Job Interviews

I am surprised that this is the *first* time I've ever heard
"motorcycles" as a verb!

Well done sir!

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:29:06 GMT

Probably you were, the people there are very nice indeed. That was my
regular stop on the Adelaide to Lismore run and they never failed to
be welcoming and helpful, especially when my sleeping bag had
lemminged some hours before and I hadn't noticed...

Zebee

 

Some of the meetings I attend are subject to confidentiality agreements
and there are things I can't discuss (mainly because they tend to be
concerning tenders/contract negotiations).

Happy to talk to you where I can though


G-S

 

Not as bad as it used to be but it is still there.

I can recall in the 80s turning up at nice hotel in Canberra on the
way back to Tas from Brisvegas. Pull in on VF1000R. Ask if they have a
room. "Yes, but there is cheaper accommodation down the road". WTF?
Booked room and made sure I got her to book me into their silver
service restaurant to. Smarmy bitch.

That said, I'd be careful how I turned up to a job interview too,
until you knew their approach to dress. I've had to head to dress
pants, shoes and shirt these days and I find it a bit blergh as I am
not dealing with the banks' clients other than via phone. Oh well.
At least the don't want a tie.

One day people will judge people one what they do, not what they wear.
Yeah right.

Maybe Gen Y can pull it off?
Can you imagine ot Gen Y bankers?
Or teachers with hoodies and baseball caps?

Kev

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:46:56 GMT

It is a problem.

I have been warned not to dress up for an interview by the bod who put
me up for the job, but again it's sysadminning, it's different.

One item of kit that might be useful is:
http://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-suits/darien-light/darienlight-pants.html

yeah, expensive, but very useful indeed. The full length zips mean
they are very easy to get on and off over fancy trousers, and they are
more protective than jeans so are the solution to needing to wear
shorts when you get off the bike. (Or even a skirt, wear them under
it!)

A pair of these over dress slacks, a change of shoes, done. Your good
gear is protected from wet and gunge and doesn't get mangled when the
overtrousers are removed.

Because of the loose fit I've found them surprisingly wearable in 30
deg+ heat over shorts, no worse than black jeans and sometimes better.

Zebee

 

She obviously didn't teach you with that pearler
" > You teached before"

 

I can second that. I had turned up to most of my interviews in leather
garb, and asked for forgiveness because I though I would offend if I
turned up in four pieces instead of one.
These were frequently in very corporate environments so I had a concern
that leather didn't fit in with fine fabric.

The usual response was to wave that off and say either "I ride too" or,
"I used to ride" or, "I wish I rode" so no problem.

I'd never pull that off myself. Excuse the pun...

 

Hey Betty... long time so type ...

I've found the opposite (but then again im working in the creative
industry where being an oddball helps)

years ago i went for a job where after doing a bit of digging i found
out that nearly all the employees and the boss rode bikes. So on the
first contact I asked if they minding if brought the small portfolio
on as i'll be riding the bike into the city. At the interview we spent
5 minutes going over the portfolio and the job needs, then about an
hour crapping on about bikes and general related bullshit.

2 weeks later i got the job.
Cheers
Al

 

I found a good motel in Narrandera on one of my trips, I pulled into the
reception area on the bike, then went inside,
A dog came out from the back and started barking, then an old bloke came out
and said
" Don't mind the dog" and the usual greetings,
I asked " Could I have a room for the night please?"
and he asked me
"Is it for one or two?"
I replied , " I have my bitch with me"
He said
"That's okay, we are pet friendly here"

I stayed two days.

 

hey would be the ones holding you up.

Yo Man , wha sup witchoo ?

 

Several people have said something close to this but I say it a
different way. Psychologists have come up with something called
"Fundamental attribution error" which means, for the purposes of
attending an interview, that anything you do or say IN AN INTERVIEW
situation will be interpreted as your normal behaviour.

In other words, supposing you answered back, the interviewer might
unconsiously label you as "tha argumentative type" and this would
affect your performance, as perceived in their minds.

Practically speaking, you should DRESS the way you want them to think
you will dress every day when you turn up to work (there will be
exceptions to the general rule). I have a "Weddings, Funerals and
Interviews Suit". I can jump on my bike wearing full gear and walk
into a meeting on the other side of campus wearing a jacket tie and
office shoes. In your case, I think the correct thing to do would be
to put the ironed, folded blouse, polised shoes etc. in your carry
pack and wear what you can. Arrive 20 minutes earlier, and change
nearby (they will show you out, possibly off site).

Remember it's only for the interview. If they hire you you can turn
up looking like a Hells Angel. Say you discovered bikes since the
interview.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:24:01 -0700 (PDT)

A famous tactic is to now and then turn up to work in the good suit.

Your bosses will immediately assume you are going to an interview in
your lunch hour and get worried....

Mate of mine wears his interview suit now and then just to get some
use out of it, the first few times he had to be very reassuring....

