Interview again and again but no Job offer!!!

[10815L]

Hi,
I'm chemical engineer and have 20 years exeprience in oil and gas processing.
I have attend several interivews but no job offer yet.May I ask you what hiring manager want from me when they are interviewing me.
For example they are asking tell us your exeprience then they are sking questions from my exeprience.I think, i'm giving them correct answers but after interview no feed back received from them nor offer.
Could you please advice me where i'm doing mistake during interview.
Thanks

 

[Ron]

Are you interviewing in your native language or in english? If in english, and your spoken verbiage is similar to your written verbiage, I would suggest that you have a communication issue.

 

[10815L]

Hi RON,
Is this correct?, and what is the weightage of language if both are not native english speeking.I'm in middle east and interviews are held in middle east not in USA or europe.
Thanks

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Ron,

I'm going to guess English is a second language just from the word structure.



10815L,

It's a combination of your experience as well as how you present it. You may have great experience, but if you cannot explain it in such a way as to convince the interviewer you have said experience, you may as well not show up for the interview. All of us have gone through a number of interviews with no offer afterwards, it's just part of the job world. Without seeing you in action, I doubt any of us could give any more than a guess as to what is preventing you from receiving an offer, but some possible options are : 1) There was a more experienced candidate, 2) There was a less expensive candidate, 3) Your experience wasn't a good fit for the position, etc.

Have you considered asking the interviewer from failed interviews what you could have done differently? Some may reply, some may not.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[IRstuff]

Just because you have 20 yrs experience does not make you a great or useful employee. I've know engineers with 30 yrs of experience that couldn't engineer their way out of a wet paper shift register.

What are your accomplishments? Do they stand out? You say you answered with "correct answers" but I've rarely had an interview where there were "correct" answers. The fact that you think there are "correct" answers says something already.

How well do you actually communicate? At your previous jobs, were you the go-to guy for doing presentations or interfacing with the customer or presenting new ideas to management?

When you are looking for a job, you're selling a commodity, namely YOU. What a company wants to know is how are YOU going to solve THEIR problems. Given the fact that you've had 20 yrs experience but were unable to pull out examples of your experience that resonated with the interviewer is problematic.

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[casseopeia]

Are the people interviewing you also from the Middle East? The reason I ask is that having worked with people from the Middle East, I've noticed that they have a very different way of interacting at times that may seem confrontational to Americans at least. It takes a while to get used to it.

With several interviews already behind you, your technical ability should not be in question at this point. I have now had three telephone interviews and have taken 4 tests, two for software proficiency and two personality tests. I still have yet to receive an invitation for a face-to-face interview. I think companies are being extra cautious right now because the time is available. I don't have any questions about my own technical ability and I know my personality tests turned out well. My guess is that they want to make certain I would be a good 'fit.' This may be the same for you.



"Gorgeous hair is the best revenge." Ivana Trump

 

[MintJulep]

but after interview no feed back received

Have you asked for any?

 

[TheBlacksmith]

Synopsis of what everybody said - research the company first.

What is their primary product and/or challenges and how will your experience contribute to them?

Also, these days it often comes down to a good fit with the existing team members and management. It's somewhat of a buyer's market and they don't wish to introduce churn with a new employee.

 

[bigTomHanks]

You gotta be the right guy at the right place at the right time and know someone who can give you a good reference.

 

[moon161]

Feedback: I tried a few times, in the US at least, I realized you'll likely never get an answer- just another way you can sue. Most I've ever heard is vaguely positive or vaguely negative from my employment agency. In that case there is no hire- the agency hires me if I fit the contract.

RE: Cass- different cultures look for different things. My habit of asking questions w/ sometimes obvious answer has been influenced by my background in tech support & validation- bitten by too many assumptions. My wife doesn't like it at all.

My dad has dealt w/ the French on consulting jobs. Says because they are taught w/ socratic method, they ask lots of questions, sometimes they know the answer already, just looking for what YOU will say about it.

To some extent it is numbers. IME, 20-100 contacts/interview, 3/5 interviews/offer is typical.

Sometimes luck. one contact to apply for work down the street, 1 interview. Knock wood.

Above all, research/feel out what they are looking for, use facts (not fiction) about yourself to support that you are what they need.

 

[IRstuff]

And there's nothing worse than fluffing up your resume. If you've only ever watched someone else use a tool or software, you are NOT "familiar" with that tool or software.

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[SNORGY]

Sometimes it's just a streak of bad luck. Keep plugging away at it.

I was rejected after a fourth interview with one company after they told me I had no sense of humour and probably didn't communicate well with people less intelligent than me.

To which, I replied:

"I'm here talking to you, aren't I?"

No candidate ever truly knows what interviewers want unless there is some insider information (espionage) at play. Therefore, network as well as you can.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[KENAT]

So English is your second language, and the interviewers second language but the interview is conducted in English.

If so improving your spoken English might well help.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[brandonbw]

I have been getting a lot of resumes recently with people really fluffing up their stuff. I agree with just because you have 20 years experience doesn't mean you are the right person for the job.

I have to basically interview for my company with contractors/construction companies/architects we are going to work for, and they ask my experience which gets around to my age. I always get you seem to know a lot for your age. And then I go into why I learned so much in the last so many years.

I was able to fine tune that after my first job and basically always got a job offer at many different interviews. So if something isn't working, look back on what was going on and really try to critique yourself. If your English is bad that is something you can work on in the meantime. If you don't know how to answer questions for a manager type person. Practice in front of a mirror answering non technical questions to yourself.

For myself I was bringing in sample work and making sure I knew the ins and outs of anything that would be asked. Which could then lead to I don't know how to do this, but I worked with this person who took care of it for the office. And that naturally leads into how we got along.

I think everyone giving their opinion in this thread is really useful to read a few times.

B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil and Structural Engineering

http://bwengr.com

 

[10815L]

Hi brandonbw,
I read all answers and take as advice, I believe, my educational background and my exeprience is not matching.I'm PGD,B.Tech and DAE but working as supervisor and going for process engineering interviews.
I do agree with you, I have dificiency in my exeprience as compare to educational background.
You pointed out well and give good advice.
Thanks
10815L

 

[casseopeia]

10815L,
After 2-3 telephone interviews and 4 on-line tests, I have finally gotten to the in-person interview. To prepare, I've been reviewing some basic interview tips. Although I did all this just a year ago, it never hurts to practice. Here is a link to the website that the State of California Employment Development Dept. They also have classes and workshops available to residents. Check to see if your own community has the same. Even if they don't, there is some good advice here.

http://www.worksmart.ca.gov/tips_interview.html

"Gorgeous hair is the best revenge." Ivana Trump

 

[corus]

It would be very rare to fail an interview because you don't have the right qualifications or experience. That's just an excuse. People don't waste their time giving you an interview when they know your details don't match the requirements of the job. They may be lacking in some respects but they have weighed that up with other strengths you may have. The only time I've been to an interview where the job didn't match my qualifications was when I was sent by a parasitical, low life, blood sucking employment agency. Never again.
Statistically your chance of getting a job following an interview is about 1 in 5. Not getting the job could have been due to various things you have no control over, like the manager interviewing you is a jerk. or it could be that you turn up for an interview wearing a heavy metal t-shirt. If the manager is an iron maiden fan and not a jerk then you're in.

 

[KENAT]

Do bare in mind that the advice given on Cass's link is for a very broad range of folk, and quite likely slightly biased to to non professional positions etc.

So read between the lines and adjust for the more professional positions you're applying for. However, many of the basics still stand.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​