This week has been an all round rubbish week that has left me feeling like, out of all the ‘roles’ i have in my life, im seem to not be doing any of them well. *sigh*
This week I had an interview, it was at the place i work for a job that i had about 2 years ago and then lost through the delightful NHS cutbacks and is now being offered again…its a long story, a long, boring and miserable story that i won’t bore you with. But the interview was this week and it wasn’t the nicest experience ive ever had i have to say, runs up close to root canal or another such painful event.
My interview was delayed by over an hour and then during my presentation prep a fire alarm joined in and banged around in my head for half of the time. Nerves jangled somewhat i stumbled through a presentation based on a practically impossible scenario and then was asked a bunch of questions. A few of which i did sort of okay on i think and some i totally BOMBED. You know, in the, ‘shall i just get my coat’ bomb.
But there was one question that just irritated me….and continues to which is why im moaning about it here. I was asked what extra CPD (thats continuous professional development) i had done in the past two years. Extra, as in, extra to the standard stuff we have to do to maintain professional registration. I answered with a few things then she looked at me, i think with a little sneer (though i may have imagined that) and said ‘and what else have you done?’
hmmmmm…just let me think a bloody minute. I dont know…maybe..raise five kids, turn up for every single shift i’m supposed to regardless of sleepless nights, vomiting bugs, stressed out husbands, broken cars, car accidents or snow with a bloody smile on my face. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Of course i know she wasn’t asking me about what else i do outside of work. But it may be a mad crazy thought but your life outside of work can effect your ability to throw huge amounts of commitment and time at your work. Its a tricky balance for all us working mums i guess.
It was the only question that actually upset me, how funny is that. Even the ones that resulted in a ‘nothing happenin’ here’ look on my face as mortifying as that was..i can shake that off. But what pisses me off is that some people don’t realise that actually just showing up with your game face on takes all you have on some days and sometimes that is just all you can give.
I wanted to shout the above tirade in her face and see what happened but of course i didnt.
and i didnt get the job.
cherry on top 😉
So in a bid to lighten up this post and because what follows demonstrates a little bit of ‘what else i do’
Here come the girls ….two of my bunch. Just hanging out with the girls while we get frozen by the spring 😉
This is a little bit of what else I have done.
She is telling me in that bottom picture ‘ there are no monsters here mummy’ – just in case you were wondering!
My giveaway this week is another lovely sunshine box of goodies from LUSH. You don’t have to leave a comment this week if you don’t fancy it but if you do that would be nice. Remember to come back next week and check who snagged the prize!
Jane Greenfield you win the Rob Cowen signed book please get in touch! Congratulations!
That all sounds totally infuriating 🙁
Love your blog, and your photography……..
Stupid NHS don’t know how fortunate they are having people like you work for them !
it had to be the one where I turned up at the wrong job centre didn’t know there was 2 amazingly I got the job.
When I was asked lots of questions at Skandia and dint have a clue what the answers were! They were not related to the company 🙁
My worst interview was when I had to tell them a story. Really? Story telling? x
Don’t think I’ve had a really bad one….Had a stupid one when I was 5 months pregnant where the Job centre forced me to appy for a job in a factory where it was all heavy lifting and chemicals….Wasted my time and they laughed when I said I was pregnant….lol.
To be honest Ive not had a bad one, I’ve always gotten the job I have applied for so can’t have been that bad lol.
I can’t really comment because I’ve not really had a “proper” job. I’ve worked around my kids – supermarkets, mcdonalds, school as a technician BUT I do think in these kind of situations you SHOULD say about the other stuff. It’s really important. In fact my husband had the same an interview lately about patience, planning etc – and I said something about the kids – and when he had feedback on the interview they said exactly that.
You are an amazing mother, photographer, blogger and friend and so you are doing much better than average.
Hope you have a better week next week.
Pinkoddy recently posted…Deciding when to Stop Having Children – Motivational Monday
I know what you do, far more than most people, and youre worth a billion sneering interviewing types. Don’t you forget it.
one that was miles of the beaten track, very difficult to get to and when I got there it was tiny, they had just 2 offices the biggest one was no bigger than 20 feet x 20 feet with 2 desk crammed into it. a man who sat near the door had to stand up and move his chair every time someone went in or out as there won’t room to open the door! managed to squeeze in and had a very unprofessional interview. I couldn’t wait to get out.
Whem I got lost and turned up late it just went wrong from the minute go. Thankfully I have GPS on my mobile now so no getting lost again.
I had an interview when I was 17 and asked about my opinion on violence in films and I totally said the wrong thing and got really flusteresd,it was awful!
Woest has to be when I applied for an office job and was a nervous wreck – stuttering and shaking. I got the job amazingly!
I’ve not had many luckily so I can’t say any of them were bad…
On my way to my very first interview, a bird pooped on my head. I had to sit in the interview room with wet hair. I got the job though, so maybe it’s true what they say about it being lucky!
