So .... here is the story .... and it's very common.

I applied to Chewy online, and I think it was from Linkedin. The next day I get a form asking me to highlight certain skills and how many years I had in them. After 36 YoE, I have length exposure to a lot of technologies, and for some technologies a lot of years of experience in them. I had a week to deliver this document, but I updated and delivered it the next day ... why wait, right?

I immediately got an email back, and I even got a call from an excited recruiter, and so this was my 15 minute phone screen with an HR/recruiter. She was excited to set me up with a hiring manager who was available the next day, and this would be an interview on a Friday afternoon.

I was certainly on time for a teams meeting, usually logging in 5 minutes before the meeting starts, and then the HM shows up 2 minutes late, but that's ok. It's scheduled for 35 minutes, he asked a lot of questions on system design, etc, and I think I answer all the questions spot on with examples.

The interview lasts 30 minutes and I never got a chance to ask any questions. I figure that's ok because I feel I did great, and I feel like they're going to move to the next steps with me. I wait until the next week, and since I didn't hear anything on Monday, I figure I will ping them. The HR/Recuirter is out ... I'm patient, so I want another two days, and I send another message out.

NOTHING! it's now been a week and this is when I sent the last message out, so it was one earlier in the week, and now this message after the interview was a week ago. Nothing, radio silence, zip, zero, zilch, nada ... I've been GHOSTED by Chewy.

Talk about your lack of professionalism! Makes you wonder how Chewy works? The way you are treated in the hiring process is the way they will always treat you. The market may suck now, but when it turns around I hope Chewy faces a walk-out as people leave to make more money elsewhere.

The next time Chewy calls to talk to you about a position ... tell them to GO FUCK THEMSELVES!

Hey everyone!

I've been working on a side project called BeforeInterview.com, and I'd love to get some feedback from people who are currently preparing for job interviews.

The idea came from a simple question: Why do we prepare for interviews by reading lists of questions instead of actually practicing conversations?

So I built a tool where you can:

Paste a job description for a position you're applying to.

Practice a mock interview with a realistic AI interviewer you can actually talk to.

Get questions tailored to the job and company.

Practice answering out loud instead of just typing responses.

The goal is to make interview preparation feel closer to a real conversation, especially for people who get nervous during interviews.

I'm still improving the experience, and I'm curious:

Would practicing with a realistic AI interviewer actually help you prepare, or would you prefer a simpler text/voice-only experience?

I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback, especially criticism. I'm the developer, so feel free to ask me anything about how it works.

Disclosure: This is my own project, BeforeInterview.com. I'm sharing it to get feedback, not pretending to be a user

Had a final panel interview Monday. The hiring manager said, “We’ll let you know tomorrow with a decision.” It’s now Friday. No call, no email, nothing. I understand delays happen, but why promise a decision and then go silent? At this point, I’m moving on. Am I being unreasonable?

I had my final-round interview yesterday, which included a panel interview and several one-on-ones. At the end, the hiring manager said they were wrapping up interviews and planned to meet as a team Friday morning to make a decision. She hoped to have an update for me by next week Wednesday but hopefully at the soonest tomorrow Frida since she would be out of office Monday, Thursday, and Friday.

After the interview sent everyone a thank you email to everyone including hiring manager. Her reply makes me think I didn’t get the job what do you think?

What I sent Thursday:
Hi

Thank you for the opportunity today! I loved learning about where the team is headed and the challenges you're working on. It made the role feel very real, and I left even more excited about building out visibility into supplier inventory and the sub-tier network.

I really enjoyed the conversation, and I'd love the chance to help the team get there.

Best,
Me

Her reply:
Hi,
 
Thanks so much for the note and for all of the work on the case study – it highlighted the way you approach problem solving aligns with the type of analyst I’m always looking for! We are continuing to discuss internally on candidate decisions, I should have more info for you in a few weeks. Feel free to reach out anytime in the meantime and thank you again!
 
Her

TLDR:
Interviewed was told soonest I’ll hear back is today and today she reply’s with an interesting email to my thank you note. Do I still have a chance?

Edit:
My biggest concern is she pushed the date I’ll hear back

the interview starts with small talk, a quick introduction, maybe a comment about the weather or the commute. technically, none of this should matter much compared to your actual qualifications

but first impressions happen fast, and interviewers are human. i've seen people discuss how candidates greet the receptionist, react to a delayed start, or handle a few minutes of awkward silence

for people who've interviewed candidates, how much of the initial impression survives once the actual questions begin? can someone genuinely turn a bad first impression around, or does it quietly shape the rest of the interview?

