I have a job as a systems analyst (PC repair with some database programming with PHP/SQL) and just had an interview for a systems admin position that was more SQL/PHP then I do now and pays a little under $10k year more too. and on the interview the lady was like "on a 1-10 where do you consider your database skill level to be" and I said "an 8 because I know a lot but I am always learning more". i should of said 10 because i know everything (even though I really don't )

and then she was asking me abstract questions such as "when you move a persons files how do you reassure them they won't loose any data" and I went on about how we copy it to the server, the server is backed up nightly, and we keep their old computer untouched for several weeks to make sure everything is ok another was how do you deal with a hostile employee and I went on about how I usually fill ou thte work order and let them handle it and try to do what they say/want as best that i can. another was what was something you did at your work recently that impoved efficency and I went on about how I set up samba for windows file and print sharing, and I should of said about how I got PHP and informix working together so that we could query the database, my boss was never able to get it to work and I was able to.

man i bombed this interview big time

anyone else hate interviews?

 

Doesn't sound like you bombed it to me. You knew what you were talking about and answered honestly. What more can you do?

 

It sounds like this interview was with an HR person. If I am ever CEO of a company the first thing I would do is fire the HR staff and let departments do their own hireing.

 

I'm not a big fan of interviews, but I am a fan of more money and a better job so interviews are inevitable.

 

AzF I think that your cynicism towards HR management staff comes from the fact that many HR personnel have very little idea of the boundaries of their role within organisations since it can quite often be a very grey area depending on the guidance that they receive from line managers.

Dont get me wrong Im a structural engineer and have to fight the urge to blindly hate HR directives, but I am also studying commerce (management major) and currently Im completing a hr subject as an elective so I can see the other side of things.

What you would be better served doing is to use your HR staff as consultants rather than delegating the entire process and that way you can achieve a tailored structure and still reach your objectives.

If you think that HR staff are bad you should try sitting in front of a panel of jerks that surround you, intimidate you and ultimately obtain no usable information because you are so nervous that you forget your name.

Squeezer I've got to agree with Munckee, you did your best and you were honest and they should recognise that you acknowledge that you aren't flawless but rather humble. The thing that you need to keep in mind in an interview is that you should be interviewing them as well to make certain that it is in fact the job for you after all if they expect some weiner that is going to grovel to jerk customers and carry the blame for others do you really want to get into that position?

If you genuinely show that you are interested in how they run things and actually portray that you feel that you like the job rather than just jump through hoops, you will feel a lot more comfortable and display the confidence and stability that most look for and let your credentials speak for themselves.

Some really bad interviewers will inevitably ask you these generic "buzz" questions to allow an easy recruitment development and this is a lazy way for them to compare the candidates but you need to be prepared for that. One that was common last time that I went for a job was "What do you feel is your main weakness?"

If it were me interviewing and you answered perfection I'd laugh and finish the interview because if you dont recognise your faults then you cant address them. In my case I prepared an answer that displayed the fact that I recognised I wasn't flawless much like what you have done and the interviewer was comfortable with that and moved on.

You just need to remember some of the questions that were asked in that interview and practice some answers for them. Maybe even set up a mock interview with a friend so that you dont feel like you're reciting the answers.

Oh, and noone likes interviews