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[Fifthfiend]

Walk into the office, light the interviewer's desk on fire, throw his briefcase out the window, then be like, "sup?"

From there, it should pretty much all be smooth sailing.

[Nique]

Interviewing is hard if you aren't naturally gregarious or used to talking about yourself (RE: Selling yourself).

Positive attitude is a good start, even if you have to fake it. Know everything you can about your potential employer before going in and for the love of god ask questions. Ask the questions as if you were going to be hired. Assume you are going to be hired becuase that will give you 1) confidence, even if it is faked and 2) an invested interest in the job. Even though you aren't saying it aloud (and thus,can't be perceived as presumptuous) you'll be controlling the tone of the interview and leaving a very positive impression.

I have never worked in any sort of legal field but I have almost never been passed over for a job after interviewing so I hope this advice is helpful.

[Oron]

You also mentioned not being able to keep eye contact. Try looking at their forehead, right between their eyebrows/just above their eyes. It will look like you're keeping actual eye contact, but you aren't really. Might want to actually look them in the eyes when you are answering an important question, however.

[Nikose Tyris]

I'm tempted just to tell you to go smoke some pot and take a break from stress for a few hours, but in all fairness you'd probably fuck that up too. <3 Snake, you know I'm teasing.

So instead; Breathing excersizes are a great idea. Get yourself calm and centered. Easy one that I reccomend is "Square Breathing.". Inhale for a four count, hold for a four count, exhale for a four count, and hold out for a four count. And by four-count I mean "Count to four in your head". Do it before the interview, and do it whenever you're stressed.

Second: Remember that no matter what happens here and now, it's just the here and now. As important as this is, will it be as important tomorrow? In the grand scheme of things, you don't even want these jobs. You need em for now, but looking back in a year, two years time? You won't care about these jobs. This will be garbage to you. Look at this from the perspective of time, and you might find that it's suddenly less stressful.

Third and onto more on-the-spot interview tips: Imagine you're speaking to your pastor for the job interviews. He's familiar, but there are certain things you don't say to him or bring up. The same level of respect you give your pastor will translate beautifully to these folks.

Use this trick by speaking to them as if you WERE talking to your pastor, as if he was the one who asked you the questions. It'll let you project that same comfortable appearance, and hopefully help you steady your voice.

That's the best advice I can give- a bunch of other advice has floated through here and you can pick and choose.


One more thing: That weakness question is rigged. They're basically used to hearing "Oh, I have a fear of failure." "I am a perfectionist and I tend to overanalyze." And a number of other features that could be seen as a strength rather then a weakness. It's also a gimme question to see how you react under stress.

And while this might not be applicable for you, at every job I've ever been hired for, my answer has always been, "Kryptonite."

[Liquid Snake]

...Today was hysterical.

And by "today was hysterical" I mean I managed to handle each interview just right (even the one where it became very prevalent I was well below their required standards).

And then I somehow managed to fuck everything up after the fact.

I left my laptop bag, complete with $2000 laptop inside, after exiting the rooms of two of the three interviews because I am such a fucking klutz. Fortunately one time the interviewer was on break, but the second time this happened I had to interrupt another person's interview in order to get my bag back. And this was after actually leaving a solid impression during the interview itself.

So after pulling nearly an all-nighter trying to get today right, I still found a new and completely different way to fuck up. I should be nominated as the God of Fucking Up.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Liquid Snake

...Today was hysterical.

And by "today was hysterical" I mean I managed to handle each interview just right (even the one where it became very prevalent I was well below their required standards).

And then I somehow managed to fuck everything up after the fact.

I left my laptop bag, complete with $2000 laptop inside, after exiting the rooms of two of the three interviews because I am such a fucking klutz. Fortunately one time the interviewer was on break, but the second time this happened I had to interrupt another person's interview in order to get my bag back. And this was after actually leaving a solid impression during the interview itself.

So after pulling nearly an all-nighter trying to get today right, I still found a new and completely different way to fuck up. I should be nominated as the God of Fucking Up.

You know, that might actually work in your favor. It makes you memorable and shows that you're still a kid and not perfect. That kind of stuff is EXPECTED. They don't expect to have a perfect interview from you, but your fuck-up was unique, which means they'll remember you when all the guys who flubbed their lines will be forgotten.

In short, don't worry about it. You left a strong impression, which is more than most will be able to say.

[Terex4]

Originally Posted by Liquid Snake

...Today was hysterical.

And by "today was hysterical" I mean I managed to handle each interview just right (even the one where it became very prevalent I was well below their required standards).

And then I somehow managed to fuck everything up after the fact.

I left my laptop bag, complete with $2000 laptop inside, after exiting the rooms of two of the three interviews because I am such a fucking klutz. Fortunately one time the interviewer was on break, but the second time this happened I had to interrupt another person's interview in order to get my bag back. And this was after actually leaving a solid impression during the interview itself.

So after pulling nearly an all-nighter trying to get today right, I still found a new and completely different way to fuck up. I should be nominated as the God of Fucking Up.

See you can interview well and make yourself memorable. Leaving the bag was a simple thing that shouldn't reflect poorly on you and the incident will leave you stuck in the interviewer's mind.

You may be onto a trend where fucking up will actually work in your favor, just wait and see.

Edit: Dammit Blues get outta my head!

[phil_]

Hey, at least you remembered to get the bag, so you're not "That guy who forgot his laptop." You're "Hey, remember that guy who came back to get his laptop? He interviewed pretty well."

Alternatively, at this point you've already done the interviews and no amount of worrying is gonna change anything; go play Nier.

[Liquid Snake]

Originally Posted by phil_

Alternatively, at this point you've already done the interviews and no amount of worrying is gonna change anything; go play Nier.

I got four more days of non-stop interviews to go!
Also: Nier is way too depressing a video game to play right now.
Then again, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is equally depressing, though less so in a legitimately depressing way and more so in the sense that this game absolutely sucks.

As for the klutziness, I'm actually fairly pleased with today overall. Whoever's my future employer is going to have to deal with the reality that I am, in fact, a bleepin' klutz. I just found it funny that after all that effort to avoid any interview slip-ups, I managed to find a completely unique way to fumble the ball.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Terex4

Edit: Dammit Blues get outta my head!

Sorry. Can't help it. *points to user title*

Originally Posted by Liquid Snake

Nier is way too depressing a video game to play right now.

I'm not the only one! XD