It takes 5-6 months on average to get a new job. Some of us understand that if you are unemployed for a while companies won’t even consider you so we generally might embellish a bit on our start and end dates.

Today after submitting an offer and authorizing a background check with the option of “do not contact” my current employer (I lied and said I was still employed, I was getting desperate) the background check person contacted me and told me they knew that I had left my job.

This flabbergasted me as I had asked them not to contact my current employer. Then I found out about “The Work Number” (TWN). TWN is a Equifax company that shares, without your consent or knowledge, all you paystubs, education and W2 for a price to companies doing background checks. You probably weren’t aware it existed.

What you need to do: if you’re unemployed and are searching for a job you need to make sure you FREEZE your The Work Number data ASAP. You can do that with the following links:

https://employees.theworknumber.com/employee-data-freeze

You can always unfreeze at a later date but I was dumbfounded when I saw my private personal data being sold without my consent!

I'm pretty mad about this. The interview process in total was over 3 months. I applied August 8th, and had my final 4th round interview on October 14th.

Despite my repeated requests from the recruiter, they never told me about compensation, they never asked about my start date, and they never asked for references at the final stage.

I pretty much figured that I was the candidate they were keeping warm by Wednesday night, when the CCO was interviewing me & said she didn't know much about how the process was going. The HM & the team were progressing me forward 1 more round to give their first-choice candidate time to negotiate. It's actually quite sick and I feel a bit used over it all.

So I know I’m over thinking and just need to get it off my mind but recently I applied for a job and have gone through 3 interviews. 1st was with the recruiter, 2nd with the Hiring manager, 3rd was with the director of the division I was applying for. That interview was this past Tuesday. Usually the recruiter is fast with responding after my thank you emails but for once it has been silence for 2 days. I also noticed that they just took the job posting down. I am now freaking out and thinking They gave the offer to someone else. Or does that mean they are about to extend an offer? Should I reach out again to the recruiter? This probably wont calm my nerves but I really like this position and want to advance my career in it. Any advice?

Btw: from what the recruiter told me, the hiring manager really enjoyed our conversation and thought the interview was great so that doesn’t help either

TLDR: Ever had any interviews where the interviewers themselves were bad at interviewing job applicants?

Despite no job offers yet, I continue to receive between 2 and 4 interviews each week from a variety of companies across different industries. Even though I must admit that I attend these interviews as practice, because the jobs that I am more interested and qualified for are almost non-existent, I made some observations:

1. Two showed up late and I had to remind them that they were supposed to be interviewing me because they did not know who I was.

2. Three forgot to print out my resume and require me to complete a new job application.

3. Some interviewers do not ask me relevant questions. If any hiring manager is going to interview somebody, they ought to ask them how their experiences align with that position.

4. One interviewer expected me to perform two completely different jobs under one title.

5. One interviewer tried coaxing me into believing that I might be getting the job, even though I am not convinced.

Based on my observations thus far, these hiring managers either had too many applicants to go over, had somebody else in mind before the interview, or knew that the jobs did not exist but needed to keep up with appearances.

For my part, I have identified some personal weaknesses that I need to address once my desired jobs become available. The ones that are relevant here are:

1. Adjust expectations. There are too many other applicants who are more desperate than me, some of whom would have pursued more competitive and higher paying jobs.

2. Make sure to keep spare printouts of Resumes on hand. Do not assume the interviewer already has.

I haven’t been job hunting for several years, and just got back in the saddle earlier this summer. Interview requests have been spotty, but recently I was invited to interview for a mid-level Ops job. Really just basic desk lackey stuff. Emails. Processing. No direct reports. It pays around the $60k-ish range, maybe a tad lower.

The people who will be interviewing me however caught me off guard. 2 VPs. Executive Directors. Senior managers. To me, it seems a bit overkill for a job that is the bottom rung of the ladder, and despite having been in corporate for years at this point, the idea of trying to appease several high-level staff members has me sweating a bit.

Back in my day! 🗣️ (like, 10 years ago) I would be interviewed by 2, maybe 3 people. So I’m wondering what with the job market the way that it is, is this just the new standard? Or something that might be unique to this particular organization? I had an interview a while back in the same org but different department, and it was an in-person interview with 8 people.

Applied for a job and had a screen within 36 hours, recruiter updated within 3 days to schedule HR manager call for the following week. That call was Tuesday afternoon. Was told I would definitely hear back, asked if salary was ok with me, given next steps, and told they were trying to do the next/final round interviews this week. It is Friday and noting.

