Interview question

[Feelings]

OK, so I had a telephone pre-screening chat with an HR rep. That's how big companies do it nowadays: Pre-interview "chat", telephone interview, then in person interview. She asked me a few questions, then scheduled a phone interview with me, then said: "A word of advice: If you're going to be applying for jobs, employers are going to ask you what you did for the last 2.5 years, since your last job was in 2009. I think that you could come up with a better answer if you put some thought into it". ESFJ, obviously. I'm baffled why she proceeded to schedule a telephone interview if she thought my answer sucked. I had a telephone pre-screening "chat" with this (and other) companies before, and they don't always proceed with an interview (for me personally, usually they don't!).

Anyhow, my answer is something along the lines of "I haven't been working. I studied a few courses, but nothing relevant to this position" and they're always a little baffled, and say something like "so you haven't really been doing anything for the last 2.5 years?" and my answer is "that's correct". Awkward silence.

Well wtf am I supposed to say? That's exactly what happened. The only alternative is "I played World of Warcraft full time. I downed raid bosses like a boss, and when horde players see me rolling, they turn around and go the other way".

 

[JGirl]

OK, so I had a telephone pre-screening chat with an HR rep. That's how big companies do it nowadays: Pre-interview "chat", telephone interview, then in person interview. She asked me a few questions, then scheduled a phone interview with me, then said: "A word of advice: If you're going to be applying for jobs, employers are going to ask you what you did for the last 2.5 years, since your last job was in 2009. I think that you could come up with a better answer if you put some thought into it". ESFJ, obviously. I'm baffled why she proceeded to schedule a telephone interview if she thought my answer sucked. I had a telephone pre-screening "chat" with this (and other) companies before, and they don't always proceed with an interview (for me personally, usually they don't!).

Anyhow, my answer is something along the lines of "I haven't been working. I studied a few courses, but nothing relevant to this position" and they're always a little baffled, and say something like "so you haven't really been doing anything for the last 2.5 years?" and my answer is "that's correct". Awkward silence.

Well wtf am I supposed to say? That's exactly what happened. The only alternative is "I played World of Warcraft full time. I downed raid bosses like a boss, and when horde players see me rolling, they turn around and go the other way".

you could say i took time off to further my education.
that's that. you don't need to tell them it wasn't relevant to the position unless they specifically ask.

 

[Whiskers]

I would have the tendency to respond in the same way that you did (i.e. straightforward, honestly). Some potential employers might recoil at the facts, but others respect the honesty, as opposed to a glossy b.s answer. Sometimes minimizing things that could be perceived as shortcomings can backfire. Depends on what they're looking for, I suppose.

 

[Feelings]

I would have the tendency to respond in the same way that you did (i.e. straightforward, honestly). Some potential employers might recoil at the facts, but others respect the honesty, as opposed to a glossy b.s answer. Sometimes minimizing things that could be perceived as shortcomings can backfire. Depends on what they're looking for, I suppose.

There's no way to downplay it if the interviewer is any good at all. It's like

Me: "I took some time off to study".
Interviewer: "What did you study?"
Me: "I studied med school pre-reqs because I wanted to try it but decided it wasn't for me. I took the level 2 CFA exam and failed it. I did some volunteering because I wanted to explore a couple other possible career opportunities as well."
Interviewer: "How many courses did you take for the pre-reqs?"
Me: 2
Interviewer: I can see that you volunteered here for 3 months, and there for 3 months. What I'm trying to figure out is why it took you 2.5 years to do all this. To me it seems like you could do all of this in 1 year, if you weren't working at all.
Me: You got it.
Interviewer: So what have you been doing with all of your time?
Me: World of Warcraft

When I give a b.s. sort of answer, my Ni just tingles like crazy. I can just so clearly see/feel how my answer isn't really making sense, or how there's obviously a gap in the logic. And even if I disclosed everything like that, it still looks like a total fail train. So not only am I lazy/fail, I'm deceitful as well. By being straightforward I can at least only fit into the lazy category.

 

[Peppermint]

Would saying "Would you mind telling me why you want to know how I arrange my FREE time?" in an annoyed tone be a bad thing to do?

 

[MisterNi]

Were you psychologically healthy or depressed at all? If so, you could tell your interviewer that you've been battling depression and found the job search process difficult during your depressive episodes. That sounds better than saying you've been escaping reality and it's a valid reason for not actively searching for a job for such a long time.

