and now for something weird

It's no big secret that I'm looking for a job while here in London.  I have been for almost 2 years.  Doesn't that sound really pathetic?  Actually it's very normal for most everyone here.  If you don't have one before you come here it's really hard to get one and then it takes loads of time.

The process is very different from in the US where you have to deal with recruiters mostly before you even get an interview with the actual company.  This means once you fill out a ba-zillion applications you might get one call from a recruiter.  They all ask you the same questions....how long, when available, what you been up to....stock answers are typical too....since I got here, NOW, Looking for work.  If by some small miracle you do get asked for an interview it's usually with the recruiter before you get more information about the actual company doing the hiring.  They basically want to see you in person and make sure you're not a slob or insane.  I guess they really don't want an ax murder going for a job, it would make their recruitment firm look bad.

I've only made it this far 3 times and 3 times I was interviewed with the actual hiring company but never going from one to the other.  The recruiters who had me over never sent me for a job.  I landed the 3 other interviews by applying directly to a company posting.  The 1st one I was one of three, the 2nd I was one of 5 and the last one I was one of 30.  This is the weird one.

I applied for a Marketing Coordinator/Project Management job with a marketing company and was invited for an interview.  The email came from their staff saying it would be a 'group interview'....???  Yes, a group interview.  The email explains that it's a way they can determine if you are right for the role while also meeting new people and expending your network.  Ok, I'm game....I've got nothing else to do and nothing to loose right?

I get curious about the information provided by the email and do some digging.  I check out the actual company doing the interview and it is just a marketing company here in London and they need someone to coordinate a bunch of different things.  Then I check out the location for the meeting, it's a training facility for Stock Traders.  Alarms go off in my head.  The last thing I want to do is become a day trader and commit suicide because I can't make any money.  I replied to the email and asked questions.  The response was 'no, it's not that, we only use their facility' and 'no, I can't tell you more about whats going to happen'.  booo

I get to the location and sign in where there are about 10 other people waiting which eventually turns into 30.  What I found interesting at that point was when a new person would walk in everyone would check them out....size them up.  After all, they're the competition!  Hardly anyone was actually talking, there were a couple of people chatting and probably about this strange concept of a 'group interview' and I later found out that's what they were doing.

We go up to the room and had to wait out in a lobby area with drinks and cookies or cakes they call em here.  More people were chatting about the same thing.  Eventually were asked to go inside and have a seat.  The chairs were arranged like a classroom or for a presentation.  We were all told to take seats facing a screen where this guy who is the marketing director started to explain who the company was and what they do.  Next up was a bit about the process we were about to go through.  We would start out seated at these table facing each other and do a "Speed Date" where we were given 2 minutes to chat with the person and rate them on trust ...would I trust that person with my child after chatting with them for 2 minutes.  During this time the directors would walk around evaluating us while we evaluated each other.  Besides meeting people who were from all over the world I realized I was the oldest person in the room.

Next up was a mock interview where we were paired up with one other person and given 5 minutes to ask about 3 key values and how it would relate to this position the company was trying to fill.  Once completed we were then told to get up in front of the group and present our partner and explain why they would be a good choice for the role while giving examples of those values.  I'm not afraid of public speaking and actually thought I did a decent job.  After each person went up we were given a score sheet and asked to score people on how the presented on a scale of 1 to 10.

The directors would tally up our results with their results and a short list of 5 people would be asked to stick around to schedule a more in depth interview later in the week.

I didn't make the short list.  No surprise and no disappointment.  I went in with no expectations, you can't!  It was completely foreign to me and everyone else in the room.

I don't want to sound sexist or ageist but the 5 on the short list were all young white girls.  I say girls because they must have been in their early 20's.  Good for them.  I wish them well.

Now I can say I've been through a different experience.  If presented with a chance to do it again I may turn it down.  After all you're being rated for a career position by people you've just met over a few minutes of conversations and don't have any clue what kind of person you are.  Give me an hour in a 1-on-1 interview with the person I would report to and I'm going to show you just what I can do for you.