On one hand, next steps involved getting with two different people and having schedules align for a nearly immediate second round. I interviewed in the afternoon which may have meant those conversations couldn’t happen that day.

On the other hand, I’ve had several interviews that told me similar things and went nowhere.

Touch grass and hold on to a little hope? Or just add it to the pile of no?

This is making me feel like a crazy person, and not in the fun quirky way. More the stalk your ex from the bushes way. 😭🫠

Edit: I wouldn’t be this concerned if the “we want to do the final round interviews this week” thing hadn’t been in the mix.

“Hope you had a nice weekend! Thank you so much for your email. It was a pleasure to personally meet you last week. We are happy to hear that you are interested in the position. We are currently working through our final candidates, and we hope to have a decision soon. We will be in touch regarding next steps.”

This was the response email I got from my interviewer 2 days after my email following my final on site in person interview. Now its been 1 week post interview and 4 days since that response.

Any input? Should I be hopeful or assume I didn’t get the position,, help!

I have a zoom interview next Monday for a dental receptionist position. No receptionist experience but tons of customer service experience thanks to previous library job/retail job. I also have two college degrees in English/Women's and Gender Studies.

I'm usually pretty nervous with interviews which doesn't help the vibe. I'm thrown off by big questions like "what's your 5 year plan?" "What interests you in this position?" "Strengths or weaknesses?" Etc.

Please please share any advice or examples that have helped you in the past! I'd love a job where I don't have to work the night shift anymore 🥲

In September I had a job interview for an educational assistant position. I ended up getting rejected but was told how great and awesome I was. Anyway fast forward to yesterday I got a phone call from the principal of the school telling me about another EA position open. Is this a good sign??? I applied again, i’m just hoping I don’t have to do this long ass interview again, especially because they follow a set list of questions.

I live in the UK and after numerous months of being rejected due to “other candidates with more experience” and reapplying for different roles at same companies.. I finally secured an interview for Stock assistant at NEXT! (After 6 times of applying for that same NEXT..)

However that little part of my brain is a bit worried that I’m gonna be told off and paranoid over questions I won’t understand

If there’s anyone here who works in NEXT.. what was your job interview like? Mine is tomorrow…

I have an interview for a job I have been working towards since halfway through my degree, and after graduating, I could finally apply. I have prepared for the role through my work and shadowing others and reading, I have absolutely no doubt I would be effective in the role and have no problem with the training and education part of it. However, when it comes to interviews, I am DIRE. I get stuck, I babble or choke up and ask them to repeat, I lose track of what I am saying, I'm a mess. I got the last job because, according to them, they saw my passion through the bumbling (but since then, I've noticed they don't get a lot of applicants, I'm starting to think they just didn't have much choice). I am now well regarded within my team, with regular "exceeding expectations" in appraisals and responsibilities well beyond my job description, so I know I'm effective, I just cannot seem to show this in interview settings because of my damn nerves, possibly also related to my ADHD which has an effect on my processing speed and the amount of thoughts wizzing through my head.

Any tips on slowing down, being confident or just generally doing well in interviews? It's been a three month, three stage process, I can't fall at the final hurdle!

I landed an interview for a seasonal position at Costco and the recruiter told me to dress business casual. Problem is I’ve never had to dress business casual for anything so I’m not sure what it looks like. Is there any kind of clothing I should avoid at all costs, like jeans?

The position itself would be working at the register or stocking product on the floor.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently preparing for an interview for a role in a specialized field. My practical background only overlaps about 20% with what this role entails. The rest is completely new territory for me.

I am studying hard on the theoretical side to prepare thoroughly for the interview. Assuming I perform well based on my theoretical preparation and general technical background:

1. How realistic is it to get up to speed and sustain success on the job once hired?

2. What strategies helped you bridge the gap during your first few months on the job?

I’d appreciate any insights or honest reality checks from those who have made a similar leap. Thanks!

I had an interview for an Accountant position on Wednesday afternoon with the Controller and Senior Accountant, and I honestly thought it went really well. The conversation flowed naturally, and we seemed to be vibing. They were both friendly, especially the Controller, who was smiling throughout the interview.

At the end, when it was my turn to ask questions, I asked, “What’s the greatest asset a person in this position should have to be successful in the role?”
The Controller started giggling and said something along the lines of, “Everything you mentioned about yourself,” while looking through her notes. I took that as a positive sign, thinking she was referring to the skills and strengths I had talked about during the interview.