 

[Lerxst]

Wrote a novel, lived off of smart investments, studied and experimented with renewable energy sources, volunteered with several national organizations and pretty much spent the last (in my case) 1.5 years being a real human being, living a real life experience without the hindrance of shallow corporate policies and politics interfering.

Of course, any job I'd apply for that I would say that to, would value the fact that I did those things!

 

[Feelings]

Were you psychologically healthy or depressed at all? If so, you could tell your interviewer that you've been battling depression and found the job search process difficult during your depressive episodes. That sounds better than saying you've been escaping reality and it's a valid reason for not actively searching for a job for such a long time.

I'd rather be seen as lazy than mentally ill.

 

[Feelings]

Oh. I see why they interviewed me. The job's kind of hard.

They require a diploma but prefer a degree in Business. I has degree. Yyeeah. They like that kind of shit.
They require an understanding of Commercial Banking, and some experience in commercial loan support. Yeeeaaah. I got it. 1 year.
Intermediate Excel skills. Yep.

Someone with a diploma/degree in business + commercial banking experience + is looking for work now must be somewhat rare. Maybe I win by default. Maybe I should have asked for more than $15/hr. Could have squeezed $18 out of them I bet. If I make it to in-person interview, I'll see what I can niggle out.

 

[MisterNi]

I'd rather be seen as lazy than mentally ill.

Depression isn't a mental illness in terms of being a disability, you dunce.

Oh. I see why they interviewed me. The job's kind of hard.

They require a diploma but prefer a degree in Business. I has degree. Yyeeah. They like that kind of shit.
They require an understanding of Commercial Banking, and some experience in commercial loan support. Yeeeaaah. I got it. 1 year.
Intermediate Excel skills. Yep.

Someone with a diploma/degree in business + commercial banking experience + is looking for work now must be somewhat rare. Maybe I win by default. Maybe I should have asked for more than $15/hr. Could have squeezed $18 out of them I bet. If I make it to in-person interview, I'll see what I can niggle out.

So your fears were unfounded. Anyway congrats on your new job. What level of banking are you in? I'm thinking about switching (well, more like I'm trying to break into the field) from engineering into banking (financial analysis or business analysis).

 

[Feelings]

Depression isn't a mental illness in terms of being a disability, you dunce.

They don't know that. Even if they did, it doesn't necessarily change the negative impression. And it's not an easy sell anyways, since I didn't see a doctor about it.

So your fears were unfounded. Anyway congrats on your new job. What level of banking are you in? I'm thinking about switching (well, more like I'm trying to break into the field) from engineering into banking (financial analysis or business analysis).

I didn't get it, I just re-read the job description.

 

[MisterNi]

They don't know that. Even if they did, it doesn't necessarily change the negative impression. And it's not an easy sell anyways, since I didn't see a doctor about it.

Yeah, you were probably just overthinking/overworrying about it. If you got past the initial interview then the person interviewing you clearly didn't care what you were doing for the past 2.5 years of your life. At least you didn't say something really offensive. lol

I didn't get it, I just re-read the job description.

Well good luck.

 

[This]

Say you've been "looking for work for the past 2.5 years and couldn't find it because, well, have you watched the news lately?"

 

[Vict]

Indeed.

What fields are you looking into?

 

[this is only temporary]

Ack -- spin it baby. It is all about the spin.

No, seriously.

I KNOW you have helped people, consulted, freelanced, organized something (yes parties count), led something, in some way over the past 2.5 years. You did some kind of volunteer work. I.don't.care. if it was helping an old lady cross the street with groceries one time last summer. You did not just take classes, you "expanded your skill set through intensive computer science studies" which World of Warcraft programming stuff is, and those studies VASTLY improved your value to potential employers. Like, they're lucky you're even talking to them, you're so valuable. (Okay, but you're friendly too, so don't be too obvious about it.) Fill in the blanks with consulting or freelance work. I'm certain you did it. Call your friends.

IT IS NOT A FAIL TRAIN. NOT. DO NOT THINK THAT AND FOR CRISSAKES DO NOT LET THEM KNOW YOU THOUGHT THAT FOR ONE SECOND.

Got it?

(Sorry, maybe I need to calm down a bit.)
Do not go the depressed or disabled route. We care about that, employers don't. ):

Best of luck.

edit: or

you could say i took time off to further my education.
that's that. you don't need to tell them it wasn't relevant to the position unless they specifically ask.

Or you could ingnore my little rant above and just do what jgirl said, that makes sense too.