or slacks on or even clean shaven .. with out a pen an resume??? I had to go send them home an tell them to come back with a resume an dress correctly before i even see them.. Only reason i told them to come back, because its my security guard son..
What's up with the Younger Gen???

:roflmao:

Kids who come into the family store and ask for an application get handed a clipboard with a blank piece of paper on it.

The things they put on there (and leave off) are priceless.

"Young man, you forgot to put your name on the application."

Depends on the job really. I mean I'll be showered and clean, but like going into a Pizza shop for an interview, dressing up was a little silly... and what the hell is a computer oriented resume going to do me? :p

On the other hand, a job environment that I need to come in my own dress as opposed to a uniform... yeah that definitely demands nicer dress.

Now if you're paying a nice bit above minimum wage, regardless of the nature of the job, I can understand...



You know, but walking in wearing like $50+ worth of clothes to a job I wont make $50 a day at... kind of ironic. And frankly for low pay, the job needs to be more laid back than that anyway.

haha!

reminds me of a friend of mine who used to fold up job applications in his pocket and then turn them in all crinkled up.

It's just a rant ... What's wrong with the young kids now a days..
I had 2 kids in the early 20's come over for a interview, an they don't even have a polo shirt or slacks on or even clean shaven ..


Hmmm. This is how I dress every day...glad I'm a tech-head...it's expected...

But your point is well-taken.

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.

Always suit it to a job interview. Always bring a pad and pen, and a few copies of your resume. I thought these were well known, until I started watching my friends go on interviews.

Always suit it to a job interview. Always bring a pad and pen, and a few copies of your resume. I thought these were well known, until I started watching my friends go on interviews.

i think it's good. more jobs for me when these guys tank on the interview. all i have to do is put on a clean shirt and i'm in.

It's just a rant ... What's wrong with the young kids now a days..
I had 2 kids in the early 20's come over for a interview, an they don't even have a polo shirt or slacks on or even clean shaven .. with out a pen an resume??? I had to go send them home an tell them to come back with a resume an dress correctly before i even see them.. Only reason i told them to come back, because its my security guard son..
What's up with the Younger Gen???

Yeah, but was their grammar as bad as yours?

Here in Saudi Alberta you could show up naked stinking of booze and you would still get the job. Seriously, most of the ads on the radio are companies looking for employees… I can remember a time when those were used to sell products.

YUP thats my bad chinglish!!

YUP thats my bad chinglish!!

did you post that while you were working?

that's because employers are so freaked out and hiring anyone they think is too OLD...so 20 somethings feel it's in the bag if they show up in shorts and flipflops...

It's just a rant ... What's wrong with the young kids now a days..
What's up with the Younger Gen???
Dude, aren't you part of the younger generation?

Depends on the job really. I mean I'll be showered and clean, but like going into a Pizza shop for an interview, dressing up was a little silly... and what the hell is a computer oriented resume going to do me? :p

On the other hand, a job environment that I need to come in my own dress as opposed to a uniform... yeah that definitely demands nicer dress.

Now if you're paying a nice bit above minimum wage, regardless of the nature of the job, I can understand...



You know, but walking in wearing like $50+ worth of clothes :roflmao: to a job I wont make $50 a day at... kind of ironic. And frankly for low pay, the job needs to be more laid back than that anyway.

I bet your sneakers cost more than $50.

You probably ought to learn the quickest ways to the closest shelter/welfare office/assistance center, because with an attitude like that, I can't imagine anyone wanting to hire you!

Back in my engineering days I interviewed an engineering student for an intern position (i.e. the type of job that can turn into a professional job after graduation). This guy was wearing jeans and tennis shoes. He was perplexed why he didn't get the job. He was a friend of a friend, and I dared to explain to the friend why -- because you do not interview for a professional-type position in jeans.

i keep notes on all these things. someday i'm going to put all these things together in a book.


i had a girl applying for an accounting position write in her experience section; "copulation of the monthly budget"



when i was interviewing a welder,

me: why did you leave your last job?
him: i got fired.
me: why?
him: because i beat up my boss?
me: why?
him: because he's an a*$-hole!

i didn't know whether to hire him for his honesty or run him out for not having the sense to know when to be tactful with his honesty.

here's another one;

me: why are you looking to make a career change?
him: because i work too many hours. i work 16 hours a day now. i need to be home more because my wife is having an affair.