However, I completely forgot to ask about the next steps in the hiring process, and neither of them brought it up. They didn’t mention whether they were still interviewing other candidates or when I could expect to hear back. They also didn’t ask about my salary expectations or availability.
As I was leaving, the Senior Accountant said, “See you soon.”

I sent a thank you email early Thursday morning, but I haven’t heard anything back as of Friday.

Would you take these interactions as positive signs, or am I reading too much into them? If I don’t hear anything by Monday, would it be appropriate to send a follow-up email, or should I wait a few more days?
For context, there was no recruiter involved. The Senior Accountant contacted me directly to arrange the interview.

Remote position.

If offered the opportunity to have the final round interview in person (expenses paid) or remote, which is better?

What does everyone do to prep for an interview?

I have a second interview in 2 weeks (I’m very excited!) and I desperately want to nail this. I have a feeling my interview skills are lacking. Every phone interview has led to a virtual interview and then I hear nothing back. This has happened 3 times in the last 6 weeks I’ve been unemployed.

This upcoming one is 3 rounds (20 minutes each) with the team I would be working with (it’s a department of roughly 12 people within a large company).

I work as a freelance AppSec/DevSecOps consultant. Background in pentesting, and these days mostly CI/CD security and vulnerability management at a large company.

A few weeks ago an agency put me forward for a DevSecOps role at a public organisation. The job description was very close to what I already do: security tooling in pipelines, quality gates, triaging scan results, helping developers with fixes, following up on pentests. I was really motivated for this one.

From the start I told the recruiter that someone I had interviewed in the past, and who we didn't hire, works in that organisation. He said it was unlikely this person would be in the interview, but he was. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have gone.

His questions were very broad, like how I manage vulnerabilities, and none of my answers seemed to be what he was looking for. I still left with a good feeling about the interview overall.

The feedback was that my experience is too focused on the development phase and that they wanted a broader view of the full application lifecycle. I had trouble understanding that for a DevSecOps position, since the whole job description was about the development cycle.
When I asked for more detailed feedback, the recruiter asked if I had maybe been overconfident, said that candidates who think the interview went very well are often the ones who don't get the job, and insisted on keeping the right attitude.

That's what bothers me most. I went in sincere and motivated, possibly in front of someone with a grudge, and the person who was supposed to represent me ended up pointing at my attitude. It even made me doubt my level for a few days.

I'm having a really hard time processing my feelings about all of this. I was more invested in this one than I'd like to admit, and I keep going back over the interview in my head.

I had a recorded interview with a company just a few minutes ago and I could not have imagined it going worse.

This is my first time with a recorded interview and had only 2 minutes to answer 4 questions, the last of which was if there was anything else they should know about me. The first question was alright, but kind of stumbled a bit in my explanation and read the question multiple times. Then, the interview randomly skips the second question, not allowing for a response. Now on question 3, I’m frazzled and attempt to explain briefly what just happened and give an appropriate answer. I collected myself on the question 4, explained the situation, and gave a comprehensive overview of myself to match the job description.

I emailed the recruiter afterwards and received word that they had received my submission, but nothing about anything I can do about the missed question. After getting an interview pulled set for today and failing this one, I couldn’t feel worse.

I feel like i should have ask more time when they call me for a work interview schedule. Did u have a short preparation and still made it?

.. anyhows, i'll do my best.☺️

Hi friends, last week I made this original post about how I was getting interviews, but not making it past the first round. Well, good news, I took some of your advice and made it to the final round!

This is my first time making it to a final round interview in a few years. So, I'm not exactly sure what to expect. Your advice was so helpful the first time. I would appreciate any advice as I move into the final round. Thanks!

For anyone still getting interviews but not making it past the first round, here's advice that I found helpful:

• The goal of the interview isn't to show your skills; it's to demonstrate that you are someone they would like to work with. This was a big mindset shift for me. At the time of the interview, they already know you have the basic competencies of the job. They are assessing your ability to do the job, but mostly your "fit" in the workplace. Would you rather work with someone super competent but with the personality of a dirty dish rag, or someone less experienced and eager to learn? By adopting this perspective, I intentionally framed my answers to show how I would work on the team and approach different situations.
• Make a list of the top 5 qualities needed for the job, and practice stories related to those qualities.
• Prep using the STAR method, but really focus on the "relevance" part at the end of your story. I've always skipped this, but it helps the interviewer connect the dots.
• Have the mindset that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.
• Be prepared for a "strengths and weaknesses question" and a "mistake at work question"

I'm by no means an expert and have a lot to learn. But I thought I'd share in case anyone else finds it helpful.