Banz Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I had an interview couple of days ago for a job in the states. HR emailed me and ask what I thought about the phone interview. I've done really bad due to nerves, poor audio connection and the accent. I couldn't answer some of the very simple technical question but I could answer the harder question. Should I be honest and tell them that I would be really shocked if I passed the interview? My American friends are telling me the culture is very different there. Everyone boast about how good they are. You have to sound confident or else you won't do so well. Unfortunately that isn't me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggalo Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Same over here I think You really have to market yourself nowadays. And no, I wouldn't say you'd be surprised - it translates into "I'm pretty average, why would you hire me" Just say you're disappointed the interview wasn't as successful as you'd have liked, connection issues, blah, blah. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_K Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 A colleague of mine moved between UK and US offices and although I agree with the comment above about it being a bit of a boastful culture, that's not different to finding a job in the UK; you just have to go with the 'CV talk' flow, which is hard if it's not really 'you'. He's the most softly spoken, modest guy you'll ever meet, BUT he's good at what he does, and he seemed to get on fine. As above really, just say you were disappointed with how it went because of various technical difficulties and you felt your knowledge and experience didn't come through. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 First up think why they are asking the question. I would never arrange a telephone interview unless I knew the applicant had a reasonable chance of having the capability to do the job advertised. So could it be that the interviewer felt you are a strong candidate and wanted to know why you slipped up on simple questions? Personally if the call happened with someone I was interviewing I would pretty much accept its nerves (we all have them) and telephone isn't always the easiest way to communicate and would be looking for re-assurance that actually that was the case. I am second guessing all this by the way. So I would go back and be pretty truthful about the whole thing, phone line was poor at the start and it took a few minutes to get used to the accent - on reflection you should have asked for clarity explaining this at the start of the interview. I haven't worked in the US, but work regularly with our US office, and find the people generally quite down to earth, they also respect other people for their abilities and happily pass praise our way. I think there is a stereotype shouty american view which there are lots of, but would not assume thats how everyone works. Good luck with it, keep it professional, calm, well mannered, thought through and give it your best shot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS8055 Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 If it were me, and I really wanted to job, I would simply explain that I felt the connection issues on the phone call hindered my responses and does not reflect any inability I have in terms of knowledge/expertise. Finish with something along the lines of this job is your preferred choice and you would thoroughly enjoy the prospect of taking on the challenges that this position has to offer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Lie and just tell them you thought it went well, you really feel that you can do the job and are more than happy to answer any other questions they have etc. Its all about coming across confident (but not arrogant) and making them feel that you are the man for the job. One of my mates had a phone interview last year. The recruitment agency warned him that the company tended to ask a lot of questions and drag the interview out so he was nervous and worried. The phone interview lasted about 10minutes and they barely asked him anything. He phoned me up asking me what I thought as he thought he`d blown it. I said it can be one of either 2 things. They thought you were rubbish and just wanted to get you off the phone, or they thought you were sh!t hot. Anyhow, 2 days later they call him back and offered him the job as apparently they thought he was awesome. Needless to say my mate was very surprised. I got my current job via a phone interview with the company President whose based in the US. They were supposed to call me at 5pm but didnt. It got to 6pm and no call so I thought "f**k this" and went down the pub. Anyhow, a couple of hours and 6 pints later the company phone me up saying sorry they are late but am I okay to do the interview with their President now. The job was an incredible opportunity for me and I really wanted it, so I said (whilst trying to pretend to be sober) "sure". Needless to say I was very relaxed on the call. I cant remember much about the call at all, but it must have gone very well as it ended up with me being offered the job. The work culture in the States is very different to here. Its all about work, work and more work. They get 2 weeks holidays and little benefits. If they are not happy with you then they can fire you on the spot without any of the pussy footing around you have to do here with HR. Its all about results. They tend to start work early, happily work late as well as work over weekends. My boss starts his day at about 5am as thats when he starts emailing me. I have conference calls with them at 10 pm some nights as well as at the weekends - they seem to