It's just a rant ... What's wrong with the young kids now a days..
I had 2 kids in the early 20's come over for a interview, an they don't even have a polo shirt or slacks on or even clean shaven .. with out a pen an resume??? I had to go send them home an tell them to come back with a resume an dress correctly before i even see them.. Only reason i told them to come back, because its my security guard son..
What's up with the Younger Gen???
I've seen this at interviews for professional positions. Life is less formal than it used to be. However, some people confuse not acting like a stiff with not being prepared. The good news is that it takes practically nothing to set yourself from the crowd nowadays.

Fire spewing 3S-GTE, FTW!!!

Always suit it to a job interview. Always bring a pad and pen, and a few copies of your resume. I thought these were well known, until I started watching my friends go on interviews.

Always dress for the job you are applying for. Over dressing can be as bad as under dressing. Make sure that your are wearing clean clothes and that you are clean. Bring your resume and pens.

Dude, aren't you part of the younger generation?

Lol... younger gen??? me 33.. i have guys that are way older then me in there 50's working with me, and an kids that i hired earlier in the years, always came to interviews very clean cut an always had a copy of the resume, along with a pen to fill out the applications, an ready for the drug test.. instead of NOTHING READY AT ALL !Plus asking when they can take there Vacations & Promotions... when there not even hired.....asking to postone the drug test an come back for it later....
what the hell... is the younger kids thinking of???

I have no idea how I would respond to being asked to do a drug test.

I don't know whether that is just because I haven't ever done anything but alcohol. Never even tried smoking - the second hand smoke is bad enough.

It.... I don't know whether I would want to work for a company that has to do that.

I would love to work for a company that does drug tests.

me: why are you looking to make a career change?
him: because i work too many hours. i work 16 hours a day now. i need to be home more because my wife is having an affair.
Were you able to keep a straight face?

i had a girl applying for an accounting position write in her experience section; "copulation of the monthly budget"
I don't suppose she provided a sample of her work...?:D

I'm with most... dress appropriately and come prepared. Wouldn't hurt to do a little research on the company you're hoping to work for as well beforehand.

I had a guy that I interviewed that was well dressed but all his answers sounded like plain BS, like he knew it all. I just didn't trust him or what he was saying. And really, if he just came in and didn't give me the BS I would have hired him... after all, it was a position at Jiffy Lube where you don't need to be a rocket scientist to learn how to change oil.

I also interviewed my replacement at my old job after I gave a month's notice. I also told my boss that I'd be happy to train the guy. He wasn't the cleanest guy and he reaked of smoke and arrogance. But he was the best qualified so we agreed to hire him. They eventually did but the process took so long (corporate red tape) that I had to leave for my new job before I could teach him the ropes. He's doing fine now but i could have helped the learning curve if it didn't take so long to get him in the door!

I bet your sneakers cost more than $50.

You probably ought to learn the quickest ways to the closest shelter/welfare office/assistance center, because with an attitude like that, I can't imagine anyone wanting to hire you!
I bet you're wrong. My sneakers cost me like $20. I'm frugal, and I know when things aren't worth my time and money, if a person trying to pay me minimum wage is going to put me in some uptight hardass job, I can make twice as much in a kickback job that they hand me a uniform for, and didn't give a crap how I came for the interview. If anything your argument is just saying I'm underestimating my dress, which will just prove my point stronger.

Tell me, would you really dress up in a suit coming in to a minimum wage job? I'm pretty sure thats what these kids were applying for. Usually you don't just hire random peoples friends unless it's a job that doesn't require much skill that can't be picked up on the job, and those jobs rarely start at $12-15 an hour. (Thats about where I draw the line between casual and professional, someone wanting you to do any real work for $8 an hour flat isn't exactly paying me what I'm worth for what I can do, and doesn't seem to have an interest in general in paying me what I'm worth anyway, situations like this usually have glass ceilings anyway, and aren't worth your time from the start.)

Also, I haven't been turned down for a job, whether it been a job I applied for, or a business job with an individual, so nahhhh on you ;P You can't argue a 100% success rate, and we're talking about $3,000 software development deals. ;) I'll dress up when the reason is appropriate and wroth my time to put on a little extra show. Otherwise it's a waste of time and money, and even a higher possibility of a job I'll hate.


And I'm going through college, so a job that can have a priority AFTER schooling is a must, and must be a work environment where stress isn't an issue (and working hard != stress, stupid crap == stress).



Anyway, it's a sign of an employer that will be more than glad to exploit you for a meager pay if they're demanding formal attire for a job that you can't even live off of.

