1st job interview in 6 months

Wish me luck! I have my first job interview since I got laid off in July. It's on Tuesday morning.

It's for a job that's in my field and one that I'm more than qualified for. It would mean relocating, still in my state but on the other end. After 6 months of no leads whatsoever, that's not a problem to me anymore, however!

This first interview is just a phone interview, I need to get past this first hurdle and hope they want to meet in person. I could use all the good thoughts and positive thinking I can get. Thanks!

Wishing you all the best!

Good luck and be confident in yourself!!!

Becky

Sending good thoughts your way. Try to have a smile in your voice at times. Good luck!

kimsmom

Certainly do wish you well. My husband has been laid off since April 09'. Very hard out there, especially in a specialized field.

Thanks, Kimsmom. That's good advice, I'll definitely remember that. I've only ever done one phone interview, it was 2 years ago, and I didn't get that particular job. So I've no real experience with phone interviewing. I could use all the pointers and tips I can get.

That's one that's easy to forget too. One get's nervous and feels stressed, and it's easy to forget that if the interviewer doesn't hear a smile in your voice, he or she might visualize a grouchy, grumpy person. I'll definitely try to stay focused on staying and sounding positive and "smiling." Thanks!

Mianna, it is hard out there. I've been unemployed since February 2008. I got a job I thought would last, and it didn't, and I got laid off again in July. You hit the nail on the head about specialized fields. My work isn't all that special, but the job market is small and that does make it hard.

My close friend has been unemployed for over a year also. She did remind me to send a follow-up thank you email after the phone interview, which is a good thing to do. Just a "thank you for the opportunity to speak with you" message that reminds them of why I'm such a good candidate. I hope it'll be enough to score me an in-person interview. I know if I can get to round two, I have a good shot at getting the job.

Fingers crossed!

good luck! my fingers are crossed!

How exciting!! Best of luck to you and please keep us posted!!

How did it go?! How did it go?!

Charlotte

LOL Charlotte

I think it went well. I did alot of preparation last nite, preparing some possible answers, or at least, the outlines of answers. Like if they asked, "what are your strengths?" "give an example of a situation inwhich you did X" and so on" and I think that prep work paid off.

The interviewer did say, at the end, that after today she leaves on a two-week vacation, though! I was bummed to hear that. She said not to be discouraged to not hear anything for a couple of weeks, as she was leaving on vacation, and would resume interviewing when she returned, at which time she would begin the in-person interview process. So I am choosing to take that as a good sign that I will be invited to interview in-person I hope so!

She did ask if traveling to town for the in-person interview was a problem for me, and of course I said, not a problem at all. The job is located about 8-hour drive, 50-minute flight from where I am. Not a problem. And I figure I'll tackle the relocation problem when/if it becomes a problem, you know? No sense worrying about it now when it might not be something to worry about. I don't have an issue with relocating. 2 years ago I might've, but not any more!

Fingers still crossed, but I guess it'll be a couple weeks before I hear anything. I'll have to be patient, I guess!

I'm glad she let you know she'd be gone. Can you imagine what your mind would do if you heard absolutely nothing for 2 weeks and didn't know why? Rooting for you here. I'm constantly worried about losing my job. That's why I push myself to go to work and try to act like I'm not sick when I am. I don't want to hand them reasons to replace me. It is tough out here.

Chris

I'm so glad she told you about the delay too. That would've been so frustrating not knowing that.

Sounds like you did a great job! Yippee!

Like Chris, I'm trying to do a better job of hiding when I'm not well. Yesterday I had a 5-6 that just wouldn't budge, so I broke down and got out the ice bag. If I held it directly over my right eye it kept it down and kept the nausea at bay.

My partner looked at me and said "wow, you've been doing really well with your headaches, this is the first one you've had in ages". I just shook my head "no", and then he complimented me on not showing it or complaining about it.

But, this afternoon I'm home with runny, snotty nose, draining eyes, upset stomach (I think from being a snot repository) and diarrhea. I went home because I started sneezing a lot and I share an office and don't want to spread it. We had several that were out for almost a week with a wicked cold. I sure hope that's not it, I can't afford to be absent that much, I have to take too much time with my M's and now my back. It's making me nervous.

I'm in a profession though that has a lot of interaction with the public so we have a tendency to catch EVERYTHING.

Charlotte

I'm glad too. I would've thought she was blowing me off. As it is, I applied for this job back on December 1st, and it took until January 10th when she contacted me to indicate interest. That's a long time! Even with holidays in there.

I remember how that is. I worked through many a migraine, complete with nausea, because I was afraid of the sideways looks and comments. I had a coworker who got them more frequently than I did, and she missed alot more work than I did, and I caught alot of the comments people made about her. I was always afraid to miss work or go home sick because I didn't want people to talk about me the same way. She didn't get laid off, but she left to have a baby, and never came back. To be honest, I don't know if she would've had a job to come back to, you know?

Anyway, here's to hoping I get a second interview. I have to be very careful about spending money in the meantime, so that I can afford to fly up there if I get lucky enough to be invited up.