I was having an interview for a social work course -2 out of the 3 interviewing where more interesting in watching out the window – hot day – window looked out into the town- the 2 were men – do I need to say more!
My very first interview, age 15. They asked me why I wanted a job, which I thought was a very obvious and silly question. I replied, “For the money”!
My worst ever interview was when as a Physics graduate I was told they had called me for interview just to see what a female physicist looked like! This was in 1972 but … still.
I had an interview for a promotion once and my legs where shaking so much while I was giving my presentation – needless to say I never got the job….my feedback was “next time you go for an interview wear pants – as your knees shaking was off putting”.
I had an interview to work in a posh girls school. The actual interview was fine but then they asked me to do some tests but it was their own internal system. How on earth would I know what that is about! So I just clocked loads of buttons and said I was done!
Nothing stands out, they’re all horrific for nerves and pouring with sweat. But I could tell you about my first day at work after leaving school, at Swinton Insurance where I was so nervous I was sick all over the office floor. Things can only get better after that right?
The one where there was a panel of 5 people sat there looking at me.
The one where I said how much I disliked a certain workplace (well they asked!) and it turned out that one of the interviewers was the boss there!
I’ve only ever had one, got the job and was there 16 years until I had my little girl.
About 20 years ago and I really wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get the job.
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I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad interview but for me nothing beats the nerves on a driving test
My worst interview started with a tour of the college where I was going for a job. It had been raining heavily and I slipped on a wet patch and fell quite badly. I was black and blue and then had to go in to be interviewed in that state. They weren’t very sympathetic either! Glad I didn’t get the job.
My worst interview was probably for a job I didn’t want, they obviously didn’t want me and we were just going through the motions. Utterly pointless!
Not sure which interview was my worst interview. Every interview I’ve ever done has been a horrendous event with so much nervousness but I’ve always struggled through.
When I turned up in a very smart (expensive) outfit bought especially for the interview. I started talking about all my qualifications and experience only to realise the job was for a cleaner and the agency had sent me to the wrong interview. The person conducting the interview must have thought I was crazy!
I was desperate to work as a journalist, so age 18 I went for a job at a newspaper aimed at the Asian community. I was met with a panel of 4 people all firing questions at me that were totally out of my league since I had zero experience of either journalism or the Asian community. I really shouldn’t have gone for that job!
The worst interview I had had was when I was up the night before really ill so I didn’t get much sleep. I didn’t want to rearrange the interview so I went in the day after. Unfortunately I was yawning all the way through the interview, I looked uninterested and as you can imagine, I never got the job.
I feel for you ! I haven’t had a “worst” interview really. The funniest thing I can tell you job-wise is when I turned up for my first ever day’s work experience (aged 15) sent from school to work in a museum. I was wearing a new soft pink knitted dress – quite warm and cute.
I ended up in a storeroom for 3 days reboxing skeletons !!!
That dress got SO dusty and I was so hot. Next day, I turned up in jeans.
Think mine was one in a local office and they asked the question what is 18 x 18, my mind went blank and I had no idea, I was so embarrassed, needless to say I didn’t get the job.
I got caught in traffic and the rain and arrived 20 minutes late with mascara running down my face.
My worst interviews must be all the jobs I didn’t get 🙁
Not necessarily a bad interview but it was for an office job and a guy who came in wearing trainers, trackie bottoms and a rugby shirt got the job instead of me…
My worst interview was so bad!!!! I got tripped into a muddy puddle in the doorway of the entrance, so I was soaked throughout. Thankfully the boss took pity!!!
A couple of years ago we all had to be interviewed for our own jobs; it was terrible as we all knew the interviewers so well and I just went to bits; unfortunately I wasn’t successful but fortunately I was offered another job which I much prefer so it all turned out good in the end.
Wow! Even though I’m in Uni doing nursing, when it comes down to it, I’d far rather manage to raise 5 happy and healthy children than ‘manage to get the job.’ So much respect for you :3.
When the Interview and Aptitude test went brilliantly and they called me back in the end and told me I was OVER qualified for the job! I was so desperate for work I asked what I qualifications I had that were over the top and I would scrub them off my application 🙁
Tracey Belcher recently posted…Funny Bucket List Ideas
My first job interview for sure.. when the interviewer(a man) leaned over to open the door I thought he wanted me to kiss him on the cheek… so I did!! Needless to say, I didnt get the job..
My worst interview ever was a ‘roleplay’ scenario, extremely awkward and embarassing, especially as I had already worked for the same company, doing the same role, just in another city. Pointless!
The only interview i can think of is a job interview and i’ve only had one of those and it wasn’t to bad
I had a first interview for a job, did ok with that, had a second interview for the same job. Did ok with that. Had a third interview only to be told they didn’t want me.
my worst interview – the one where I had to take along my 9 month year old daughter due to a mix up over the child care arrangements. I don’t think the interview panel were impressed, but my daughter enjoyed it!
