Breadcrumbs
- Home
- Research staff
- Research staff blog
- Wounded from the (interview) battlefield
Wounded from the (interview) battlefield
28 December 2009
By Matthew Salois
Has anyone gone to an interview and been given a surprise pop quiz? Such was my latest interview experience, which sent a surge of panic throughout my nervous system the moment I knew what was happening.
Upon arrival, I was taken into a waiting room and given a piece of paper that consisted of an example case study and about four questions. I was told to read over the case study and think about my answers. The exercise was timed as I was told that my interview would begin in about five minutes.
The questions seemed out of my realm of expertise and immediate panic swept over me. Truthfully, I considered a full retreat and thought about quietly slipping out the door before the interview began. Then better judgement came to me and I quickly read the case study and scribbled down some gut-feeling responses to the questions.
In the end, the interview was not a disaster and the quiz component only composed about 15 minutes of an interview that lasted slightly over an hour. I began to feel more comfortable after the interview finally began and generally conveyed myself and my credentials well.
In the end, however, I was not offered the job. However, the interview experience itself was enlightening. Not only did it remind me that preparation is vital to a good interview, but I now feel more combat-worthy for the next interview. Should another surprise pop quiz come my way, I will certainly handle it a lot better.
Has anyone experienced an atypical interview or have a noteworthy experience?
Elizabeth Dodson30 December 2009 at 12:04 AM
permalinkreport this comment
I’ve been wrong footed a couple of times at interviews. Sometimes you can feel thoroughly prepared to talk about all the skills you believe that the job requires and then get hit with something unexpected. As an example, I had an interview a few years ago for a predominantly qualitative research post that I thought I was ideally suited to. Sadly they sprung a statistics test on me using a stats program I had never used before. I had to sit this test immediately before going into the interview, despite the job involving very little statistical work. Having used an entirely different stats program during my degree I fumbled around this new program during the test, spending most of my time exploring the help function rather than answering the questions. My perceived failure at this test knocked my confidence for the rest of the interview and needless to say, I didn’t get that job. Ironically, the job I did get a few weeks later required far greater use of the same stats program, but this time the prospective employer was prepared to trust that with access to the software I could learn quickly. As it turns out, it was pretty easy to pick-up the basics and I’m now fairly proficient. I imagine I’d walk that same test now but I wouldn’t go back and change things as I got the better job. Interviews can be a battlefield, but hopefully, each one actually makes you a little stronger and a little better prepared for the next.
Sarah Davies02 January 2010 at 11:49 AM
permalinkreport this comment
Maybe I've been fortunate so far but I've not come across anything like this. What exactly was the case study, Matthew? Data? Were they trying to find out about your analytical skills? I have, however, taken part in a group interview (though not for an academic job), where candidates worked together at a task. Not fun...
Matthew Salois14 January 2010 at 08:33 PM
permalinkreport this comment
Elizabeth, I am glad the experience could benefit you at a future occasion. I am hoping mine will do the same for me in the near term. Sarah, the case study involved an actual problem of trying to determine the economic costs of a medical treatment. The goal I think was more trying to determine my knowledge base than an actual skill level (e.g. analytical skills). Group interview? That sounds like a completely worrying experience!