Extreme Unit
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2016
- Messages
- 87
- Reaction score
- 0
For the past year-and-a-half, I have been trying to get work so I can move to a better city and be independent of my mom. I have been applying to places like Albertson's, Stater Brothers, Ralph's, Costco, Sam's Club, Target, Walmart, and other grocery/retail stores as I have three years of experience working in such an environment. I go to websites like Indeed.com and caljobs.gov to find openings in my area.
I have had over twenty interviews since October 2016. I always show up on time. I always dress and groom accordingly. I always bring a resume. I also try to research a little bit of the company beforehand in case they ask me what I know about them. Every time I walk in for an interview, I think to myself,
I can do this. Don’t be afraid of them, they are just people like me. The past is the past, and this is a new opportunity.
When I first meet the interviewer, I try to show my interest in the job by making eye contact, smiling, giving a firm handshake, sitting up straight, making small talk, and explaining what I can offer them by telling them my past work experience and my positive characteristics: I show up on time, I don’t mess around when there is work to be done, I always get along with coworkers, I have a good memory, I have my food handler’s card, and I have excellent penmanship. All goes well, at least at the beginning.
Though I am obviously qualified for the positions the person interviews me for, the thing I have trouble with is impressing them. The trouble comes when they start asking me questions such as, “When did you go above and beyond the expectations of a customer/supervisor?” or, “How did you resolve an issue with a difficult customer?” or, “When did you influence someone’s opinion on a subject?” I don’t have any big impressive stories about how I did any of these in the workplace or just life in general, plus I am a very inarticulate speaker. This is where the interview starts to go off the rails: I lose eye contact and my posture changes as I sit there for long periods of silence trying to think of something to say, and I know that the interviewer can sense my discomfort. The fact that I am talking to a complete stranger and am competing against dozens or hundreds of other applicants who want the same thing I do doesn’t help either. At the end of the interview when they ask if I have any questions, I usually don’t, because I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean or if it has any bearing on whether or not I get hired.
To improve my chances of employment, I attend a weekly speech club and am also receiving services from an agency that helps people like myself try to get work. My counselor at said agency offers suggestions on places to apply to and helps me with interview skills and resume writing techniques. They help, at least in terms of motivation and accountability.
The whole job hunting process has been degrading to my sense of self-worth and made me resentful toward the job force executives. I am not content to live with my mom in such a disgraceful town as this, especially when there are much better-quality cities nearby that have a lot more to offer in terms of activities to do and potential wives to meet. Every job interview I have in one of these cities and then get rejected for it feels like a carrot is being dangled in front of my face and sadistically held just out of my reach.
Does anyone have ideas as to what I can say or do in an interview that will persuade the employer? I’ve tried to have reasonable standards in my job hunting endeavors and have taken every measure I can think of, and so far nothing has worked.
I have had over twenty interviews since October 2016. I always show up on time. I always dress and groom accordingly. I always bring a resume. I also try to research a little bit of the company beforehand in case they ask me what I know about them. Every time I walk in for an interview, I think to myself,
I can do this. Don’t be afraid of them, they are just people like me. The past is the past, and this is a new opportunity.
When I first meet the interviewer, I try to show my interest in the job by making eye contact, smiling, giving a firm handshake, sitting up straight, making small talk, and explaining what I can offer them by telling them my past work experience and my positive characteristics: I show up on time, I don’t mess around when there is work to be done, I always get along with coworkers, I have a good memory, I have my food handler’s card, and I have excellent penmanship. All goes well, at least at the beginning.
Though I am obviously qualified for the positions the person interviews me for, the thing I have trouble with is impressing them. The trouble comes when they start asking me questions such as, “When did you go above and beyond the expectations of a customer/supervisor?” or, “How did you resolve an issue with a difficult customer?” or, “When did you influence someone’s opinion on a subject?” I don’t have any big impressive stories about how I did any of these in the workplace or just life in general, plus I am a very inarticulate speaker. This is where the interview starts to go off the rails: I lose eye contact and my posture changes as I sit there for long periods of silence trying to think of something to say, and I know that the interviewer can sense my discomfort. The fact that I am talking to a complete stranger and am competing against dozens or hundreds of other applicants who want the same thing I do doesn’t help either. At the end of the interview when they ask if I have any questions, I usually don’t, because I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean or if it has any bearing on whether or not I get hired.
To improve my chances of employment, I attend a weekly speech club and am also receiving services from an agency that helps people like myself try to get work. My counselor at said agency offers suggestions on places to apply to and helps me with interview skills and resume writing techniques. They help, at least in terms of motivation and accountability.
The whole job hunting process has been degrading to my sense of self-worth and made me resentful toward the job force executives. I am not content to live with my mom in such a disgraceful town as this, especially when there are much better-quality cities nearby that have a lot more to offer in terms of activities to do and potential wives to meet. Every job interview I have in one of these cities and then get rejected for it feels like a carrot is being dangled in front of my face and sadistically held just out of my reach.
Does anyone have ideas as to what I can say or do in an interview that will persuade the employer? I’ve tried to have reasonable standards in my job hunting endeavors and have taken every measure I can think of, and so far nothing has worked.