What I’ve learned from minimum wage job interviews

My interview is tomorrow, and I’m pretty excited about that!

I’m just so curious about what they’re going to ask me and what I’ll answer. This stuff is always so interesting to me.

The 2 interviews I’ve learned the most from were for 2 jobs that I ended up landing but didn’t end up accepting. One was for camp counsellor at a science summer camp, and another for a sales rep position at a high-end sunglass store.

It’s funny that interviewing for these low paid jobs would give me the best interview experience, but they really did. I appreciate that a lot and think back to them every time I go for a new interview.

For the camp job, I got grilled by a panel of judges. It wasn’t comfortable and definitely kept me on my toes, but I learned that I could handle the pressure and scrutiny well, which is something I wouldn’t have known had I not gone through it.

The sunglass store asked me tricky questions about bad bosses and bad situations at work. I did NOT do well on the tricky questions at all, which is why brushing up on my answers is more beneficial to me than behavioural stuff (like the ability to handle pressure). I fell into the trap of answering the question negatively; Instead I should have told positive stories that made it seem like I took a bad situation and saved the day. I am a positive person afterall, and would like to portray it.

I didn’t end up accepting the camp job because it was too far to commute to, while the questions from the sunglass store startled me too much that it made me not want to work there. In retrospect though, it was all a very good experience.

So tomorrow, these 2 interviews that took place over 5 years ago will help me attempt to land a job. Which I think is pretty neat!

I’ll need all the help I can get, because the job I’ve applied to is for a marketing position in a big international company. Judging by the amount of people who took the test with me, there is stiff competition. But, I know that even if I don’t get the job, I’ll have another interview experience to add to my roster. Who knows, maybe it will make it to my Top 3 interview short list!