It's just a rant ... What's wrong with the young kids now a days..
I had 2 kids in the early 20's come over for a interview, an they don't even have a polo shirt or slacks on or even clean shaven .. with out a pen an resume??? I had to go send them home an tell them to come back with a resume an dress correctly before i even see them.. Only reason i told them to come back, because its my security guard son..
What's up with the Younger Gen???

What was wrong with this generation's parents?

Were you able to keep a straight face?

actually it was so pathetic, i really felt sorry for the guy.

I would love to work for a company that does drug tests.Nearly every technology job I've secured in the past twenty years required a successful drug screen and criminal background check for employment. It's definitely a huge business on the upswing.

I don't suppose she provided a sample of her work...?:D

no. i'm not sure if i'm happy about that or disappointed.

I would love to work for a company that does drug tests.

A friend of mine messaged me telling him he tested positive for COCAINE. Some lab mix up (we were making jokes that they were using interns to do the initial tests) caused a false positive that was disproved after he went in for more testing.



However, doing the actual drug testing has to be so boring. Program a computer to do that ****, it's so repetitive.

atomship47, those are good. I had one that went something like this about a year ago.

A woman wearing dirty jeans, a once white too tight t-shirt and few teeth came in to apply. (Actually she might have been pretty before life ran over her, backed up and ran over her again).

Me: You don't have any employment listed for tha past two years, what have you been doing.
Her: I"ve been locked up.
Me: May I ask what for?
Her: Mail fraud.
Me: That's a problem. This is a Federal Government Law Enforcement agency and you won't pass the security clearance that's required for employment.
She then pointed at me over my desk and said: I need this job and I can do this job. You better find a way to hire me or I'll come back here with some friends.
Me: Well, pretty much everyone here is armed and in addition there's a vault with enough armament to take a small country so I wouldn't think about it if I were you. I think we're done here.

Then she actually called every day for weeks still wanting the job.

I applied for my summer internship (at Garmin, a fairly large and profitable company) wearing a shirt and tie. While I felt dramatically under-dressed relative to my uber-professional looking engineering peers in their fancy suits, I felt overdressed when I went in for the interview. Once I got the job, I wore a polo and jeans every day, just like everyone else. I loved it.

I guess the point of my story is: I'll dress nicely if I'm expected to, out of respect for other people, but I'm of the opinion that fancy dress in the workplace is not necessarily a good thing. As long as you look presentable, I have no problems. I'd be happy if I never had to wear a tie or dress shirt to work in my life. I feel like workplace dress is like an arms race. Each company wants to look better than their competition, so it just escalates. I say let the company's work speak for itself. You can be professional without looking like you're trying to get promoted.

So to the OP: yes, your applicants should probably dress nicer, but only because you expect them to, which I'm not entirely sure you should.

I'll conform to your rules, but what does a polo shirt have to do with the quality of your work?

Lol... younger gen??? me 33.. i have guys that are way older then me in there 50's working with me, and an kids that i hired earlier in the years, always came to interviews very clean cut an always had a copy of the resume, along with a pen to fill out the applications, an ready for the drug test.. instead of NOTHING READY AT ALL !Plus asking when they can take there Vacations & Promotions... when there not even hired.....asking to postone the drug test an come back for it later....
what the hell... is the younger kids thinking of???


I wouldn't hire anyone who wrote like that.

I'll conform to your rules, but what does a polo shirt have to do with the quality of your work?

nothing at all. however.....

you never know the feelings about dress of the person who is interviewing. more often than not, its better to err on the side of over-dressing than under-dressing. in that respect, there is (almost) no such thing as over-dressing.



here's how some recruiters evalute a person who comes to an interview "casually"; fine. its a casual work environment....but who wants to hire a person who KNOWS that, more often than not, the way they dress will be evaluated.....and flouts convention anyway? probably a sign of problems to come with that person when it comes to rules, etc....

OR

if they DON'T KNOW they should dress/look professional for an interview. who wants to hire someone that oblivious?

here's another i got a kick out of.....a mechanical engineer's resume...


"intimately familiar with large, vibrating equipment."

I have no idea how I would respond to being asked to do a drug test.

I don't know whether that is just because I haven't ever done anything but alcohol. Never even tried smoking - the second hand smoke is bad enough.

It.... I don't know whether I would want to work for a company that has to do that.

