Telephone interview for a job!!! It was a shock ....

star2lite
star2lite Posts: 37 Member
in Chit-Chat
I'm sooooo annoyed because I didn't know it was on!!!!!!!!!!

I applied through careerbuilder for a job as Childcare Residential Worker in local area.
I did my poor cv, uploaded and sent it.

Today, there is a message on my phone saying, "it's Emma from wherever regarding my cv and job application. Can I give her a ring on ...."

I did. She explained about the job and asked me if she can ask me some questions. The job is to be a part of team in childrens home, challenging behaviour children and it might be clening, cooking and general looking after them. It's shift work and might include sleepovers. It will be short telephone interview. I blanked, I was such a rubbish! Ben, my 4 year old, was round me trying to say 'hello' to the lady!
I was never so embarrased in my life
I cannot remember the questions much, one was how will I communicate with the child, I said through play I said something like I will try and play game, make the child like me and openned up to me Why didn't I say that I can speak 2 languages and only understand another one????
Any other questions I tried to answer as nice towards the children as I can. Oh, she asked me if I think all the children can change for better, I said yes, they all need good egzample, role model and that behaviour is learned ....

I would be part of a small team of workers so another question she asked about what I think the good team qualities are:
I said, trust, helpfulness, understanding and great sense of humour (because people in the hotel that I work with are total oposites. Obviously I didn't tell her that )

She asked about my experience with children which I said I only have my own children and I never worked with other children ..... how stupid am I??? I forgot to say that I'm in Beavers and helping out with Scouts???
It was such a shocker that I wasn't ready at all And Ben was around me, asking for attention .... Bless him, he didn't understand that it was important phone call.

Oh, well .... easy come easy go.
It was a great experience and I've learned something new. Next time it happens I will make sure I'm on my own when I return the phonecall.
It was first interview in my life and we always learn new things.
Oh, yes, she also asked why I want this job and my reply was that I arrived in Uk when I was 16 years old (I'm 34 now) I'm working in current job for 17 years, started as a cleaning lady, waitress, bar staff, and now chef's assistant and i don't think i can go any higher. I always liked working with children and since my baby had fits and seizures I thought I would like to give back to community what care I recieved for my little one.

If I'm successful there will be proper interview and they'll let me know at the end of next week.
The job would start on 17th of December.

I just feel like crying at the moment

Do you think the answers I gave were ok?? or cheesy??

What would you answer?
I'm quite open for any suggestions for next time

Thank you so much x

Replies

  • star2lite
    star2lite Posts: 37 Member
    Any advice or tips on the next interview, please :wink:
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    Any advice or tips on the next interview, please :wink:

    interviewing is a skill. you have to practice it. in my experience giving interviews, the interviewer is looking for reasons to eliminate you from consideration. on paper, you're a fit for the job, so the fewer mistakes you make, the better. don't talk too much. don't give more information than you need to in order to answer the questions. be friendly, not chatty. smile. be positive. if there is a silent pause, don't feel the need to say something just so that there isn't silence. that's a tactic some people use in interviews and negotiations because they know silence is awkward. there are zillions of online articles giving interview tips. but if you can try to remember the sorts of questions your were just asked, write them down and get a friend to "practice" interview you using those questions until you feel comfortable that you can answer them. that's about the only tips i can give.
  • star2lite
    star2lite Posts: 37 Member
    Oh, thank you so much :-)

    I never thought about it like that :-)

    Great advice, thank you :-)
  • hkclaire
    hkclaire Posts: 17
    One other piece of advice is that you can always say that now is not a convenient time to talk. It gives you time to prepare yourself for the interview and find a suitable time (hopefully when someone can mind your son). Good luck!

    I'm sure if it was a childcare role they would be sympathetic about having kids in the background :-)
  • star2lite
    star2lite Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you so much :-)

    Fingerss crossed for next week :-)
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
    Could you jot down all the things you think you should have said, and then give her a ring back? Say you were a bit flustered when she phoned and that on reflection you don't think you answered her questions thoroughly and would like the opportunity to expand on what you talked about. Worth a try?

    Oh and good luck!
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,570 Member
    You'll be better next time. My last interview was a total fail. They hired a monkey instead of me, lol.

    A spur of the moment interview is a real shocker; like someone else said, next time say it is not a convenient time. However, maybe you did better than you thought.
  • lsapphire
    lsapphire Posts: 297 Member
    keep a list of your qualifications handy. Who knows listening to you handle your own child during the interview might be a good thing.
  • HoneyIShrunktheMom
    HoneyIShrunktheMom Posts: 76
    Ben, my 4 year old, was round me trying to say 'hello' to the lady!
    I was never so embarrased in my life
    First piece of advice, don't call someone back regarding a job while your child is around. Make arrangements for someone else to keep your child quiet, out of the house or at least out of the room. You have to be able to perform in a professional manner when you are speaking to someone regarding a professional position.

    Good luck next time! :)
  • OspreyVista
    OspreyVista Posts: 464 Member
    One suggestion that might help you: Since your boy is 4 years old, what you can do is ask the interviewer if she could please hold for one moment, and speak kindly to your son stating this is a very important phone call and tell him that he needs to go play with his toys in his room for a few minutes until mommy comes and gets him. This way it will give you privacy, and not have to worry about him being a distraction :) I've had to do this with my niece a lot when I end up on the phone, (she's 4 too) and it's worked :) It also helps you think clearer as well when your kid isn't a distraction. ^_^
  • OspreyVista
    OspreyVista Posts: 464 Member
    Ben, my 4 year old, was round me trying to say 'hello' to the lady!
    I was never so embarrased in my life
    First piece of advice, don't call someone back regarding a job while your child is around. Make arrangements for someone else to keep your child quiet, out of the house or at least out of the room. You have to be able to perform in a professional manner when you are speaking to someone regarding a professional position.

    Good luck next time! :)

    This is actually a better idea than mine!
  • wanda9501
    wanda9501 Posts: 114
    You never know, she may have been listening to the way you interacted with your son during the interview and that may work in your favor.

    Good Luck!!!

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