Talking about job interviews and how to deal with them has always been a hot topic among young adults, and now I can see why. Yup, today I gave my first ever job interview and needless to say, it was probably one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Entering the premises itself, is a battle of its own. You are constantly being distracted by your own fear and anxiety and all these random questions that pop into your head about how are you going to present yourself in front of the interviewer, especially if you are the youngest among all the other employees.
"You are so young!", is literally the first thing my interviewer told me.
If you don't feel like you are ready enough, you might even become extremely conscious of your attire, your voice, your body language, or any little detail about you that might give out a wrong image, which makes you hesitate and appear nervous and unfitting for the job.
But for me, fortunately, things went pretty great and honestly better than I expected, and I guess the reason behind that is I tried not thinking about it too much because I knew that once I start overthinking, I won't be able to stop and it will just make a mess of my mind making me unable to present myself in the way I want.
So, without thinking too much, I just went for it and hoped for the best and surprisingly, I felt really confident and "normal". I used to be the one who in a situation like this, would usually start to sweat a lot, get uncomfortable, and make it hard for myself to speak up. But now, seeing myself today in that interview, I'm really proud of myself actually.
I did notice and learn a few things from that interview which I want to share with you guys.
Perseverance Is The Key
In the very first few minutes of my interview, I was told that it might be hard for them to hire me because they were looking for a full-time employee and I was available only for part-time as I do have to attend my college lectures in the morning.
But I didn't just get up and leave, no, I persisted. I told them of how passionate and serious I am about this job and how writing is something that I hold very dear. This was enough for the interviewer to talk to her seniors about it and give me a chance to prove myself.
"Hell yeah", I said to myself. This minor accomplishment added to my confidence and made me feel even more ready to give that test. Honestly, I'm still surprised that I didn't feel nervous between all of this, though, it did feel like a dream for a moment because it all seemed too good to be true, lol.
Confidence Is Irresistible
It's quite an obvious fact that confidence is really attractive. Seeing a confident person, sparks this strange curiosity in you and a desire to know more about that person, and though I'm pretty sure my interviewer wasn't interested in knowing more about my personal life, I could see that my tone of voice did have an effect on her.
That's the thing about confidence: it's irresistible. I know it may not be as valuable as your work experience or qualifications, but it definitely helps in giving out a lasting impression and increases your chance of being remembered.
Know Your Worth
Now comes the tricky part. You see, when discussing salary, especially in the case of freshers who have close to no experience, companies tend to play it smart. They offer you a salary much lower than you expect, but tell you that it will rise once you gain a little experience in about a few months.
I knew something like this was undoubtedly coming my way too, and after some discussions, it did. Instead of being difficult, I sincerely asked my interviewer, "Can I get that in writing?" because it's always better to have a written evidence than a verbal promise.
I was not even afraid to give a straight no for an answer if the salary didn't fit my minimum requirements. I did some calculations a few hours before the interview and I had already decided what is the lowest I can afford to take and that's why I was able to make myself very clear when discussing salaries.
"You stubborn kid," the interviewer told me in a humorous manner.
All in all, it was definitely a really different and unique experience for me and I don't know for sure if I will get the job or not, but I have a really good feeling about this one. Let's see how it turns out. Whatever it may be, I'll make sure to let you guys know, or maybe even make a post about it, who knows?
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Congratulations on your first job interview. Most of us went through it so we can find ourselves in the feelings that you described. It's great that you overcame your fears and you tried to be confident and self secured. It is important to show that you're worth it. It is not a company doing you a favor by hiring you. They need you too! So it's a normal conversation between two parties trying to come to a result that is acceptable for both of them. This is very difficult to realize when you are young and you have no experience but you did it!
I hope for you that you get a job offer. At least I am sure that you left an impression there. And if you don't it doesn't matter as you gained new experience and you proved to yourself that you can do it :)
Well done!!
Have a lovely weekend and be proud of yourself :)
Such an uplifting comment! I'm smiling like an idiot right now haha
Exactly. They need your skills just as much as you need their money.
I think the reason why teens accept any kind of pay in the first few years is because they are easily manipulated by the company or are either too desperate and in need of immediate money. Fortunately for me, I know how much I'm worth and I could sense that they were quite impressed with the entry test I gave in the interview.
Let's see how it goes from here. Gonna be a fun ride ;)
Your post is past payout, but the comment is not, so I am making my remarks here and upvoting you. I think we all remember the first job interview. Mine was for a part-time job that didn't matter much, but still memorable. Sounds like you were poised--much more so than I was at my age.
Good luck!
No matter what it is, a first job is a first job, regardless of what it is about. It gives you experience and more importantly, perspective and the memory, like you said.
Thank you for the encouragement! :D
I like the section about knowing your worth. Never forget that accepting less than what your worth will determine your future development by a large degree!
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True that!
I love how you know your worth and that you are firm with what you say. They like that confidence :D Good luck!
Haha thanks!
The thing is, once you start accepting low salaries even if you know that you're worth more, you're literally throwing away your potential future development. The bigger the base income, the higher the growth rate.
But I have to say, they were really good at keeping their poker faces, still, it wasn't enough to break through my decision.
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