Everyplace I've worked required pre-employment drug screening. Not just the biotech engineering jobs, but even the amusement park, fast food joints, and the video store. I have no problem with my company's screening policy: Pre-employment screen, and mandatory screening when filing a BWC claim for workplace injuries. (Someone was fired at my last job because of that one. She got hurt at work, tested positive for recreational drugs, and they canned her and denied her claim.) I work in a business where people are working with human pathogens. I don't want someone coming in high and messing with infectious disease cultures.
I almost worked at Eli Lilly, and aside from their pre-employment, BWC, and random interval drug screening, they're also a smoke-free campus. You can't even smoke in your car in the parking lot. I've also seen companies (smaller companies) that enact non-smoking policies as an employment pre-req. Not just at work, but off-hours as well!

We had a contract attorney let go from a position because he was whizing in his gatorade bottles and leaving them under his desk. When we asked him about it, he said that he had done the same at his firm for 15 years and didn't think it was a big deal.:rolleyes:

Depends on the job market though. In the late 90s in Silicon valley we were hiring engineers for six figures if they could spell C++. The demand was so high that I had people accept a job and then not show up on Monday because they got a better offer. Most resumes has 3 or more jobs in year on them. Of course that all changed in 2001. The quality of what you got was pretty questionable, we found one guy keeping a diary of the Monica Lewinsky/Clinton trial in his source code:rolleyes:

Try living in a resort. I have had people come to interviews with flip flops and shorts.

Heck in hawaii they request casual for the meetings. haha

The quality of what you got was pretty questionable, we found one guy keeping a diary of the Monica Lewinsky/Clinton trial in his source code:rolleyes:

That's not questionably quality, thats brilliance.

I bet you're wrong. My sneakers cost me like $20. I'm frugal, and I know when things aren't worth my time and money, if a person trying to pay me minimum wage is going to put me in some uptight hardass job, I can make twice as much in a kickback job that they hand me a uniform for, and didn't give a crap how I came for the interview.......

Also, I haven't been turned down for a job, whether it been a job I applied for, or a business job with an individual, so nahhhh on you ;P You can't argue a 100% success rate, and we're talking about $3,000 software development deals. ;) I'll dress up when the reason is appropriate and wroth my time to put on a little extra show. Otherwise it's a waste of time and money, and even a higher possibility of a job I'll hate.

Dumb question here -- why would you bother to apply for a job that you thought was crap when you could easily get a better one paying twice as much?

I know that rules in the IT world with regards to dress are different, and I'm sure you can get away with just about anything for small time consulting and development gigs. $3K is nothing.

Even in technical fields, doing real work involves a lot of dealing with people. As the price tag on products goes up, complexity of projects increases dramatically, and so does the importance of demeanor, attitude, etc. The amazing thing is that the guys who think they know the most and are most concerned about doing too much for whoever's paying the bills tend to find that the ceiling is pretty low.

Dumb question here -- why would you bother to apply for a job that you thought was crap when you could easily get a better one paying twice as much?

I know that rules in the IT world with regards to dress are different, and I'm sure you can get away with just about anything for small time consulting and development gigs. $3K is nothing.

Even in technical fields, doing real work involves a lot of dealing with people. As the price tag on products goes up, complexity of projects increases dramatically, and so does the importance of demeanor, attitude, etc. The amazing thing is that the guys who think they know the most and are most concerned about doing too much for whoever's paying the bills tend to find that the ceiling is pretty low.

Thank you.

I was still trying to decipher that guy's more or less incomprehensible answer.

I pretty much got that he'd dress how he wanted, especially if it was for a job he was applying for where he felt he'd be taken advantage of. That his jobs can't have any stress. And that he's "wroth" professional wages of at least $15/hour.

Hmmmm.....

I would love to work for a company that does drug tests.

why is that?

Personally, I would never work for a company that endorses drug testing. none of their business if it doesn't hinder my work ability.

Now, if my performance comes into question thats another story.

I would love to work for a company that does drug tests.


why is that?
You get to whizz in a clean cup rather than in a dirty urinal

Personally, I would never work for a company that endorses drug testing. none of their business if it doesn't hinder my work ability.

Now, if my performance comes into question thats another story.

What if your co-worker is high as a kite and it hinders your co-worker's abilities?
And he works with lethal human pathogens in the lab with you.
Or drives a forklift in the warehouse you have to walk through.
Or is responsible for pulling pick-lists and filling customer orders, which your business depends on.

What if your co-worker is high as a kite and it hinders your co-worker's abilities?
And he works with lethal human pathogens in the lab with you.
Or drives a forklift in the warehouse you have to walk through.
Or is responsible for pulling pick-lists and filling customer orders, which your business depends on.

I would have no problem with work place drug testing if it told them I was high at that moment. Not two weeks ago on a saturday night watching movies with a friend.