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Long story short (well it's not really a long story to begin with). Basically i kinda finished all my course work for undergrad and is just sitting on my ass waiting for the graduation ceremony which is in may, i actually finished everything in 2007 but for some reason the retarded desk admins insist that undergrad finish their ceremony 6 months later, not that i should complain tho because this would entitle me to another 6 months of student allowances :D.
So after pissing around for the entire xmas, i finally got my shits together and send out a few resumes. I wasn't confident enough to go for software engineer / programming positions since i didn't really have the skills yet, my plan was just to do some I.T related jobs, save a bit of money, try to gain a bit more insight into the industry and then take a post grad degree that is more specialized.
the first two resumes i send got some really quick reply. both positions are similar, being the sales / tech support roles. i was asked to attend the interview yesterday.
so i rocked up in ties and suit even in like 40 degrees weather. got there 10 mins early.
the first interview was relatively calm, the manager didn't ask any bizare questions and really just informed me of their pay rate and benefits and made a few jokes. He seemed a cool guy and in the end told me he was happy with me and said he would call me tomorrow (which is today), so i'm sitting on my ass waiting for that call and writing this blog.
the second interview was cool as well, but because of the first interview, i thought i had to be responsible and inform him about the possibility that i might get hired by some one else. i explained my situation and there wasn't any
hard feelings between us. in the end i asked if i can still have a chance if the first company rejected me. he said to call him regardless of results when i hear from the first.
i don't know if i explained that properly so just to add on a bit, the first company's pay, benefits and working condition is significantly better than the 2nd but the 2nd company is run by people who speaks Chinese and most of the employees are Asians which i can relate to. The first company have allot of connection with different government groups, corporations, universities etc...
so if given a choice, i think i have to chose the first mainly for financial reasons but i don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.
But for some reason now i think the 2nd company might think i'm just saying all that because i want a better pay or something despite even tho i tried to explain that numerous times during the interview.
Basically i promised that if the first company rejected me and i was offered here i would not leave even if the first company calls me back later.
so now i'm expecting a call from the first, its only 1pm but i'm freaking out. god this is frustrating, i don't know what i can do if the first company doesn't call me today but a few days later.
 
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United States1655 Posts
If the second company tells you to call them after the results, you can just wait a few days for the first company before calling them back right?
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On February 22 2008 11:11 SigrUn wrote:
If the second company tells you to call them after the results, you can just wait a few days for the first company before calling them back right?
yeah that was what we discussed but i can only expect them to hold out for so long, when we discussed this, i basically told them that i was expecting a call from the first company today. now that i think about it, i was a bit too optimistic.
the position isn't too technical and I'm not really the type that warrants special treatments from them.
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On February 22 2008 11:14 fight_or_flight wrote:
What's your degree in?
computer science/software engineering
graduating as computer science because i cbfed doing studio projects and learning useless crap for another year when my uni doesn't offer job placement etc... I could invest the money better getting a post grad degree.
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Just go for the 2nd company. It's assured and it will keep you from starving and it seems like it would be an enjoyable company. Just call and say you decided that you preferred the 2nd company. By waiting for the 1st which you may not even have a chance to work at you could potentially be forgoing your 2nd choice.
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now that i think about, i shouldn't be so picky but being a job seeker, i was not in a position to say no to an interview really.
i didn't really get a final word from either but judging by their attitude / reaction, i say i have a pretty good shot (or it could be that i screwed up but didn't notice it).
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You know I really think you should try to get a software/programming job. An IT job seems like a waste of your time. You should either try to get a co-op or internship with a company like microsoft or google, or some other company which does real cs problems. The experience you get will be worth as much as any type of school, and it is a better route for someone considering grad school.
You shouldn't feel intimidated by a job like that, because that is the level you are at, anything less would probably be selling yourself short. Thats my opinion anyway, of course I'm sure you know whats best.
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the second interview was cool as well, but because of the first interview, i thought i had to be responsible and inform him about the possibility that i might get hired by some one else. i explained my situation and there wasn't any
hard feelings between us. in the end i asked if i can still have a chance if the first company rejected me. he said to call him regardless of results when i hear from the first.
NO!
Bad!
Never bring that up in an interview, because regardless of how nice the guy seems, you will never be hired, if there are any other candidates at all.
I forget exactly the process of how to go about this (you should look it up), but you should never say that. Most places will already assume you are looking for more than one job at a time.
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On February 22 2008 11:35 fight_or_flight wrote:
You know I really think you should try to get a software/programming job. An IT job seems like a waste of your time. You should either try to get a co-op or internship with a company like microsoft or google, or some other company which does real cs problems. The experience you get will be worth as much as any type of school, and it is a better route for someone considering grad school.
