Job Interview Example Stories

Last night I went to a show which featured a ballet dancing guy dressed in a monkey suit. This was not quite the Burlesque show my wife or I expected.


But it was great fun, we had an entertaining evening and skill of the dancer cannot be denied.

Going for job interviews can also contain a lot of hidden surprises, some almost as much fun as a ballet dancing monkey man, but most often not.

Handling Interviews
Having worked as an independent consultant for so many years I have attended more interviews than most people have in their life.

My success rate is about 95%.

General Interview Tips
Interview techniques are pretty much the same for Business Intelligence roles as for other jobs. Interviewing for a consultant role is different though.

All the basics are still true; turn up on time, be smart, don’t swear (much!) and make sure you know your subject.

When a new employee starts a job, they are given three months or so to settle into the job and get used to things. Most contracts are only for three months (at least initially) and employers want a return on their investment immediately.

This makes a confident approach an all important attribute when interviewing for a consultancy role. The trick is to not get too carried away and come across as cocky.

Once you get a decent résumé built up interviews will take on a different perspective and many times it will seem more like the interviewer is trying to persuade you to take the contract…they are!

Interview Stories
Okay, what follows are a few experiences of my own from interviewing for various Business Intelligence consultancy roles.

I thought it would be entertaining to write up some little stories from various interviews I have had in the past.

Interview Story
This was one of my early interviews. It had gone well: my ability to describe technical subjects in layman’s terms had impressed my interviewers.

The interview drew to a close with the typical end question:

"Is there anything you want to ask us?"

This is when you can ask about sick pay or if cross-dressing is allowed on Dress Down Fridays.
I always answer with a question:

"Is there part of my experience or skills that could be improved for this job?"

Normally the answer is "No, you are perfect." which is a good thing for your interviewer to be verbalising.

This time however, the reply was:

"You seem a bit weak on SQL..."

I was shocked! My SQL is not weak!

"But, I am a programmer and know SQL extensively from writing software for databases."
The interviewer: "It is just you did not mention it much."

Me: "You never asked!"

I got the contract, and am sure that it all rested on that last exchange.

Another five interview stories are in the Scry Career Primer book Bridging The Gap, all of which are from my own personal experience and illustrate some of the strange situations which can occur.

Next newsletter I will share some of the urban myths surrounding interviews, until then....goodbye.

By: Jason Dove

Jason Dove is a published author and a Business Intelligence expert who has worked as a consultant for over a decade providing top notch assistance for the world's leading companies.