Help Me: I think I’m bad at Interviewing

Written By Malik G.

The Art of The Interview

There’s a certain art that goes into interviewing for a job. It’s a skill and one that I don’t feel like I possess all of the time. Sometimes I feel that no part of the job search is equally as technical and subjective as the interview process. I’ve revised the resume and cover letter, put them out into the universe, and something has finally come back. But, now what?

It’s time to sit down and tell a prospective employer about how great of an individual I am. If only if were that simple. There are so many aspects to interviewing that sometimes it can seem overwhelming. You never really know how well or poorly you did and the truth is, you’ll probably never know.

In today’s post, I’m going to discuss almost everything that is running through my mind before, during, and after being interviewed. Whether you can relate or provide some feedback, I hope you enjoy the following.

I Landed an Interview! Now What?

Woo Hoo! After a successful phone conversation or email, I’ve managed to schedule an interview with a prospective employer in the days to come. I’m feeling joyful and confident but that is quickly replaced with anxiousness and non-stop questions. What if they hire someone before my interview? What do I tell my job? What do I wear? What kind of questions are they going to ask me? Who will I be meeting with?

Despite all these concerns, this is actually the least stressful step of the process, simply because there’s only one thing you can do: wait. All you have to do is wait and prepare but at the same time, the further away your interview is, the more your mind tends to run wild. The night before an interview is always the worst as I am rarely able to sleep. It’s just me staring at the ceiling thinking about possible answers to questions that haven’t even been asked yet.

Even though I’ve set my alarm for 8am and the interview is at 12, I still feel like I don’t have enough time. The city is only 45 minutes by train but something always happens that makes it feel like time has been displaced, Back to the Future-style.

In addition to this, don’t get me started on what to wear. I like to always play it safe with a simple black-and-white suit configuration but is that too corporate? First impressions are everything and you don’t want an interviewer thinking you’re uptight before you’ve even said a word. On the other hand, I don’t want to come off too laid-back either – not wearing a tie and looking like I’m on my way to a fashion show.

So, I’m off the LIRR and in Manhattan aka the world’s largest grid. Getting around is not that much of a problem once you’re aware of how avenue and streets work but I’ve found myself at the company an hour early. My internship supervisor in college (Hi Corinne!) once told me that you never want to arrive too early as you’re now disrupting an interviewer’s schedule. That being said, am I supposed to just walk around the city until it’s 15 minutes prior to interview time or go in ahead of schedule?

Whichever route I decide to go with, the easy part is over and the real dread is about to set in.

So Tell Me a Little Bit About Yourself. UHHHHHHHH

I like to think of a first interview as the first date of sorts. You have anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to tell your interviewer why you’re better than the competition you’ve yet to even encounter. The first issue arises when I sit down. Should I lean back a little or sit up straight? I feel like I have an awkward posture as is – not knowing what to do with my hands and feet when I’m stationary for long periods of time.

Once the interviewer comes in, I tend to adjust my posture based on how they’re seated and the overall tone of the room. The more humorous they are, the more laid-back I’ll be. If they’re more on the hyper-professional side, I’ll straighten up. The alarming thing is that the entire time I’m fixing my posture and position, he or she is looking at me, probably wondering why I’m moving so much. It’s not that I’m not comfortable; it’s that I’m not sure how comfortable I should be for this specific situation.

Now it’s time for the infamous phrase: Tell me a little about yourself. How deep does this question go? I know they don’t want a retread of my resume. Do I tell them my love of screenwriting and blogging? Do I tell a story at an attempt at humor? Six times out of ten, I begin with my name is Malik. No…Duh. I’d love to tell my entire life story as I feel it’d make Edgar Allen Poe laugh and cry but this isn’t the time. It’s a job interview so I have to keep things experience-related but I always feel like I’m coming up short.

No matter how much I talk about my internship and professional history, I walk away with the feeling that they didn’t get a true idea of who I am. Maybe it’s because I’m more defined as an introvert, and my best qualities are hidden under the surface. It takes a second, third, and even fourth impression before you see the funny, creative, and thought-provoking individual that companies look for. Where do I draw the line on talking about Malik the professional and Malik the person?

When it comes to the interviewer explaining the company, the role, and its responsibilities, I believe I’m a wonderful listener but again, part of this feels like a date. I’m making eye contact and acknowledging them but the longer someone is talking, the more I start to wonder about what’s going on with my face. I can’t smile the entire time as that’s just plain creepy but I don’t want to look like I dropped a winning lotto ticket down the sewer grate either. I try to find a balance but sometimes, I begin to feel self-conscious.

Listening is all about knowing when to change expressions. When to smile, laugh, nod, display empathy, and get serious. The main issue is adjusting to the scenario when you catch yourself doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

That Lonely (Yet Crowded) Train Ride Home

So I’ve shaken their hand, taken their business card, which I never know what to do with initially, (do I put it straight in my pocket or gaze at it for 5 seconds?), and depart the building. Now it’s just me, my thoughts, and hundreds of other commuters packed together on a train back to Long Island. This is my reflection time when I think of all the things I could’ve done differently.

All I want to do is call my interviewer and ask them how I did but I’m sure that’s inappropriate. It’s during this time when I begin to think of the possible competition and whether or not I even stood a chance to begin with. What if the kid after me was a Harvard graduate or a close friend of someone at the company? What can I possibly do to make an impact now that the interview is over?

There might be a second opportunity and who knows if they’ll even remember me when it’s time to choose an applicant two weeks from now. Even when I am confident about the end result, the interviewer can always have a different opinion. It’s like writing the next great American screenplay. One man’s magnum opus is another man’s drink coaster. Where there’s confidence there’s also sheds of doubt and it tends to drive me crazy until I reach home.

Last but not least is the most typical and personally hated question from friends, family, and pets alike: How’d it go? In my mind, it doesn’t even matter. Whether I thought it was perfect or disastrous, it’s what the interviewer thinks that determines if I get a callback or if I’ll be clicking the refresh button on my Gmail into eternity. All I know is that someone told me to always send a thank you follow-up email (Shouts go out to Corinne again!) It’s here where I attempt to make a last ditch effort to show my interviewer that I’m the man for the job.

If I promised to send them copies of my portfolio, blog, and other work samples, they go here along with a nice message. The sad part is that I rarely, if ever, get a response back. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I also have a friend that suggest that I call directly if I don’t hear anything back but that definitely doesn’t sound like the right answer to me. If they’re not interested, they’re not interested, right?

In the End

Interviewing is stressful but something that needs to be done. Besides, I like the idea of having a career and a job that provides me with confidence, skills, and purpose too much to let interviews scare me away. I’m curious to know if you share any of the same feelings or if you have any feedback to contribute. I look forward to any comments in the section below.

Hold up. Wait. I think I have another interview. Well, here we go again. Wish me luck and the same to you!

Until Next Time