What are you thinking RIGHT NOW?

[Azdgari]

Really digging seeing new faces around these parts!

[SimbasMate]

I'm so excited for my new computer! It's going to be great.

[Regulus]

On the bright side, today I interviewed for a position at Tesla.

On the dim side, there was no way I could have pleased someone like her. So that's another one in the trash.

[Azdgari]

On the bright side, today I interviewed for a position at Tesla.

On the dim side, there was no way I could have pleased someone like her. So that's another one in the trash.

Elaborate?

[Regulus]

On the bright side, today I interviewed for a position at Tesla.

On the dim side, there was no way I could have pleased someone like her. So that's another one in the trash.

Elaborate?

Tesla is the electric car company run by Elon Musk, and the sister company to SpaceX. They've gotten famous over the past few years, and get hundreds of thousands of applicants every year now. So, they're an extremely selective company.

Much to my surprise, I somehow managed to score an interview with them anyway.

I knew the odds were against me, but of course I wasn't going to pass up the chance. I thought, maybe, I'd be able to to really stand out in this one. Tesla is a company I've followed closely since 2010 or so; I know a lot about their cars, their mission, and their culture. I could probably write a whole book about them, and so I thought I could use that knowledge to my advantage.

The TL;DR of it is... no. Like, no way.

My technical knowledge didn't impress her at all. She just changed the subject to my work experience and kept asking questions about that. Since I know work experience is so important to some people, I was even prepared for that. I had scripted responses to follow in case this would happen. I had my arguments set up and I didn't hesitate to explain why my lack of work experience actually makes me a better candidate... but she wouldn't hear of it.

So, whatever. Typical HR shenanigans. She wouldn't even hire Elon himself, if that's who she was speaking to.

[it means no worries]

Thought MLK died there.

--

@Regs, I know you've been on the job hunt for a while now and of course it sucks being rejected, but the very fact you managed to get an interview with Tesla is pretty damn impressive, and i'm sure something good'll turn up soon. Good luck with the search!

[Azdgari]

On the bright side, today I interviewed for a position at Tesla.

On the dim side, there was no way I could have pleased someone like her. So that's another one in the trash.

Elaborate?

Tesla is the electric car company run by Elon Musk, and the sister company to SpaceX. They've gotten famous over the past few years, and get hundreds of thousands of applicants every year now. So, they're an extremely selective company.

Much to my surprise, I somehow managed to score an interview with them anyway.

I knew the odds were against me, but of course I wasn't going to pass up the chance. I thought, maybe, I'd be able to to really stand out in this one. Tesla is a company I've followed closely since 2010 or so; I know a lot about their cars, their mission, and their culture. I could probably write a whole book about them, and so I thought I could use that knowledge to my advantage.

The TL;DR of it is... no. Like, no way.

My technical knowledge didn't impress her at all. She just changed the subject to my work experience and kept asking questions about that. Since I know work experience is so important to some people, I was even prepared for that. I had scripted responses to follow in case this would happen. I had my arguments set up and I didn't hesitate to explain why my lack of work experience actually makes me a better candidate... but she wouldn't hear of it.

So, whatever. Typical HR shenanigans. She wouldn't even hire Elon himself, if that's who she was speaking to.

It sounds like you probably gave a great interview at a top-tier company. I'm sorry--sometimes you do just get a garbage interviewer that's having a bad day or something, and that's frustrating. But it does nothing to diminish my perception that you're a killer candidate that's going to crush it wherever they end up.

[mamaprince]

I need to start reading some more books... but multitasking.

[Regulus]

@Regs, I know you've been on the job hunt for a while now and of course it sucks being rejected, but the very fact you managed to get an interview with Tesla is pretty damn impressive, and i'm sure something good'll turn up soon. Good luck with the search!

It sounds like you probably gave a great interview at a top-tier company. I'm sorry--sometimes you do just get a garbage interviewer that's having a bad day or something, and that's frustrating. But it does nothing to diminish my perception that you're a killer candidate that's going to crush it wherever they end up.

Yeah. You're both right. I gotta admit, my emotions have been all over the place in the past couple of weeks. Since April I've doubled my number of interviews, but they've all seemed to go sour for one reason or another. So, there's been good days and bad days, ups and downs, and I've only been looking ahead to what's next.

Now, for the first time in weeks, I'm back at the beginning again. I have no more interviews scheduled, and it appears that everything I thought I had a chance at has run dry. So, here I go again, throwing out applications to see what sticks. It sucks. I hate it. But this is what I have to do.

It's a struggle.

On another note, it would be nice to know how people do actually get jobs. I've sat through many failed interviews, but I've never seen a successful one. What are other people saying to recruiters that's working so much better?

[Azdgari]

How do you sell yourself?