I have been asked to an interview at very short notice and said "We
are re-cabling the place today so I'm in my crawl under desks and
floors gear, will that be OK?" As it happened it was a very laid back
workplace so it was the same kit I wore normally, but I figured it was
best to have a "good reason".

Besides, I'd been working in jeans and t-shirt offices for the past 5
years, I didn't *have* any interview clothes.

Zebee

 

each and every time you draw breath

 

What you wear is very informative about you as a person, and
deliberately being non conformist to a dress code (not wearing a suit
for an office job interview for example or wearing a suit to an
interview as a creative in the advertising industry) sends a clear
signal about your mental attitude and approach. Why would anyone hire
someone who loudly proclaims "I'm a subversive, I've no interested in
fitting in to your organisation's culture, if I don't like your rules,
I'll ignore them"

It is extraordinarily unusual for a role to be utterly stand alone,
generally you have to work as part of a team, and your approach to
team is clearly signalled by your willingness to be part of the
culture. An academic article published in the Harvard Business Review
concluded pretty forcefully that the person who is a "genius but an
arsehole who can't get along with others" (more nicely worded in the
article) is a net liability - it's genuinely not worth having them on
the team for the damage it does to the team.

It's extraordinarily juvenile to whine about "not judging people by
what they wear" when it is human nature to do exactly that - we gather
a huge amount of information visually, how you process that
information is the critical part.

Concluding things about people from what they wear has to be
approached carefully - some conclusions are supportable, some aren't.

It's reasonable to assume that someone turning up for an interview in
inappropriate clothing either a) doesn't understand what is
appropriate or b) doesn't care or c) isn't able to comply

Those three options lead to very different conclusions and actions.

FWIW I've hired 60 people in the last 12months alone (probably a 500
or more in the last decade and a bit) with a good track record of
success and physical appearance and presentation is only one of many
clues as to someone's capability, don't forget though that capability
has to be coupled with desire to work and desire to do a good job. And
appearance is a clue as to their attention to detail.

JL
All of which is not to suggest Betty should have been discriminated
against, but the other poster who suggested that there would be an
assumption that that was how she would turn up everyday is utterly
correct- I have no idea whether that is or isn't a problem as I have
no idea what she wore and whether it's inappropriate

 

Not quite - but my "inside contact" told me that the Head was pretty
keen on another candidate, and had been talking about him as if it was
a 'done deal' (plus looking for cockeyed and half-baked excuses not to
hire ME.) Will be funny if the guy can't be released from his current
school in time for Term 2... If they were to offer me the job today,
after all that, I think I would probably die of shock!

I had my little crisis of confidence last night, and a girly cry. I
never stay down for long though. My head is now in "move on" mode, and
I'm thinking about the next trip to Phillip Island ;-) which I will be
able to do on my bike, seeing as I more than likely won't be a teacher
constrained by term-time!

betty bounces back

 

That's just it though - I would be turning up to work every day in my
bike gear over the top of work gear. Stashed in the staffroom,
however, would be "classroom" shoes and jacket. That's just common
sense.

I take your point though. Perhaps I should've prepared them beforehand
so that they knew I would be turning up on a bike. They knew I'd be
taking time out of my public servant day to go out there for the
interview, though - could've been a bit unreasonable to expect that I
would take a an extra 20 mins or so to get all gussied up in such a
situation (and gussied down/geared up again afterwards).

Here's an irony - the previous Head rode a motorbike - and rode it to
school...

Meh, I'm over it. Now I just need to find a job that will get me away
from the horrid one I currently have!

betty

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:13:06 -0700 (PDT)

Definitely.

And if you don't know the culture, you have to assume it's the
"standard" culture for the kind of company. Standard interview
culture that is...

THe interviews I've had I always figure that for the kind of job I do
"dressy casual" is the right dress code. If I have a source inside I
can find out what suitable wear is. I was warned not to dress up for
a couple of jobs.

I expect even sysadmins to turn up reasonably well dressed for the
interview, even if the job is less fancy than that. If only because
it shows they know that such things are sometimes needful and they can
present corporately if needed.

On the other hand, anywhere who expected a female sysadmin to turn up
in heels and skirt is not a place I'd work in. Totally wrong end of
stick. Even if it was a customer facing role, trousers and flat shoes
are the proper data centre clothing.

Zebee

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:34:16 -0700 (PDT)

Warning them can work, but wearing as much as possible of your good
gear and changing into the rest seems to work better.

I've forgone the boots and worn good (flat) shoes, carried a folded
jacket in a backpack and put the bike jacket in the backpack when I
got to where I was going.

Give it a try, see how much good gear you can wear and how much time
changing takes. If you can practice it a bit you might find it works
well enough for you.

It does sound like it wouldn't have helped in this situation though.

Zebee

 

I know you'd be turning up in bike gear every day - BUT this is a job
interview not a normal day at the office.
I might cycle to work, but I wouldn't go to a job interview in
anything except a suit and tie - certainly not Lycra ;-)
You might have just made your own luck there, BB

 

Isn't whisky more appropriate for cuts and bruises?