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...well i stuffed up

okaeri_man

Tadaima!
6 Sep 2003
444
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uni's finished until next year, so 2 days ago i applied online for a position at a major supermarket chain. yesterday i got a phone call from them - there were various questions and they invited me to attend a group interview located at their "regional centre" (read "a good 40 minute drive away"). they hinted i needed to dress appropriately, so my parents told me i needed a new shirt - short sleeves, collar, buttons.

well today i found a good, overpriced one and bought it. i got home, started to get ready for the interview, and when it came time to put on the new shirt, i discovered the bloody incompetent sales assistant hadn't removed the magnetic tag thingy (used to prevent theft... which should have beeped when i walked out the store with it still attached...). OMFG i can't wear a shirt with a huge plastic thing sticking out the back of my neck.

i got the telephone book and looked up the nearest store (not the store i bought it from), and they said i could get it removed if i brought it in with the receipt.

i was aiming to be early for the group interview, but to cut the already-long story short i was 5 minutes late. you know how these people think. if you're late you don't get the job, end of story. the thing is, everyone from the group interview is required to come back monday for a 1-on-1 interview. i'm so annoyed and not sure what the best thing to do is... they don't want to hear excuses for why i was late, but if i don't say anything then i've got no chance of getting hired. damn it why is that i can't even get a job at a supermarket?!?! maybe i should sue the clothes shop - no wait that would cost money.
 
I am sorry to read about your unfortune...
If you definately are invited to the one-to-one interview, then I suggest you go there with confidence, and if you feel like it, you can tell them the truth because it IS A funny story- this will make the interviewer smile (or better: laugh), and you'd relax during the interview, although it is quite normal to be nervous during interview...

Of course the interviewer has marked that you were late for the first session, and that is a minus, however, you can make it up with your personality and qualifications and just confess WHY you were late. (although some people may think it is a bad excuse, you can only hope it is funny enough that people will believe...)
You can go into the subject by coming on time next time for this next interview and say you are always punctual, but last time you were only unfortunate.....

It is difficult to give you advise, as you can also ignore this subject(=that you were late).....but then, you did not have the chance to explain, and this will annoy you I think.

My boyfriend had a similar story when he went for a job interview at a large corporation....he became 5-10 minutes late too! It is a tall building, and the company he had to go to was on the top floors...and he got stuck in the elevator!!! :D Embarrassing but funny- he confessed in the beginning of the interview, and it was such a funny story that the people interviewing him laughed and my boyfriend relaxed a bit.---He got the job too.

Just be yourself at the next interview! The interviewer will most likely assess your personality, so you can make up for it...

Good luck!
 
thanks for you advice Miss_apollo. ok, i'll try to make up for it and hope they're understanding people...
 
when you go, don't start off by saying "I'm sorry I was late" instantly this makes people assume it was your fault you were late (this was told to me by my drama teacher, she is very good at this stuff lol). Instead say "Hi how are you? the shop assissant (insert your story here) thats why I am late.

hope that helps.
 
haha, i guess that's true jieshi. but i'll tell you what, i went there today, and they were different people so i didn't start off with apologising for being late the other day. i just did the interview, and at the end they hired me on the spot! so all this worry was for nothing! i'm quite pleased (and relieved 😌 )!
 
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