My worst interview was for an office manager for a firm making theatrical costumes and it was in the middle of nowhere – couldn’t find it and had to phone for directions and ended up being 20 mins late – flustered and nervous and it went from bad to worse as I was in a flap and couldn’t concentrate on the questions
I had a really bad interview and was so nervous i couldnt even speak
I think the fact that you did all that stuff and still performed your job well makes you the perfect candidate 🙂
Oh and I know I’ve said it before but your kids are just too cute.
The Fool recently posted…A class act
not had many interviews as tended to stick at jobs. Currently SAHM last 6 years. ONly bad ones i suppose ones i wnated and didnt get
The one for my current job was pretty bad – amazed I got it because I felt so depressed afterwards! Nothing major happened, I just kept getting tongue-tied all the way through. So embarrassing.
the worst was when I was 16 and I went for a job as a secretary I could not think what to say just froze up
getting to the interview and no words coming out my mouth :/ had to leave the interview
My worst interview was one where I was doing the interviewing rather than being interviewed. One of the candidates was named Paddington. As a terrible giggler I had an awfully hard job trying to keep serious and hide my facial expressions – it couldn`t end quickly enough!
I had an interview for a Patient ADVOCACY Team Manager, little did I know that the the trust had changed it to a Patient ADVICE Team (after sending out the info) – a really different beast. I went in to say to the leader of the hospital trust that I would need to sometimes challenge the consultant culture of some the hospital’s staff. It quickly developed into a heated argument where I suggested that the panel really didn’t understand what advocacy was …Apparently they did, they just didn’t want one, hence the name change.
My first interview for a job when i was 16 was pretty bad i didn’t know what to say and pausde and stuttered a lot but i still got the job!
The interviewer was late and then I had to leave after about 10mins to go pick up my daughter from school. Unbelievably I got the job
When i was at the job center at the age of 16 with no plans or didn’t know what to do. The lady looked at me like i was nothing.
Now have a family fun business with my partner so stuff them 😉
when i was very young and wanted to help at a dogs home, i had to open the tins of dog food and couldnt even work the tin openener, horrific!!
I had to re-interview for my own job once and it was awful.. I forgot to mention have of what I actually did because I was so nervous! Luckily, I didn’t lose my position!
There should definitely be a section on application forms titled ‘Things you do outside of work that would bring something to this position’. Women, working mums or not, do a hell of a lot outside of work that could and should be taken into account in the workplace.
Anyway… my worst interview was when I stupidly decided to take a short cut across a grassy area on the way there, and ended up stinking into mud, which went up and into my shoes.
On arrival I found a man and quickly asked if he could point me in the direction of some paper towel to clean myself up. He turned out to be the interviewer!
I did get the job however. Not being too bothered about getting muddy was a bonus it turned out since I was occasionally required to go out onto building sites.
Yikes I’ve only had one, if you could call it an interview (as it was for a saturday job), got the job & stayed there for 10 years before leaving to be a full time mumzy.
When I knew more about the company than the interviewer. Than they rang to say that wasn’t a job anymore what a waste of time
I’ve had some, they all seemed similar, I don’t think it really matters, they’ve made their minds up anyway and it cannot be based on anything really relevant, like your qualifications or capabilities because they don’t seem to be interested.
My worst interview was by my exhusbands new wife..we both realised who each other was about halfway through.. I never got the job!
I’ve only had 2 jobs in my life and can’t really recall the interviews so they must have been alright. However I do interview a lot of people in my current role and there have been some people who pulling teeth from would have been easier than extracting information.
They all seem gruesome but the worst questions are ice breakers which only seem to make me more nervous!
I went to an interview late in the day. The interviewer appeared to have seen many candidates and was clearly notl istening to what I was saying, I challendged him on this. He then paid more attention for the rest of the interview but didn’t get the job 🙂
My worse interview ever was one where I turned up and the interviewer said to me I didn’t mean to invite you – you are too over-qualified for the job.
When I had two full days of assessments, tests and interviews for Air Traffic Control to be told at the end they thought I was too young – despite knowing my age prior to inviting me to interview!!!! Arrggghh
When I went for a job just to work for a marketing company the bloke was a prat & really sexist, then after me just frowning at him for 20 minutes he said I want you to tell me a joke & if its good you can have the job I told him kindly what he could with his job!
Also just wanted to add I have been the interviewer myself & had some right strange comments & people at the job interviews, one lady I thought was blind as she looked at the ceiling the whole time & this was for a caring job role!!!
I love your blog its really funny and interesting, don’t worry what anyone thinks of you, you are fab!
forgot to add, my worst ever interview was with a leery bloke who couldn’t keep his eyes to himself, not good
Thank you!!!!