Phone Interview for GREAT Opportunity...for me

[Bear-Man-Thing 203]

Many of you may not know, but I am a professional SCUBA diver and will have a BS in Marine Science in May.  I'm trying to get into aquariums as a Dive Safety Officer (DSO).

 

This morning, after a series of emails and a questionnaire, I got a confirmation about a phone interview as an Assistant DSO at an aquarium in Oregon.  I have never had an interview for this type of position nor have I had a phone interview before.  It really hit me when my supervisor, the DSO at my University, called me after I sent him a text; he told me to just answer and not think and asked me a couple questions.

 

I know I am qualified enough for this position and have written down notes about what I want to say for certain questions.  I also have thought about possible questions they may ask and am confident on how I am going to respond even if they are not asked.  I have never freaked out this much about anything in my entire life.

 

For you older people, what are some questions that you have been asked over phone interviews (or in person interviews if you've never done a phone interview) that seemed much different than those that would have been in-person?  Along the same lines, what kind of questions would you guys anticipate would be asked if you had a phone interview (not necessarily my position, but in general).  I can think of: What quality makes you stand out?  Why do you want to be here?  

 

There's so much more that I could say about this whole ordeal.  But god damn, I am excited and still freaking out.

[Battlemech7 87]

Don't forget to ask..... what can their company provide to you in terms of growth, education/learning (instead of just what you can provide them)... and most importantly ASK FOR THE JOB.

[Bear-Man-Thing 203]

Don't forget to ask..... what can their company provide to you in terms of growth, education/learning (instead of just what you can provide them)... and most importantly ASK FOR THE JOB.

That's not a bad thing. I'm going to ask something along those lines, but I didn't mention this is a seasonal position. Summer only. The question I would ask would be along the lines of: Would there be potential to have the time of position be extended?

I also have never heard of anyone saying to ask for the position at the end of an interview. Ever. That sounds like an extremely childish thing to do. Never would I think to ask for a position in an aquarium doing this kind of work unless I was joking and knew the people there for years (which I actually sometimes do at the aquarium I volunteer at).

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[Joscal 339]

I interview lots of people, and I don't interview on technical aspects, I interview for value and team fit most of the time (part of a multi-person interview schedule).

 

Main difference for me between in person and phone interviews is that I really want to figure out the person's motives, an in person interview tells you quite a bit judging facial reactions and such. 

 

If the interviewer cares about that sort of thing, he's going to want to see whether you go overboard on answers or don't completely answer the question.

One question could be 'Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your supervisor...and how did you find a resolution?'

I basically want to find out if you're a dick, and if you can follow a decent path to resolution. I don't want to listen to a 6 minute story of the event but I don't want a 30 second response either.

In person I'm unconsciously looking for people to fidget while telling me the story, most don't because they're unprepared so I get honest with a bit of waiting for certain parts of the story.

Over the phone I pay attention to the tone of voice, do they sound arrogant while telling me this?

Did they make a bad decision, if so did they own up to their mistake? (good)

Did they say they were right and everyone else was wrong? (bad)

 

While looking at this here, it's obvious that one is right and one is wrong, I have had plenty of people think that going over everyone's head and causing a lot of drama to get their way is fine.

Even if they are right we don't want to hire assholes.

 

That's a small bit, I could probably say more but I don't hire based on skill as much unless I get the rare occasion to interview someone for a Software Engineer in Test position.

[Battlemech7 87]

12 hours ago, Bear-Man-Thing said:

 

That's not a bad thing. I'm going to ask something along those lines, but I didn't mention this is a seasonal position. Summer only. The question I would ask would be along the lines of: Would there be potential to have the time of position be extended?

I also have never heard of anyone saying to ask for the position at the end of an interview. Ever. That sounds like an extremely childish thing to do. Never would I think to ask for a position in an aquarium doing this kind of work unless I was joking and knew the people there for years (which I actually sometimes do at the aquarium I volunteer at).

