I just saw an suggestion to google your name before a job interview to see what comes up. And then I realized that I'll never have to go on a job interview again! I'll retire from the job I have and even if I were to be fired before retirement I wouldn't have to go back to work. I don't know if that should make me happy or sad. Does this situation make a person lucky or just old?
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Recommended Answer:I worked for the same employer for 98% of my career. I haven't had a job interview since I landed that job in 1976. When I moved to new jobs in-house, it was usually through my mentor so the interview was just a formality to be sure I actually did speak the language and didn't drool when I talked. I'm now retired so I'll never have to do that again. It's been 14 months now, and I feel lucky beyond belief to be out of that fray. I feel lucky, not old, to be out of the "seriously employed" phase of my life. For me, my career was the means to the end, not the end.
It seems like interviews have gotten a lot more rigorous than they used to be. I wouldn't know how to begin to prepare. Google myself? I'm too low tech to have anything out there. Would that work for or against me? I can see it now: "Hmmm... Ms. W... we couldn't find anything about you on Google or anywhere else on the internet. What are you hiding?"
We went through a phase of using "behavioral interviewing" techniques at my employer. It wasn't enough to just talk about your experience, the quality of your results, and what you could bring to the job. Right on the spot, you had to give examples from your past about how you behaved when something hypothetical or from your resume happened. Sometimes it was a group interview, with various people watching for different things. There was no way to prepare or fake a response, which I suppose was the point. We were trained to dig and dig and dig until it was clear the person was telling the truth and not just spinning what they thought we wanted to hear. It was sort of like being on trial. I'm glad I never had to be a behavioral interviewee. It was pretty brutal. Almost antagonistic and adversarial. I wonder if the technique is still in use.
I'm not really expecting to go back to work, but if I did it would be at some place like Lowe's (I'd love to work in their kitchen design area!) or one of the touristy places in town. Presumably their interviews would be more like the one I had in 1976. I could probably handle that, although I might have a hard time describing how 30 years as an IT manager prepares me to design kitchens or sell flip flops!
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- I am retired with an adequate income so I really never have to interview again. For the first few years, that seemed like a great blessing. I no longer had to get out there and compete or go through the travails of being accepted or rejected (sort of like adolescent dating).
But, I will have to admit now that I sort of miss it. I did have the process down --including the preliminary research, the five-part cover letter, the careful documentation, and the extensive rehearsals before the actual interview. I really don't have to work anymore but sometimes I miss the challenge.
- Like you, I don't have to ever go on another interview again. However, if I retire within the next three years, I would like to continue to work. I am planning to work for the Texas Education Agency. Several of my friends and colleagues have retired and gone to work for TEA. It sounds like something that would interest me for several years beyond my retirement from my school district. So, possibly I might go on one more interview.
It is a surreal thought, but I haven't been on an interview in a long time anyway. It doesn't mean we are getting old. We are getting to that point in our lives when we can enjoy what we want to do. The baby boomers will have a different kind of retirement than any other generation before us. No rocking chairs in sight for us!
- I retired from my career in education after 33 years. I could not wait until the final day. Hating waking up early to go to school. Counting the weeks, days, then minutes until I would be free.
The day after it was over an unexpected sadness came over me. I missed my identity, my having to get up and go to work, my purpose. It took a full year to stop missing the whole situation. I even substitute taught to deal with my separation issues. Imagine after hoping and praying for it to be over.
But now, it has been three years and this is the best of everything. I can do the things I want to do. I visit my grandchildren, I travel, I have a business -- check it out http/:www.bukrap.com.
I work when I want, I sleep late when I want to and I can read a ton of books, knit, etc. I am not old -- 58 - life has just begun!
Enjoy
Happy trails,
- I don't. I'm retired!
I'm lucky! You don't realize how much time you have available if you've worked full time for most of your life. I'll make a list of things that I want to do that week. If they're not done - I move them to next week.
- I have to get to a job interview tomorrow for a job that I probably will not get(most likely because I am white and don't speak spanish.) Funny how things are run these days.
- Just old.
I have far more plans for my future which may include additional job interviews. I have nothing on Google to be worried about.
- No. Even though I make jokes about what to put on my resume, I doubt I'll ever write another resume again, or attend another job interview. I absolutely love my work. I'm not by any stretch of the imagination getting rich, but I have enough to take care of me and the cats and to do something a little special for my loved ones once in a while. When business is slow its simple enough to dig up extra internet work, but I rarely run into that problem anymore. I have a good core of regular clients who trust me and appreciate my work, and I'm very grateful for them.
As for what it means. It could mean a lot of things to different people. A lot of people might be looking forward to the next job interview. That could mean they're unhappy or unfulfilled or insecure in their present job. It could mean they're restless go-getters looking for the next "best" thing. Or maybe they just enjoy the change.
But if you'll never have another job interview, it could mean you're happy and secure in your work. It could mean, like me, you're self-employed and intend to stay that way. It could mean you have a lifelong contract signed in blood (hope not, but.. erm... you never know). It certainly doesn't mean you're old, and there is nothing wrong with job-satisfaction, or being comfortable and secure in your work.
And you say if you were to get fired, you wouldn't have to find another job. Nothing wrong with that - you seem to be an intelligent, skilled, and expressive person and can surely find all kinds of fulfillment without a job. I'd say thats a good thing.
I'm glad I'll never have another job-interview. Celebrate!
*tosses confetti*
