Interview w/HotelI have an interview scheduled for tomorrow regarding an application I did just yesterday from an ad in the classifieds. It appears they either may need people bad or I just have enough of the qualifications they may be looking for. However in preparation for this,my question in handling the interview would be this- I am basically going to find out what the hours&things would be(I don't like to ask over the phone though should I?) And if the work schedule etc. is not workable,how do I turn them down on the spot? I am not very seasoned at this since I have been working mostly with temp agencies lately and they don't usually offer me anything up front and when they do it's usually pretty informal and they'll tell me the hours/rate over the phone. Of course I still feel awkward in turning them down since I get the feeling 'they're doing me a favor by considering me'. So how can I turn them down without hurting possible future opportunities with them and also the possibility that they may try and 'probe' and ask why the hours etc. won't work for me if I have personal reasons. Hotels generally do ask that the employee be flexible in their hours so that they have enough people to cover all shifts. Knowing this, I am doubtful that I would have even answered the ad in the first place. Also knowing this, I would guess that they are pretty desperate to get people to cover swing and grave shifts. Unless the individual calling asks what hours you are available to work at the time you receive the call, it isn' t the best idea for you to ask them. Definitely it is not a good idea to ask about salary or benefits over the phone. As a matter of fact, it is considered taboo. Salary and benefits should be discussed when the interviewer initiates the subject in a face to face interview. Also, the person contacting you by phone to set up the interview may not be the person who is actually doing the interview so wouldn' t have any real knowledge of what your particular salary would be. If they offer you the position and tell you the work hours and they are not hours that you feel comfortable with or that you are able to work, tell them that you will not be able to work during those times. There is no reason you need to tell them why you cannot work during those hours. If it is personal then keep it personal. If the interviewer tries to "probe" the reason out of you, then the interviewer is making a boo-boo. Unless it is because you are on house arrest and your ankle bracelet goes off at exactly 6:00 p.m. if you are not inside your house, then it isn' t their business. For the most part, the hours should be told to you upfront over the phone and the caller should ask you right then if those hours are good for you. This way, if they aren' t, your time isn' t being wasted and neither is the interviewer' s time. As for what to actually say to them to not hurt future opportunities if they arise, try something like this: "Thank you for taking the time to discuss the hours of the position with me, however they do not fit in with my schedule at this time. I would love to discuss future opportunities with you when they arise as I am very interested in being part of this organization." The reason I answered the ad is because I have previous experience in that industry,although it was about 10 years ago. To me it kinda beats the M-F 9-5 'grind',so I guess I will have to decide which would be better in the long run. I wasn't really concerned with salary because I have an idea of what that would be,and of course I don't ask those questions over the phone anyway. I just sort of wanted to know what shifts they were looking for before I even went over there. But I'll get up early tomorrow for the interview nonetheless. As for the person that called,I think it was the manager of the department itself so I'm sure he knew what he's looking for. I just sort of went with the flow of the conversation,since he seemed kind of rushed I didn't want to end up asking all kinds of questions. | |
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