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An Interview I Went on...


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napoleandynamite

The last interview I went on, I felt ambivelant towards what my job would be like if I was offered the position there. I asked the potential employer a few professional questions during the interview. Here were his responses that kind of stood out to me and bothered me. What would you have thought? BTW...this is for a Receptionist/Admin position.

 

1. Where do you see this company in five years?

His answer- "We'll probably be bought out by then, but I doubt we'll have too many lay-offs"

2. What would you say the biggest challenges a person in this role with your company faces?

His answer- "Uh...I would have to say lack of direction. Because there is no training really provided. Basically you're being thrown to the wolves here."

3. May I ask why this position is open?

His answer- "Well, no one has ever worked this position before. It's created."

 

*He was also somewhat unsure as to who I would be reporting to on a daily basis. He "thinks" the Mgr of Sales or "maybe someone else "but he "wasn't too sure" because there are really two positions open or he may just make it one.

 

Other than that, the interview was okay. So what do you all think?

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napoleandynamite

yeah, that's what i figured too. Ah, never hurts to get the opinions of others in case I am missing something here! lol!

 

more suggestions/comments on this are welcome! thanks people!!!

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What kind of organization is it?

 

Some companies actually have to be bought out as an exit strategy by the founders.

 

The lack of training points to a startup that is focusing on expanding business versus organizational efficiencies.

 

Seems to me like a young organization? If not then it is a strange company.

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Jerbear is on the mark - sounds like a young start-up. The good part is you can really take the role and do whatever you want with it - you can create a role that plays up your strengths. The bad part is that you get no direction, so if you're not a self-starter with all kinds of initiative and creative ideas, you'll be lost.

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You asked some pretty clever questions, if it was me i'd be too lazy to do it.

You threw the guy off with your questions, im betting he's probably new at his job as much as you would be.

 

I agree with the previous posters. Usually startup companies with little direction sometimes do choose to sell early to cut their losses and not go completely bankrupt. Especially if that business market has many competition in the area.

 

A couple years ago i worked with this small startup company, the position was practically newly created. I learned a lot about the business world and my field, although having little direction. My employer was a greedy man, the company had limited staffing and the company obviously wasnt going to grow. They had 2 divisions sort to speak, their main division covered a certain market and product...the other covered a completely different product/market. Their secondary division was weaker and was less profitable as they had much competition.

 

Before I knew it, he sold all the company's second division accounts to another supplier of the same products.

 

From this i can say startup companies can often be unstable to build a potential career. Remember when choosing a job, you're making as much of an investment in the company as they are on you.

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