Part 2 - Preparing for Job Interview

After getting off the phone I started freaking out!  Behavioral interview!!!!  A whole interview just with behavioral questions!!!   I can't do this,  I just cant!!!!  I can't remember working a specifics of a zillion years ago!   And to top it off I have nothing to wear!  All my clothes are to small.  So no I can't go!  I just can't!

My husband told me to lie.  Just make things up he said.  I can't lie!  If you know me personally you would know I can't lie.  So that is out of the question.
My friends reassured me that it would be fine and just to do it.

By Wednesday night I decided to go to the interview.  And what happens will happen, and I will just do my best.  I went shopping that night and bought 3 tops.  I did find some nice slacks that fit me a little snug but looked fine on me.

Thursday morning a few short hours before my interview I finally got a call from my sister.  We haven't been able to get each other on the phone in the past few days.  I told her about the interview being a behavioral one.  And she agreed with me that this kind of interview is "stupid".  Sisters are great for agreeing with you!  I love you sis!  I had a whole sheet of sample behavoral interveiw questions.  So I started asking her how she would answer them.  She couldn't come up with answers either until I came to  "Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it." and she said why don't you talk about getting your drivers licence.  I laughed at her and said that was more than half my life ago silly.  That is when the light bulb went on!  BING  Not all the questions have to be answered by work experience only!  I can answer them with mommy experience!!!!  I have 12 years of being a mommy!  All of a sudden the questions didn't seem so hard to answer!  I can do this!

• Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.   I do this all the time with the kids
• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.  I am a mom stressful situations I have tons of experience with!
• Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.  Have you ever care for a toddler!
• Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.  Well ya, I was able to teach my daughter to tie her shoe! 
• Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.  Have you ever fed a picky eater before?  Making their meal look like a smiling head works wonders 
  
• Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.  Yep, easy!
• Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.  This a daily occurrence.
• Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.  To say yes or to say no to giving in to your childs want.
• What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.  I have multiple ways depending on the situation!
  
• Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.  Not to hard.
  
• Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.  I'm the mom I always take the lead.
• Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.  Motivations my middle name.
• Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.  A bit tougher but I could think of something..maybe when we decided to tackle the basement together as a family
• Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.  I read a ton of books to help with parenting!
• Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.  This happens I am just human
• Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.  It my job as mom to anticipate problems!
  
• Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.  I make unpopular decisions all the time!

I felt exhilarated!  I could do this!  I am an awesome mom!

Part 1 - Worst Job Interveiw

Boy have I had a stressful few weeks! I applied to a job that I think would be the most perfect job for me. The hours were fantastic! No evenings or weekends. I could walk to work!  So no long commutes. Pay was good. It was a customer service job. Qualifications they require is customer service experience.  Which I do have but it's about 10yrs old experience.  But  I know I could do this job! I really want this job! So I applied and had a request for a phone interview a few days after.

The interview on the phone was not my best. I got flustered, I couldn't answer some of the questions!?  She was asking me about my previous customer service experience through behavioral questions. Behavioral questions are for you to recall specific instances where you were faced with a set of circumstances, and how you reacted to them. They want specific situations, stories that happened to me in the past and how I dealt with them!

Here are few sample questions I got from here.  Cause I can't remember the actual questions she asked me.

• Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve a problem. Huh?
• Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it.  Goal?
• Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it. Ahh!  I don't remember!
• Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?  Um yes, um, when I um...
• What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of how you handle it.      
• Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it? no?
• Have you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker? How?   blank        
• Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.  blank

For the last 10 or so years I have been a full time mom and have provided daycare services.  I couldn't recall specific instances of situations that happened in my past work experience!  A bad case of mommy brain!!!  Not good.  I just came up blank for some of the questions!  I did to many ummms, and answered with what I would do's instead of giving specific details and how I dealt with them.  Not very good at all for a job interview.  At the end of the interview when asked if I had any questions, I took the time to tell her why I was so interested in this particular job and made her know that  I would be awesome at it.  She told me I would hear from the manager on Monday if I had a second interview.

I was really disappointed in myself after the interview, I am an emotional person and I know I screwed up.  I felt very down the next few days.  My kids were both gone for the weekend and the next whole week, so I didn't even have them around to help me get out this very bad funk I was in.

Monday came around and I waited for a call...none came.  On Monday evening I started to climb out of my funk(yes I was still in a funk) and accepted that the job wasn't for me anyhow...you know how you tell yourself stuff to make you feel better.  So Tuesday was a better day, until around 4pm when the phone rang and I saw the name of the business I applied to!!!!!  I almost didn't answer, but I did.  I was asked to come in for interview on Thursday.  He also warned me that it would be a behavioral interview!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read what happens next in part 2 which will be posted tomorrow!