Interview Etiquette

[basilbrush]

can anyone advise - what is the etiquette if applying and being interviewed for more than 1 job. I have 1 interview this week, and a possible interview for a different job the next day, if I am in the lucky but probably unlikely position of being offered the first job - do I have to accept or not accept there and then, I don't want to count my chickens, but if the second job is a possibility I will be very tempted by it..

[Guest]

Nightmare!

 

I have to ring two settings tomorrow to say I'm no longer interested (i.e. please cancel interviews). Luckily, my first interview gave me the post I knew I wanted (1 hour after interview - message was on answerphone!)

 

All I can say (novice here) is to make sure that what is offered is right e.g. particular aspects of career development. Be honest about that. If it doesn't offer you what you want, you'll know. If it seems OK, and they give you the option of the job, but you've still got other routes to investigate, a day or two before you say yes or no will make no difference to them, I'm sure.

 

I'm not sure that offers are often given at interview (even if they made an offer there and then, I'm not sure they'd expect an instant answer). You've always got breathing space, because an offer won't be retracted immediately if you say "I'll ring you on ..." After all, you're assessing them as much as they're asssessing you.

 

All I can say is: best of luck.

 

Diane

[Susan]

hi Basil brush, this is a tricky one isnt it and I'm afraid I dont really know the answer!

The days of teacher interviews where you all turned up and waited together seem to have finished although a phone call either way on the day seems to be the norm, although saying that I have had to wait for over a week for notification. In that situation of course, you can go to the second interview knowing that you wont be changing your mind!! However, at the interviews I have been to recently I have been asked would I accept the job if it were offered to me and I suppose in your situation you would need to be honest. I'm a bit bemused as to the the legalities of verbal contracts etc and certainly if you want to keep your options open you shouldnt sign anything at interview that might constitute a contract.

Good luck and fingers crossed that you get the job you prefer.

[Guest]

Dear Basil,

I think you have time to say that you would like a few days to consider and afterall you may want to see the terms and conditions/contract of the job which you probably haven't seen as yet before you can really make your mind up - unless these were discussed in detail at the interview - they may not be afterall quite what you think and may have a bearing on your decision. Time off/sick pay conditions/holiday/length of service awards etc. On the other hand do you know if you are getting an interview for this other job - if you are offered the first job perhaps you could ring the others to say that you are interested and explain the position. I think once you know exactly what the situation is you will know what to do.

Good luck with it all. Hope it turns out how you would like.

Nikki

[Guest]

Good question, haven't got an answer but I have recently been recruiting and did wonder whether to ask on my application forms whether the applicants were considering other job adverts, but then I wasn't sure whether this was 1/ necessary information, and 2/ actually legal with regard to equal opportunities - ie: if they said yes, would my attitude change toward someone applying for other jobs compared to someone that wasn't. So I decided not to ask the question as I didn't know really how to handle the answers I may get.

 

I do ask however at the end of every interview "If you were offered the job, would you accept it?" If the person said they were attending other interviews I would then have to consider if I was prepared to wait (and for how long) for this person to be in a position to accept the position offered. I would still offer the position as soon as I had made the decision and then give a time scale ( stating I understood they were attending other interviews) of when I would need an answer by.

 

If I didn't ask this question and I offered someone a job and they subsequently said, "sorry I don't want it because I have been offered another one", I would feel miffed that I didn't know they were applying for other jobs and miffed that I may not get the person I wanted. I would ask for feedback though, I would want to find out what the other job offered that I didn't. I would then have to consider the other applicants who had been interviewed.

 

I think honesty is the best policy at interview stage, it shows that you can communicate your needs / requirements, even though the person may not want to hear that you are applying for other jobs, they at least know where they stand and should respect you for giving them that information.

 

Nicola's comment is valid with regard to conditions of contract, but as an interviewee ( is that the word?), I would ask for this information at interview. You know, when they ask "Have you got any questions?"

 

I always try to see both sides of everything; the requirements of the employer and the requirements of the job seeker. Recruitment is a costly business in terms of finance, time, emotional stress ( however stressless we try to make it) for both sides, it should be a two way process with honesty, professionalism and it is a process toward a shared goal ( to get the job you want, to get the employee you need).

 

Good luck Basilbrush

 

 

Peggy.

 

p.s. The time it has taken me to write this response you could of lined up at least another 3 interviews Still, you should all be used to me by now, with my long replies.

[Guest]

This is something which has always worried me about interviews; 'how does one keep one's options open?' When I got my current position (Summer term 2005) I had a phone call on the day of the interview, having already been asked ' if you were offerend the job.....?' at the end of the interview. I'm not sure of legalities of verbal agreements either, but understood it to be bad practice to verbally accept a job, then to later turn it down; on the other hand, you're unlikely to be asking the prospective employer for a reference, so the only way this info would be passed on is by word of mouth, so it may depend on whether you are applying locally - where everyone knows everyone's business - or not.