Well, I was thinking of sending you a letter (and I think I
will still send it), but this is much more cost-effective.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself and a bit of my technical background. I am a 27 year old Canadian with dual Greek/Canadian Citizenship. I also have
an EEC passport (hmmm-relocating to Europe per chance? :) )
Okay, now my techincal background:
Network Administrator, Network Analyst, Programmer in a variety of languages (however I tend to stay away from those
nasty outdated mainframes), technologist and PC technician.
Well, I was recently employed (I left the job in the month of August '97) and now I am unemployed. Now, I have a few questions, so please take the time to
read them carefully.
I would like to relocate to The Netherlands, simply because I've been there three time on three separate occasions and I like the liberal mindset of the people in regards to their pragmatic
approach in solving/controlling some of the more common social problems (i.e. prostitution, soft drug use, etc...)
I applied to an agency via jobserve on the net and I got an interview however I was not fully
prepared. I did my homework on their company and seeing they had a fully functional website, it was very easy to find out all I needed about them, however, I digress...
The telephone interview lasted about 30 minutes
in which the interviewer asked me questions pertaining to my technical background.
Now, I made some foul ups, these being the following:
Interviewer: "Why do you find that the Dutch people have a liberal
mindset"
Myself: "uhhhhhh...."
I wanted to tell the interviewer what I had mentioned above (the pragmatic approach to the social problems facing us, etc..) however, I thought that would've put me
in a bad light.
Next interview question:
Interviewer: "What programming languages do you know?"
Myself: "Hold on, let me consult my resume..."
Now, this was a very stupid move on my
part. I know what languages I know, I didn't need to consult my resume for that information, but unfortunately, I am a stickler for protocol.
In the end, the interviewer told me straight out that she believed I did
not have the experience needed. I asked her if they were other postions available in which the company could use me.
The interviewer recommended that she didn't see anything "special" about me that would
prompt her to relocate me to Holland. However, she did mention that if I ever did relocate to The Netherlands and I was in the neighborhood to drop by.
So, I thanked the interviewer very much and I immediately wrote
a thank you letter and sent it off express mail (overnight would have cost 60.00$ so cost was an issue) and express takes a maximum of three business days.
My questions. Should I continue contact? How often? By post,
e-mail, phone? What should I talk about? Should I try to rectify the interview by restating my answers in a more postive light?
In closing (I know, finally!), I think that you have developed an excellent product and
I am sure to put your practices to use everyday, and hopefully, I WILL get my dream job...
Respectfully yours,
John
From: John Bacogiannis, Graduate Student, Herzing Institute
ANSWER FROM BRIAN KRUEGER:
The simple answer to your question is to tell the interviewer exactly what you told me. Tell her that you are sorry for not handling the questions on the phone as you would have liked to and why.
I would probably
use e-mail to convey the message if the company is technology-driven (it sound like they are).
Even though you may have "missed" a few interview questions, keep in mind that she gave you the very important
key at the end of the interview: there was nothing special enough about you to relocate you to The Netherlands. There is a higher standard that you have to achieve for international relocation than for a job down the
street. I apply the same higher standards when I interview international candidates.
So if you really want to greatly increase your chances, you may want to consider making your next trip to The Netherlands a job
search trip. I know that spending that kind of money when you are unemployed may not be the ideal suggestion, but if you can't swing it now, keep it in mind the next time you plan a holiday.
Bottom line: you won't
get hired over the phone. You need to be there in person. To get your "dream job" you will need to sell yourself in person.
And don't give up easily. No one that got very far gave up very easily.
Brian Krueger
Author of College Grad Job Hunter
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