plumtreeblossom | Not A Good Fit....

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I don't want to go on the interview my headhunter is sending me to tomorrow. I realize that it pays 150% of my current salary, but I don't like the industry, and I don't like the tone of the prep material I've been sent. It smacks of cut-throat culture and no room for humanity. I wouldn't be happy there, and wouldn't last 6 month, I know from experience. I can do soft-corporate, but not hard-corporate (I just made those terms up to fit my immediate word need. You know what I mean by them, though.) Also, Headhuntress says it will be at least a 3-hour interview, probably longer. I think that's excessive for a 1st interview. And, they'd reject me as soon as they Googled my bohemian ass, no question.

My only motivation is the $money$, but a fat paycheck isn't going to make me happy in a work climate I hate. I think I'm passing on this one.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

androidqueen.livejournal.com

i don't know anything about the job, but i suggest you keep an open mind. you never know -- they might turn out to be awesome. seeing as you'll be there anyway, there's no point in jumping to conclusions before you've actually been there.

ftr, i don't think 3h is long for a first interview. at my company, we tend to have a 15-30min phone interview, then a long (3-5h) in person interview. and we give them lunch, so maybe you'll get that too. :)

From:

muffyjo

Go. play with their heads. Since you already know what you want, this is good practice for you to see how an interview would feel when you DIDN'T feel that sense of desperation...of wanting the job so badly it hurt. And you can watch your own reactions to see how your body language works when you aren't in that "desperate" headspace. I think it would be a really good learning experience so you can emulate that same kind of calm when you need it for that interview where you don't want to come off as "desperate" in th future.

Stop worrying about actually landing this job. Use this for what you need, which is the experience of feeling in control, of knowing what you want and don't want.

From:

plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com

No, it means taking a half-day off from my current job, and I'm already taking Thursday and Friday off for the NYC trip. I can't do that for a job I don't want. And if I'm offered the job and I decline it, my headhunter will never work with me again.

From:

muffyjo

Well, if you can't take the time off, that's one thing.

Unless you lie or withold information on what it is you are really looking for, your headhunter won't ever "throw" you away. They want to find you a really good fit, by telling them exactly what you are looking for, they can help refine that list - that's what you are paying them for (in the end, they are getting money because of you getting hired).

I speak as a former headhunter myself (and a damn good one, if I do say so myself - I have references). If your headhunter knows what you are looking for and is sending you anyway, you might be a foil for another candidate they are proposing.

And if your headhunter kicks you to the curb...call me, I have plenty of friends still in the business.

From:

moria923.livejournal.com

Are you saying that there are head-hunters who work for the job-seeker? I thought all head-hunters worked for, and got paid by, the employer.

From:

muffyjo

No, but I'm saying that it's in their best interest to try and "use" as many candidates as possible because each one they successfully place is money in their pockets. If you can accurately express what you are looking for and what you need - and it fits within their needs, it makes the process pretty fast and painless for everyone involved.

For instance, i had a candidate that was a Desktop Specialist, he was looking for an environment where he could be mentored and there was room for advancement. He was interested in money, but the environement was really going to be a large factor in his decision. Training opportunities would mean a lot to him. I ended up placing him at Harvard Business School where the pay wasn't as good as State Street, but the other opportunities more than made up for what he wanted. His resume was solid, his experience fit right in, he would have been "right" in a number of places but I knew the people involved had created their own "corner" of the world where he would feel comfortable fitting in and THAT would make him a "shoe in".

The clearer you are on what you want, the clearer it can be to place you when the right opportunity presents itself. THAT is what the headhunter needs. You need to be clear, concise and memorable with a positive attitude.

From:

epilimnion.livejournal.com

I'm with MuffyJo. Go to the interview, but think of it as a practice interview to build your skills in that area. I interviewed for a job or two that I either knew I couldn't get or didn't really want when I was hunting, and it helped me later when I found a job I did really want. There's no better way to practice your interview skills.

From:

infinitehotel.livejournal.com

Dunno if your depravities are under your shortened or full name, but I don't see much that would make even a seriously corporate house blink too hard.

(Though I do wonder about the dark doings mentioned in the Salon article...)

If you had the time, I'd say do the interview. And I agree with Jo; a headhunter may pressure you to take a position, but ultimately you're well within your rights to say no and any headhunter who feels differently probably isn't working in your best interest to begin with. (I never worked as one but I swam with one of the great whites of the business for ten years; he was most definitely a shark and you never trusted him, but most of the time, he was *your* shark.)