You shouldn't feel intimidated by a job like that, because that is the level you are at, anything less would probably be selling yourself short. Thats my opinion anyway, of course I'm sure you know whats best.
yeah, i agree with what you are saying but atm i believe an IT job seems like the level where i am at. i live in australia btw, the software jobs and internship positions are pretty scarce (not saying there aren't any but the competition for them is pretty furious, althou i know some people got them like swami got an internship even while at uni), i'm not intimidated (well kinda) but given my present situation, i can't afford to hang on and spend a few months trying to land a software job that may never come. i know alot of people at my uni with better grades, better presentation didn't get a software job and working at local supermarket trying to find a different route.
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On February 22 2008 11:37 fusionsdf wrote:Show nested quote +the second interview was cool as well, but because of the first interview, i thought i had to be responsible and inform him about the possibility that i might get hired by some one else. i explained my situation and there wasn't any
hard feelings between us. in the end i asked if i can still have a chance if the first company rejected me. he said to call him regardless of results when i hear from the first. NO! Bad! Never bring that up in an interview, because regardless of how nice the guy seems, you will never be hired, if there are any other candidates at all. I forget exactly the process of how to go about this (you should look it up), but you should never say that. Most places will already assume you are looking for more than one job at a time.
i thought long and hard about this and now i kinda regret it because the 2nd position was really very within reach.
the thing is the first company's rate and benefits are second to none for these types of jobs in the city. no other company can offer the same as them pretty much. the development and contacts in the first company is also second to none (not that i intend to stay there for my whole life but it is worth while because i can make contacts for my future careers etc)
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On February 22 2008 11:37 fusionsdf wrote:Show nested quote +the second interview was cool as well, but because of the first interview, i thought i had to be responsible and inform him about the possibility that i might get hired by some one else. i explained my situation and there wasn't any
hard feelings between us. in the end i asked if i can still have a chance if the first company rejected me. he said to call him regardless of results when i hear from the first. NO! Bad! Never bring that up in an interview, because regardless of how nice the guy seems, you will never be hired, if there are any other candidates at all. I forget exactly the process of how to go about this (you should look it up), but you should never say that. Most places will already assume you are looking for more than one job at a time.
nah, it shouldn't matter unless the job works like a factory and don't go through candidates carefully. i've sat in on the other side, the hiring process, and if someone really wants you then they'll try to get you. you did come to their interview, after all.
still fusionsdf has a point. there's no point in saying anything about other jobs unless you know you have a hard offer from somewhere else.
i wouldn't wait, either. managers will say all kinds of things. just keep looking, the more options the better. good luck.
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i didn't really bring up this in the first interview. Obvious my bet is on the first company, they did call me before the second company.
i was just being completely honest about my situation and i just hope the guy sees that (hes not that much older than me).
it was pretty weird interview actually. the manager keeps hinting about my commitment and told me heaps of benefits and awards that i could get which i know he won't offer to some one who is only applying to his company.
They were really looking for a full timer because few people do it on a full time basis.
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would it be out of place to call or email the first company and ask about their decision? it's only being one day after all.
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Well, one of my aunts and one of my uncles were, in part, responsible for hiring people at their respective companies. Each has said either explicitly or implicitly that companies want to see that you want to work for them. So, if in a couple days they haven't called you, call them. Say you were really interested in the position and all that.
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i just tried calling the manager of the first company but got voicemail.
so i wrote an email asking him about my realistic chance at gaining acceptance.
i hope this shows my seriousness
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hm, generally you want to sound more confident, cause the way you said that, it sounds like you're saying that the cards are in their hands. i could be misreading your tone though.. remember it's a two way thing, they offer you the job but you're also offering them your work skills.
as a rule of thumb, it's better to just say you wanted to follow up, want to work for the company, and you're hoping to talk again soon (without like, sounding overly-enthusiastic).
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I agree with mjh. I'm a very honest person too and want to be straight up with everyone, but I quickly realized in the job search you can't be like that - you have to look out for yourself. Seeking employment is like a battle for information, you don't want a prospective company to know how many other companies you are interviewing, how desperate you are, etc, and the company doesn't want you to know how many possible candidates they have, how much they would like to pay, etc.
Generally I wouldn't mention one potential job to another potential employer unless an offer has already been made. Given the fact that you have already done so, I would agree with mjh and say the most important things are to be assertive (take the initiative!), be confident, and always do what you say you're going to do, whether that's follow up or let them know about a different job by a certain date. I would even say that personality (being happy, energetic, and confident) accounts for more than actual experience. My job required 3+ years experience and I only had 1, but I still got the job over more experienced people because of my attitude.
FYI I sent out about 100 resumes and had 30+ interviews before I found my job, so don't be afraid to say no and explore your options. GL!!!! ^^
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just a bit of an update.
taking advice from ppl i emailed both managers, got an email back from the first company saying he needs to discuss it with his assistant manager and get back to me this afternoon which is the same thing he told me during the interview.
that is good i guess, he either just forgot the matter or were too busy doing other things.
the second company hasn't replied yet which is a bit sad because all this mess started when i tried to be nice to them. i guess they just took me for a huge dick.
anyways lesson learned, i will try to post again when i get a definate answer from either. success or fail.
good luck to me!
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EPT
