i-- interview???

[graveexcitement]

so my sister (who is 17) got a job recently, and the other day we & my mom were idly talking about it and mom asked me if i had thought about getting a job, and i was kinda lukewarm about it, especially since a lot of "first-job" jobs don't super appeal to me, like food service (pls no) or the grocery store chain my dad works at.

but i'm also like... i am running lower on savings than i'd like, and it's getting harder to justify buying merch and stuff, not to mention if i want to like... move out someday... i'd need a job, lol. so i went on indeed, looking for something i could be OK with, and right away i saw an ad for a part-time salesperson at a bookstore that not only wasn't Barnes & Noble, it also apparently specializes in manga/Japanese stuff? (not sure how much of its focus is on manga, as i've never been, which is a shame cause it looks cool :o)

and it's also located pretty close to a metro station as well as relatively close to campus (the campus i take the metro to on M/W, anyways), so i was like, what the hell, i'll apply

& while i was filling out the application, i was like welp, i have 0 references and only 1 past employer (from a few weeks in 2015), this probably won't get me anywhere... but they want to interview me!

...they want to interview me TOMORROW

i've never interviewed anywhere before, so any tips on interviews (specifically for a first-job/retail job) would be fantastic.

Comments

[acequeenking]

General advice:

1) You're going to be nervous, and they're going to know you're going to be nervous. You're not going to ruin a job interview because you're nervous. Try to project confidence, but honestly, this is something that you get just through faking it til you make it.

2) Work on some pre-designed answers; you can look up lists of common interview ones on google and work out some answers so you won't be taken aback entirely by the type of questions you'll be asked. Don't be afraid of saying "I need a moment" to consider something either. It's best to be honest, but also don't go out of your way to tell them inconvenient facts if they don't ask (eg, "Do you have reliable transportation?", and you have a ride you know will take you, the answer is "yes", not "Well, I have my dad take me but sometimes I ride the bus...")

3) Dress nicely. Generally, you want to look a little fancier for an interview than you do for a daily position. Nice slacks and a blouse, or a dress, etc.

4) If you look at the ad, those are the skills they will want their prospective employee to have. Not sure what it says, but if you can mention that you fit those skills naturally, it will look good on you. Have a couple of questions to ask in return as well - express interest in the job.

5) Make a note of the person's name if you can; send a thank you email or letter after you do the interview, especially if the person you're interviewing with is over 40. This isn't strictly necessary but honestly, it's a nice positive touch and a lot of people don't bother, so it can be an advantage.

6) If you don't get a callback, don't take it too hard. A lot of getting a job honestly is climbing through rejections to get on to the next one; just chalk it up as experience in your pocket and move on to the next one.

[graveexcitement]

thanks for your thorough answer! this all makes sense, i'll be using this.

(re: #4) the ad didn't really specify much of anything, except that Japanese fluency is a plus, and, i'm at least learning Japanese, so maybe that'll get me a few points...

yeah, i'm trying not to get my hopes up or take rejection too hard. they asked for an interview pretty quickly after i applied, so that makes me hopeful, but it might not work out, and that's all right.

thanks! :D

[larissa]

Here is a very good interview guide. While the site as a whole is more geared towards office jobs, most everything on this blog is good advice. There’s more on interviews here. These two sum up all the advice I could ever give.

Good luck!

[graveexcitement]

those look great, thanks! :D

[typerare]

i am probably not in time to give advice but i am sending lots of good vibes!

[graveexcitement]

the interview actually isn’f for another 4 hrs, as it’s after my classes today

thanks!!

[orangerful]

OH MY GOSH! I hope the interview went well. **crosses fingers**

[graveexcitement]

thanks! it went fine but they really needed someone to work weekdays, so it doesn’t work with my class schedule. i was encouraged to contact my interviewer in like, May, when i’m done with classes, so... might do that? we’ll see.

[orangerful]

Bummer. And public libraries around? I was a Page and put books away through high school and college.

[graveexcitement]

there was an ad for a page at my local public library, but the website to apply was broken so i didn't. might look into it again later though!