Job Interview: Appropriate Attire?

I cringe at what passes for interviews these days. With an interview like that, if you struck common ground and felt that they liked you, then you?re probably in the running. If so, good for you.

A good interviewer puts people at ease so that they are more open with their answers. Being that they skipped interview scripts, I wouldn?t give them that much credit. A good interview script protects the interviewer and the agency from discrimination claims, uncovers more relevant knowledge of the candidate, and reduces the effects of bias.


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I think they didn't use the canned questions because they come from Boise. It's one of those situations where what works in Boise doesn't necessarily work in the more rural parts of the state. And she even said the state questions were called "suggestions". Frankly, I think that's probably a sign that she knows better how to run her office in Lewiston than bureaucrats in Boise do.

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Originally Posted by Frac

I cringe at what passes for interviews these days. With an interview like that, if you struck common ground and felt that they liked you, then you?re probably in the running. If so, good for you.

A good interviewer puts people at ease so that they are more open with their answers. Being that they skipped interview scripts, I wouldn?t give them that much credit. A good interview script protects the interviewer and the agency from discrimination claims, uncovers more relevant knowledge of the candidate, and reduces the effects of bias.


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It depends entirely on what position is being hired for.

In basic roles, yes, scripts are generally useful. In anything more advanced, more technical, etc, a script will never work.


I would agree with BG in that a decent manager may very have skipped BS script questions in order to get a better understanding of the folks in the area that she is filling from.

It's a job interview. Wear the best you have.

-John

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Originally Posted by Grant H.

In basic roles, yes, scripts are generally useful. In anything more advanced, more technical, etc, a script will never work.

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The script has to be tailored to the role, I agree. I hire for advanced technical positions and our scripts do a great job of weeding out people who don?t have the right qualifications. Anyone can tell you the right answer to a question. I want specific examples with thought process, actions, and outcomes.



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Originally Posted by Frac

The script has to be tailored to the role, I agree. I hire for advanced technical positions and our scripts do a great job of weeding out people who don?t have the right qualifications. Anyone can tell you the right answer to a question. I want specific examples with thought process, actions, and outcomes.

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That sounds familiar. We were hiring another desktop engineer. Our primary management tool is Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). The candidate said they had SCCM experience, but we weren't getting that vibe. We asked him, "You listed SCCM experience on your resume. What is SCCM the abbreviation for?" He made up a name. Somebody wasn't honest on their resume, so why should we trust them about anything?

In the IT world, making stuff up is dangerous. Admitting that you don't know and making the effort to educate yourself is the correct answer. It is not a weakness.

If they do seem like they know their stuff, we ask for them to whiteboard how they would address a certain scenario. It can tell you a lot about how someone analyzes, breaks down and processes the information.

I'm obviously way late to the party but for future reference in case anyone wants it, I have done a lot of interviews between school and work. I've competed against 500 people for school acceptance and against about 5 to 10 and against just 1 other person. I've been in low level interviews and management interviews. Government interviews and corporate interviews. I have also hired around 15 to 20 people myself. I would ALWAYS recommend dressing to the nine unless you know for certainty they're hipsters that will think you are too uptight. If any doubt, wear the best you have. It's never failed me and the likelihood of someone thinking you are over dressed vs under dressed is unbelievably small. I've hired for six figure jobs and 12 an hour jobs. I wouldnt think someone was over dressed for the 12 an hour job in a full on suit. In fact I would appreciate how serious they are taking it.

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Originally Posted by Gman

That sounds familiar. We were hiring another desktop engineer. Our primary management tool is Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). The candidate said they had SCCM experience, but we weren't getting that vibe. We asked him, "You listed SCCM experience on your resume. What is SCCM the abbreviation for?" He made up a name. Somebody wasn't honest on their resume, so why should we trust them about anything?

In the IT world, making stuff up is dangerous. Admitting that you don't know and making the effort to educate yourself is the correct answer. It is not a weakness.

If they do seem like they know their stuff, we ask for them to whiteboard how they would address a certain scenario. It can tell you a lot about how someone analyzes, breaks down and processes the information.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx4NGQorzhM

But in all seriousness, I have found in a lot of cases that I use products everyday and refer to their acronyms without knowing what those acronyms mean, or at least forgetting (cus I had to know for CCNA Security).

Examples: Cisco's ACS and ISE.

I add MAC addresses, import devices to the systems and needed Identity Groups (both individually and in batches through a CSV file), troubleshoot authentication rejections, create logical seal breaks in ACS for RADIUS and TACACS+, etc. I can walk a monkey through doing any of that, but please don't ask me what ISE means cus I don't care unless I need to care, and then I'll Google it. [facepalm]

However, I know a guy who interviewed for a TS/SCI cleared position with an Alphabet for SCCM admin. His entire interview consisted of him saying, "I don't know." He got the job because he had the clearance. Easier to teach someone a system than get them a TS. lol

Last interview I dressed khakis, button up shirt, with a tie and sport jacket. The folks interviewing me were the shorts, jeans, tshirt level, but that's fine. I then met with a higher up that was dressed nicer, and you could tell she appreciated I dressed nicely.

I was thinking about it and my last job I didn't even interview, just started working. The one before that I pestered the local manager until he had me meet him at a Mexican food restaurant for lunch.