Ugh... rough interview (in Off-topic)

There's a company I've been trying to join for a while now. Specifically, it's a great job in a Fortune 500 with a lot of choice in lateral movement and promotion. I've had my sights on openings, and the position finally popped up. Even better, I managed to land an interview.

Which brings me to today. Of all days, there was a large wreck that slammed traffic to a halt. Instead of being 15 minutes early, I was 15 minutes late. It's a dose of karma, as I've been on hiring boards and pushed to reject anyone who doesn't show up early. Even worse, I tried calling the HR contact to let her know the situation, but all I got was voicemail -- meaning the hiring manager was left in the dark.

The interview was actually three interviews that lasted 2.5 hours -- one with three people, one with two, and one privately with an individual who does the job. I rocked two of the three interviews, and I did a decent job with the other, but I flubbed one key question and chose not to draw more attention by correcting myself after the fact.

Quite frankly, I'd hire myself based on the interviews if I were in their shoes, but showing up 15 minutes late is a suicide move (and flubbing an important questions certainly didn't help). And to make things more sticky, the hiring manager who was supposed to lead the session got replaced at the 11th hour. Now I don't know who the heck was actually in charge, and none of the six interviewers had business cards for me to glean info for "thank you! ps, sorry I eff'd up" cards.

The feeling of wanting something and having it slip away is not fun.

/rant

Sorry to hear it, Demi.

Can't say I've been in that position myself, but knowing my luck, I'll be there multiple times in the future.

Well that sucks. Wish I had some advice for ya


umm When one door closes another opens?

There are more then one fish in the sea?

Potatoes?

#1 rule, never attempt to judge how someone else is judging you in an interview.

couple of things
1: as far as being late..ever think the reason the hiring manager wasn't there was that they got caught in the same traffic you did? either way them not being there actually helps you..the 'point' loss for being late is offset by the change in interviewers

2: flubbing one question (unless it was basic knowledge about the company or position) is not a bad thing..it shows humanity & room for improvement (companies, particularly 500s, like to train people their way)

basically, don't worry about it too much..do your follow up..go get the business card you didn't get before..be proactive & overcome the small mistakes that happened

Well, I just played my ace card. I know someone who works not just for the company but in the same department. I chose not to use the person as an in-house reference when I applied since I normally don't think fondly of it when I'm on the hiring board (too much conflict of interest and room for problems). But I called up my friend and got the missing information on the hiring manager and she'll send me his direct mailing address. With any luck, she'll talk me up. But I also found out that she and the last person I met with don't get along.

I'd honestly send the main guy a check for $5k tomorrow if I thought he could be bribed.

what a coincidence, i am the main guy! cm'd you my mailing address for the check...

:) am glad things are looking up..keep us informed..i would love to be able to respond to a congratulations thread