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what a waste of time and energy..

what a waste of time and energy..

what a waste of time and energy..

(OP)
i got interviewed 1st by the recruiter for 1 hr over the phone..
i got interviewed by the managers/lead engineers for 1 hr over the phone..
i got onsite interview for 5 hours! can you believe that 5 hours! with 5 different managers..

i didnt get the job... wtf..
i knew i wasnt getting the job they keep asking for field and lead experience which i dont have..
and this other guy got like 10 more years exp than i have..

what a waste of time and energy.. pisses me off.. they should have not interviewed me for 5 hours.. i mean common the 2nd interview they knew the other guy would get it..

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

The experience suggests that you >>almost<< had the job.

Whatever they kept asking for, that's what you should have been selling.  

By that, I don't mean that you should have lied, or even slightly misrepresented anything, but perhaps you could have re-told some of your history with a different slant, that demonstrated your empirical mastery of ... well, something they wanted.

Cheer up; when the guy who beat you turns them down, they may call.  Don't hold your breath, but don't give up either.


 

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Wow, 7 hrs of real life interview experience!

That will stand you in good stead for next time.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

I wouldn't look at it like that either, you were one of the finalists.

And my personal experience has been that some of the best places to work are those that have a long interview process in front of lots of people.

Take the positive approach.  Follow up with your contact and thank them for the opportunity and maybe they will keep you in mind for other positions you might be a better fit for.

 

this message has been approved for citizen to elect kepharda 2008

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

1 hour with HR/recruiter/etc.  That's their job.

6 hours with real engineers & managers!  They will have to book their time somewhere, so they must have thought it worthwhile to spend.

- Steve

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

I agree.  If you weren't seriously in the running, they wouldn't have spent the time to do the interview, since that takes time away from the stuff they're getting paid to do.

TTFN

FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

did they buy you lunch?  LOL

Never, but never question engineer's judgment

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Managers here would love to do 5 hour interviews (in the event that we were actually hiring.)  Someone gave them a charge number for it, so they're more than obliged to justify their time accordingly...


I've been through a similar dog and pony show, including the 10 minute drill with completely asinine questions regarding "which muffin I would choose."  They even paid all the travel expenses to get there, including lodging.  I almost wet my pants laughing when they discussed the proposed salary and incentives.  At least I had a relatively comedic afternoon and a decent lunch/dinner!

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

... I take it back.  Six hours to plonk on HR makes the Friday timesheet much easier to fill (cynical perhaps?).

- Steve

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

(OP)
well yeah they gave me a form where i could reimburse everything from car mileage to food.. i think they'd pay for the hotel if i check-in near their place the night before..

their place was like 1.5 hours drive from my place..
i considering moving if i got the job..

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Wow that is intense.  As mentioned though they fact that they invested so much times means they consider you to be a fine candidate, which is good.  Did they ask you alot of technical questions?

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

I'm not sure about all this investing time and effort meaning they were serious malarky.

I once got a phone call, fairly early on a Saturday afternoon from a director at a place who seemed incredibly keen to interview me.

Well, I get down there had my interview with some of their engineers and they basically wanted someone who's an expert on their CAD system and has tooling design experience.  I had a little time on their CAD system a few years earlier but nothing on the tooling.  It was obvious within minutes that they weren't interested but I was there several hours.  Last thing was a visit to the director that had called me, the engineer with me basically told the director it had been a waste of their time (more subtly) but that I might fit in at their parent organization.

I had an hour long phone interview a couple of weeks ago with 4 engineers where they asked some of the stupidest HR type questions I've ever heard.  The interview would have been unnecessary if the lead had asked me the first time I spoke to him if I had any experience with software in the relevant field.

So, in my opinion, just because they spend their time with you doesn't mean it's not a waste.

Posting guidelines FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm? (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Most of my jobs were from 10 minute interviews.
Any longer, I never got the job.

Good luck to you westheimer1234.

Chris
SolidWorks 09 SP4.1
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Westheimer,

To tell you the truth, all of my interview experiences from ther time I graduated college to present day have been very similar to your episode.  1-2 phone interviews followed by a whole day on site talking with personnel of various levels was par for the course.  In one case I had to go back for a second day of interviews - this involved air travel and the works.  I was offered the job but did not accept in this case due mainly to personal relocation issues.

