h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Congrats from the Editorial Team too

Congrats from me. I just found out they gave the one I went for in London to the other chap, he'd come down from Edinburgh.

I've not found leaving for lunch in the middle of an interview to be my most successful policy...

Oh, has the conversation moved on?

Academic interviews in England tend to include lunch. Urrgh. [I got_ this_ job on a ten minute phone interview. The admin people woke me early, as it was the day the clocks went back. The interview proper was at 7am my time. I was sitting up in bed with a cup of strong coffee. Thank heavens videophones haven't kicked in yet]
Congrats from me too, and the rest of you -hang in there. It can only get better.

I've got to be a little discrete, but the job's a good'un, Corporate Admin Manager type of thing for a large Corporate body!!!

Another point. Be positive, from the very first. Interviewers apparently make a very early (subconcious?) assessment of you in the first 30 seconds. After that, you're either working with or against that impression. So:
(1) be punctual
(2) firm handshake
(3) eye contact
(4) no bull

and good luck

and well done, indeed. I hope the job turns out as well as you expected. What is it????

Reading all this, given my interview is tomorrow today I am:
- Reading the company website
- Reading other things relating to the company
- Trying to remember what the h**** I put in the 'additional information' section of the application form (don't worry it was all true but my friend dictated what I should write)
- Working out what I want to wear

Tomorrow I should:
- Try ~very~ hard not to panic
- Relax and smile, its not the end of the world if they don't hire me
- Not panic
- Get there on time

Does that sound about right??

Is anyone thinking of turning this advice into an entry?

A collleague of mine always put down some obscure hobby at the bottom of his CV, as he believed that the IT industry adores people who are slightly eccentric.

The one and only time he put down campanology was also the one and only time there was a bell-ringer on the interview panel. My pal knew just enough to impress someone with no knowledge at all.

Surprisingly, he got the job! (The bell-ringer admired his cheek!)

Best of luck!

I think he may have got the IT job because of the stupenduous skills shortage in IT as much as because of his cheek - I wouldn't be cheeky if you can avoid it where there's competition for jobs.

Also - link your hobbies back into "why should you give me this job" type things i.e. I have, on occasion, said cheesey stuff like "I enjoy playing in goal as you are required to marshall the defence (displaying management stuff) but also work on your own when there's a crisis - or penalty as they're also known". Does it work? I suppose so - I've only ever been to one interview where I wan't offered the job there and then...but then, I work in IT, so point 1 applies

Irritatingly the company's just changed their hiring policy. But nevermind. I already sorted out the teamwork & commitment implications of my hobbies

Trying *too* hard not to panic may actually be counterproductive. Simple achieve a zen-like state of calm and all will be well.

Seriously though, there's absolutely no reason why you should panic, so I wouldn't waste any time thinking 'what if I panic?' because you'll only make yourself nervous for no reason!

Right. I can with all honesty say that I am not panicking.

Cool calm and collected? Me?? this can't be right... hmmmm...

I'm off to an interview tomorrow... my *first* ever interview, so at the moment I'm trying to work out how to be both fairly modest about my skills and achievements, and completely immodest about them at the same time...

"I think he may have got the IT job because of the stupenduous skills shortage in IT"

If there's such a skills shortage in IT, why don't I get paid more?

No, on second thoughts don't answer that.

Ask and ye shall recieve. And if you haven't already, go contract!

Oh, oops, you said not to answer that. Sorry!

Ask and ye shall receive. Well that might work if I wasn't in the public sector. It seems the only ones in that sector who get decent pay rises are MPs, but then they get to vote on how much they should receive, don't they? There is a salary review in the Autumn, but I'm not holding my breath.

I used to be a contractor (although not in IT), and periodically I consider doing so again, but IR35 is a bit of a turn-off at the moment. I think I'll wait and see how it affects things.

IR35 becomes completely innoperative about 4 miles off the coast of Wales or Kent...see http://www.shout99.com for more on this 'troublesome' bit of tax legislation....I've to train up another IR35 fleeing Brit this afternoon, as it happens.
"I don't know, coming over here taking our jobs and our women...."

Well IR35 reduces the scope for tax avoidance, although I never used to do the thing that they were trying to stop anyway (i.e. paying yourself minimum wage, and taking the rest as dividends), so for me it's mainly an irritation. However I've just stopped doing the normal 3-6 month on-site contracts, and have moved over to fixed-cost off-site jobs, which according to the revenue's publications on the subject exempts you anyway.