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Its precisely why nobody really does it and gets you noticed. At the end of the interview if they ask if oyu have anymore questions, just say "Can I have the position?". I am telling you you will get noticed. You can google this as well, its highly recommended by many high end executives. People just dont think to do it, and shows your eagerness for the job. Like when I was looking for new bodies to fill my ranks, I had one junior officer ask me flat out after his interview if he could have the position. Done.

[centran 4457]

Calling all @Junzou's!

 

I'm not sure about your industry and also not sure if the job you are interviewing for would be a relocation. Doesn't sound like it is if it is just seasonal. Don't "ask for the job" on the phone. If they offer you the job with only a phone interview then it isn't the type of job you pull those aggressive "sell" techniques. Most likely they are interviewing you to see if they should bother to bring you in for an in-person interview. Normally if you are unsure of the process and really want the job you will ask something along the lines of "what are the next steps?". If you want to be aggressive then maybe something like "when could I expect an offer?"

 

I can only speak for the tech field but this is how the process normally goes...

• A recruiter interviews you and will ask basic job questions and any questions the hiring manager wants asked which are normally very basic technical questions. Sometimes the recruiter won't even know the correct answer unless this is their main recruiting field and they have been in the industry or been recruiting for awhile.
• If you are passed along then usually you will have a phone interview or interviews. You may talk with the hiring manager or someone on his team. The manager will usually ask more basic job information like your history, things on your resume, why you are looking, etc. A team member will usually give you a technical screening. These will be harder questions and sometimes they are standard questions they ask everyone no matter what or sometimes they have a bunch they tailor to you based on what you put in your resume. Don't lie in your resume  Depending on the company you may just have one phone interview, multiple the same day that they transfer you around, or multiple on separate days. Sometimes the decision on who and how many of those phone interview you get are based on your first one. The manager will usually go first and based on that will decide if they should continue the process.
• If they liked you on the phone they will bring you into the office. In my experience this is always with multiple people. Either you will see people separate, all at once, or separate and then a bigger round table at the end. This varies company to company but usually involves personal questions as well as more technical questions. White boards and/or being handed a laptop are common. Sometimes it may be similar questions to the phone... not because they don't believe you are the same person but you will see different or more people as tech jobs are really team based so most managers like the interviewee to meet with as many people on the team as they can. This usually means in-person interviews are multi-hour to all day events. If you are in the tech field and just starting off DO NOT schedule multiple interviews for one day. I hate these long ass in-person interviews but they are becoming more and more popular. 

So why are interviews (at least in tech) so damned long, complicated, and sometimes repetitive. Teams. You work in teams so even though you get asked technical questions it is more about if you will fit in. If you didn't answer some questions to their liking but they can see the "gears turning" in your head, they like your thought process, and they like your personality then even if you think you screwed up they probably will consider you. They have to like you. People can be trained. Personalities usually can't. The only way they will consider you if they don't like you is if you are just godly at what you do.

[UnknownLegend 5480]

Please do not listen to Battlemech.  I'm working right now (I'm a Recruiter in a Fortune 150 company, different industry), but will give some more advice on interviewing when I get some time.  Broadly, here's what I'd suggest:

 

Research the company, get an idea of what their mission is, what they care about.  Read through the job description -- if there's a particular set of technical skills they list there, be sure you are ready to talk about how you have those skills, and try to work them into your answer.  Whether it's software, perhaps a particular piece of dive equipment or safety regulation... think of that job description like the answers to a test that they're giving you. 

 

Kind of similar to what Joscal said, prepare for Behavioral questions -- they're not the standard questions people think of during interviews.  They ask you to name a specific time and situation, with the goal being how you actually handled something, vs. a general "I would do X Y Z because I'm perfect."