Honestly the phone interview(s) should weed out any obvious problems with skill set matching.  If it does not then the person on the other end of the phone is completely clueless.

I have to admit that I have been on 1 or 2 on site interviews where at least I knew the day would be a complete waste of time right from the get go.

JoeChem

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

The oddest interview process I had senior year was after the actual interview with IBM Research.  

Everything was as usual until I got a call from the HR people that they were willing to hire me.  
me:   "So, what's the salary?"
them: "We can't tell you unless you accept."
me:   "So, how am I supposed to make the decision, then?"  
them:  ...silence... "Uh..."
me:    "Well, can you at least tell me if it's comparable to my other offers?"
them:  "OK"
me:    "Well, I was offered $20K by Harris."
them:  "Oh, we wouldn't be giving you anything near that level; it would have been more like $17K."
me:    "Oh, OK, so, thanks for calling..."

TTFN

FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

I once drove a hour and a half to be interviewed for the wrong job.

About 10 minutes in with the hiring manager I said "Uh, we're not talking about the position I applied for."

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Only once?
BTDT.
 

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Twice, if you count the drive back.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

I interviewed for several sponsorships as a teenager.  Most of them involved overnighting in a hotel.  A couple of them involved two days of intense assessment (role playing, interviews, team games).  The one I got and took was a simple 1/2 hour interview while on the way to another appointment.

- Steve

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

One of the interviews I went on my senior year was for the engineering group at a chemical plant.  I drove into town and they put me up at a hotel the night before.  I spent the better part of the next day interviewing, even, because I was young and stupid, taking a drug test.

It came down to me and one other guy.  I eventually got the call that they were going with the other guy because he had more experience.  I had over a year of intern/coop experience in chemical plants during college and I thought I was interviewing for a new grad job.

Who knows.

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

"All the world is a Spring"

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

ctopher,
You got to tell us how you land in a job in 10 minutes.

IRstuff,
That was funny, can't believe they were reluctant tell you what they were offering.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

ctopher,
... and what they find out in eleven minutes! winky smile

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - Robert Hunter
 

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Chris, you got to learn to keep quiet after the ten minuets.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services
www.infotechpr.net

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

No..just because they interviewed you for 6 hours doesn't mean it was important.  One of my former employers would interview prospective engineers for an entire day...showing them around, trying to sell them on the attributes of the company, having multiple people spend time with them from engineers to admin, and really spending more time on whether they fit socially in the organization than trying to determine if they exhibited communications skills, engineering competence, or had a reasonable work ethic.

I have interviewed many engineers, technicians, and admin people over the years.  I usually develop my opinion in a few minutes and then spend the next 45 minutes to an hour trying to refute my opinion, either way.  It is perhaps an odd approach, but it has served me well over the years. In my opinion, any interview over 1-1/2 to 2 hours is a waste of time.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Shortly after I was laid off a year ago, I was called in to an interview with a company I really liked.

I thought the interview went well; they even introduced be to the benefits manager and was told that she would be handling all things related to company benefits..  thought that was a very positive sign..  but it was a waste of time as well..  they even got offended a week and a half later when I called because I had a couple other offers and needed to make a decision..  

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

CBL...I agree with that.  It certainly works for me.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Chris, you got to learn to keep quiet after the ten "minuets."

After ten Minuets, I think anyone would be too exhausted to talk.

RE: what a waste of time and energy..

Westheimer1234,

That really blows with a high N value!!  I have been on some long interviews of late, myself.

Before Bear Stearns had a few too many drinks and wrapped the economy around a utility pole and ran away with your money, you could go to an interview for half an hour and get the job!

You go to a car dealership right now and you can get the deal of a lifetime.  That's the same thing those hiring managers are thinking.

I know how you feel.  I have written thank-you letters and sent emails to those I talked to with nothing in return from them.

I once applied at a large multi-national firm where there was this HR guy calling me from Upstate New York about a position in NYC.  He even gave me a run-down of the people and their personalities.  He even gave me interview pointers.  I still listened to him.  He said: "Just follow all these rules and you'll be in shit hot shape!"

I went to the interview.  It was promising.  I had a good time.  They knew who I worked for.  The interview was a few hours too.  Sent emails and letters to no avail.  

I called that HR guy and he broke the news.  He said it was wrong of them to leave me in the dark for a few weeks like that.

Hang in there, Westy!

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