forget about the 8 hour time difference between them and me. I remember one Sunday afternoon I was in a sofa shop buying a sofa and I ended up sitting on the sofa having a conference call between our US office, our Indian office and some of our developers who were based in Edinburgh and Cambridge. Also, maybe its just my company but they also tend to be a bit tight on the salaries. Ive had 1 pay rise in 6 years and ive struggled to get the guys on my teams any increases either. But on the plus side I do get to fly to the US once a year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I remember one Sunday afternoon I was in a sofa shop buying a sofa and I ended up sitting on the sofa having a conference call between our US office, our Indian office and some of our developers who were based in Edinburgh and Cambridge. "Sorry, what? No, can't hear you, line is terrible! You're breaking up... can't hear you..." *click* brrrrrrr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS8055 Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I second the being confident but more importantly, not arrogant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banz Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 Wasn't expecting so much replies. Now I feel more confident with the advice's. I've been in the same company for the last 6 years so I got a little bit rusty on doing interviews. Thank you all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyZ Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I'm not particularly good with the whole job application / interview process, but I'd say that it's fine to touch on the fact that it didn't go quite as you'd have liked but the overriding theme should be that you still want the job and you feel that you're the right person for it. Focus on the positives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I remember one Sunday afternoon I was in a sofa shop buying a sofa and I ended up sitting on the sofa having a conference call between our US office, our Indian office and some of our developers who were based in Edinburgh and Cambridge. "Sorry, what? No, can't hear you, line is terrible! You're breaking up... can't hear you..." *click* brrrrrrr Thats what I said to the sofa sales man who was trying to flog me the sofa in one ear whilst I had the conference call going on in the other ear. Mad times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I'll assume it must've been life or death, as you wouldn't catch me doing a conference call on a Sunday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I once set up a conference call with a client in New Zealand for 2:30am UK time, forgot about it, phone rang in the middle of the night, lept out of bed when it suddenly dawned on me what was going on, grabbed dressing gown, dashed downstairs and did the call. About 30 seconds into the call I looked down and realised I was sat there bleary eyed, hair all over the shop, half asleep, in my wifes pink dressing gown with flowers embroidered on it. If the board of the company over in New Zealand could have seen me...deal would have been dead in the water immediately! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I once set up a conference call with a client in New Zealand for 2:30am UK time, forgot about it, phone rang in the middle of the night, lept out of bed when it suddenly dawned on me what was going on, grabbed dressing gown, dashed downstairs and did the call. About 30 seconds into the call I looked down and realised I was sat there bleary eyed, hair all over the shop, half asleep, in my wifes pink dressing gown with flowers embroidered on it. If the board of the company over in New Zealand could have seen me...deal would have been dead in the water immediately! Hahaha!!! Reminds me of a webex I had with one of our Developers in the States. He works from home and was showing the rest of the company some code changes he had made so was sharing his screen - nobody had our webcams on. I dont know what he did, but he accidentally turned his webcam on and the entire company saw him sitting there in just his underwear. To say he was embarrassed was an understatement. Whole company literally fell of their seats laughing. Luckily everyone saw the funny side of it. To be fair, it was a really hot summer where he lives and he had no air con in his house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Rabbitstew he probably hit camera instead of mute in webex.... Done that plenty of times myself. Some good advice in this thread, I too work for an American company and yes they can be full of themselves but they do recognise talent... In fact I've moved roles a few times and it's always down to the role being offered, haven't had to be interviewed once strangely. Good luck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banz Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 My other half started working in the states a few months ago. She is really struggling in her managerial position. It is her first time being a manager. She has a very similar personality to me, we both are very friendly to work with and get along with everyone. But we let people step all over us and don't stand up for ourselves. She is struggling because all the other managers are very shouty and looks down at her. She isn't able to speak up in meetings because she says the Americans aren't as polite and courteous us the British. We are a young couple so I told her give it a few years and she would change. But hey, that's life and culture difference. We just need to change and adapt. It's always been survival of the fittest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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