 

If you can think of a few behavioral-type questions they might ask and pick a good situation or two you want to talk about ahead of time, the questions are pretty easy, you'll appear more poised, and it will reflect strongly on you.  This looks like a decent primer - https://www.thebalance.com/behavioral-job-interviews-2058575

 

Come up with some questions for the interviewer -- questions for them shows you're interested in the company, and the job.  It accomplishes showing you're interested without being desperate or unprofessional like asking for the job would be.  They know you want the job -- you applied for it.  No shit.  Asking questions demonstrates it's more than just a paycheck to you -- it at least gives the impression you care.

 

Asking about the company culture, clarifying questions about job duties, and as one of your final questions, ask if there's any concerns or questions about your background or resume that they haven't discussed yet.  Some managers back themselves into a corner with their questions, because they might see something they wanted to ask about, but the conversation didn't organically lead there.  They need to be sure they're asking the same base questions of every applicant, so by you asking them that question, it gives them an opportunity to clear up any remaining concerns they have, which otherwise might go unresolved.

 

 

I've actually interviewed executives btw, and I've never heard one do something so tacky as asking for the job so plainly.

[Clamps 4783]

Just now, Battlemech7 said:

 

Its precisely why nobody really does it and gets you noticed. At the end of the interview if they ask if oyu have anymore questions, just say "Can I have the position?". I am telling you you will get noticed. You can google this as well, its highly recommended by many high end executives. People just dont think to do it, and shows your eagerness for the job. Like when I was looking for new bodies to fill my ranks, I had one junior officer ask me flat out after his interview if he could have the position. Done.

 

[waffles 811]

Most of the job interviews I have been fairly generic and generally just ask about your qualities as a person and previous experience especially related to the job.  One thing I'd recommend looking up is the STAR technique for answering certain types of questions.  It just ensures that you answer a question completely and efficiently.

 

Congrats and good luck. 

[UnknownLegend 5480]

Just now, waffles said:

Most of the job interviews I have been fairly generic and generally just ask about your qualities as a person and previous experience especially related to the job.  One thing I'd recommend looking up is the STAR technique for answering certain types of questions.  It just ensures that you answer a question completely and efficiently.

 

Congrats and good luck. 

 

^^^ This.  STAR is how to appropriately answer behavioral questions.

[Bear-Man-Thing 203]

Holy shit thank you!!!

 

This would be relocation, but only one state up.  I know a few people within an hour of the aquarium, so I got that going for me

 

The head of dive operations of the local aquarium actually called me about 2 hours ago and gave me a shit load of information.  I have spent the past hour or so brushing up on everything and feel like I have a good grasp on what I am going to do (OSHA, WRSTC, AAUS for those that are curious).  From what he has told me, this feels like a behavioral interview.

 

This line of work, there are not many of these jobs out there.  To even be considered for an interview is a HUGE step for me.

 

Again, thank you, everyone.  Except you battlemech.  I might be "young" with interview processes, but I have my fair share.  T-minus 45 minutes.  I'm starting to shake again.

[UnknownLegend 5480]

Sooooooooo how'd it go

[Bear-Man-Thing 203]

It wasn't bad!  I think.

 

They didn't ask questions I thought they were going to ask.  It was basic interview questions about myself.  I answered a scenario question that was basically what I dealt with at least once a week at my summer job for the past two summers.  I got a more full description of the duties I would be performing; basically a little more than what I did as an intern at my local aquarium.  I asked if they had any questions about my resume that wasn't already addressed, and they asked me about my project when I was an intern.  One of the programs I would be involved in is damn near the same thing with what my intern project was.  That was exciting.  Thanks for recommending that question!

 

Pretty stoked on it.  Won't hear if I make it to the possible second round of interviews until Saturday at the earliest.  Middle of next week at the latest.

[Bear-Man-Thing 203]

I didn't get the job.  Oh well.  It's a career that is extremely competitive and the fact that I got a first interview is amazing.  At least I am pretty positive that I got a job over summer that I had for the past two years.