Need tips for job interviews! (1 Viewer)

[Steve Schaffer]

I worked as a service tech in a major Toyota dealership for some 35 years and was fired a year ago. I suspect it was age discrimination (I'm 57) as I once heard the service manager say he was under pressure to fire some of the "old timers". In any case a month before I was fired I was offered an easier job at somewhat lower pay, which I should have taken as a hint that I was expected to quit, but didn't. I stayed on but was so stressed out that I got clumsy and accidentally damaged a couple of cars (very minor) which gave them the excuse to fire me. I was told that any new employer who called regarding my firing would only be told that I was listed as "do not rehire" with no details given.

I went to work for Sears selling electronics about a month later and frankly due to their pay structure am not making enough money to pay even may most basic obligations, though I find that I truly enjoy the contact with the public and am actually a pretty good salesman. Most of my success is probably due to my ability to get a good rapport with customers coupled with very good product knowledge.

I feel that I have at least another good 10 years working life left and really need to make more money so I'm applying for a sales position at a large Nissan dealership (my first love has always been cars). I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and am getting a little apprehensive. I apparently flubbed my most recent interview for a similar job at our newly openned CarMax, as they sent me a very nice form letter saying that my qualifications were impressive but that they'd decided to pursue another candidate for the job.

My problem is that while I have no problem selling stuff I am lousy at selling myself in job interviews. I always stick at the "why were you terminated" question, get flustered and lose all my self confidence. I don't want to say I was a victim of any kind of discrimination and usually just say that I was getting too old to crawl around under dashboards and rotate monster-truck tires all day and my employer realized it before I did, my worry is that this makes me look like an old geezer who's not capable of doing the job.

Any advice as to what to answer when asked why I was fired would be much appreciated as well as any other general tips, especially from anyone with experience in car sales.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Edwin-S]

I would just say the company was downsizing and did so by terminating their older, more experienced, staff. You are not claiming age dicrimination, but you are also not putting yourself in a negative light. Then you build on it by bringing up your years of experience in the auto industry and tie it to the sales experience that you have gained at your Sears job. Whatever you say, NEVER say you were too old. Make the interviewer work at arriving to a conclusion. Don't make his/her job easier by supplying a quick conclusion for him/her.

 

[Cees Alons]

What Edwin says. No reason to get flustered, perhaps they need you.

Also, the fact that someone else was hired at your previous interview, doesn't necessarily mean you "flubbed". Never forget that your a-priori chances are only 50% if there's even only one other applicant (33% if there are two, and diminishing fast if there are more). That's life.

People are often optimistic if they reach a "last round", but tend to forget that there is at least one other competitor left, so other things being equal their chance still isn't better than 50% indeed. The guys who are hiring MUST choose - so you'll never learn what exactly were the reasons to take the other guy (they may even have been using a dice at one point ).

Your Toyota experience fully qualifies you for the Nissan job. That's all that matters now. If there are more guys like you applying - well simply wait and see who gets the job.
But do your best first, nothing more to do on your part.

(Telling them your previous company had to downsize, may make them secretly proud and gives a smirk, so they might even be slightly more on your side. Just don't overdo it. )


Cees

 

[Al.Anderson]

As an ex-manager in a large corporation I've done hiring, but never for sales related position; so take this with a grain of salt.

I would stay away from qualifying the downsizing (as with they were doing away with older staff); *anything* negative looks bad on you. Doesn't the sales manager set the tone in these kinds of sales jobs? If so, I'd just say the sales manager wanted to go in a different direction with his staff. And if your sales record was good, just move right into that. ("The sales manager had a different idea for staff make-up as I was producing good results. I was #x in total sales and exceeded quota 9 of the last 12 months.") Also, knowledge of their product line would probably be a good thing.

On a different note, I think the biggest factor a new employer would be concerned with is how well you (as an "old timer") would fit in with a yonger sales force and newer styles of selling. I don't know the industry, but has the technique for selling changed over the last ten years? If so, spit back to the interviewer that you are just ga-ga for these new sales techniques!

And finally, you might want to work in how you have such a good rapor with both young and old; young because you present a father figure of trust, old because of peer trust.

And because you're in sales I'd say that at no time can you look like you've lost confidence. Find a friend who's 30-35 (the age of one of these sales managers) and practice your response with him/her until you can pull it off without blinking.

Good luck!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Lose that answer immediately. It is negative and based upon your own description you don't know that to be true.

Tell them you were let go because (in full truth based upon your OP) the management at the company was making cutbacks and you made their cut list. You cannot be sure why, but your suspicion is that they let go those who had been there the longest and were making the most money. Then add that you were devastated (emphasizing your 35 loyal years) because your first love is cars but that want to take this transition as an opportunity to make a career shift from working on cars to selling them and transfer your knowledge of how cars work into an ability to match-up the right car with the right customer. After giving the direct answer to their question, it is always good then to "change topics" into something positive about you...thus directing attention from why you were let go to why you would be a good fit for them.

That is the most important part of ANY job interview: for the potential employee to get across why he/she would best help the company to which they are applying for a position. The people doing the hiring most likely have other jobs at the company and want to get this over with as fast as possible and make a good choice so they don't have to do it again real soon. So if a candidate goes in and convinces them that he/she is the ideal candidate because they have xyz experience, have a long, loyal work record, and are enthusiastic about the open position...that's exactly what the would-be employer wants to hear.

Like a politician...STAY ON MESSAGE. Don't get side-tracked by curveball questions like "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?" Always bring your answer back to your ability to fit their exact need. That is also a good reason, at the beginning of the interview, to let them do most of the talking telling you about the position and its duties and their company. Then feed off that and your background and if you know anything extra about their company or product...let it fly.

All the best Steve.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Steve: one more thing. I once read (in a book I will never forget called "Guerilla Tactics in the Job Market") about dealing with the rejection which is inherent in the job search process.

In the book the author took an entire page and filled it with the word "NO"...repeated probably a couple-hundred times...with a single "YES" posted at the very end. The author went on to say that the application process is a terribly negative thing because (as Cees pointed out) the odds are against you. There are ALWAYS more candidates than there are jobs. And family and friends are always asking about your progress and you end up reinforcing the "NO" stigma in every conversation it seems.

So, his point was that you have to make your way through an entire series of "NO"s before you will eventually get your "YES". So you treat that "NO" as a positive in that each "NO" is the next step towards getting your "YES". This helps keep you motivated towards making applications at jobs that interest you and from getting defeated by the process. As difficult as that "NO" is, it is moving you forward.

We learn from everything we do...including interviewing for jobs. By going back and talking to the interviewers you will learn a lot about yourself and the process.

Also, make sure your resume is 100% in terms of spelling and grammar. Those things DO make a big impression because even if they are not important to the candidate or important to the position being interviewed for, they just might be important to the person doing the hiring. Always best foot forward.

And there is always the question about references. Any new company will probably want to speak with someone who will vouch for your work ethic. If this is a problem with the management of the place that let you go, you will need to find someone who is familiar with your work experience--maybe a former supervisor who is no longer with the place you were at 35 years. Make sure you have someone solid ready-to-go.

 

[Bob Graz]

Age discrimination is the elephant in the room. It's not something you realize or think about until you get there.

Most all companies are downsizing. When they downsize they tend to pick off the long-term highest paid employees. Intentional or not, that tends to be the way it goes.

You have a tremendous amount of experience and an excellent track record. The fact that you worked 35 years with one employer speaks volumes of your experience and integrity.

I also would say you were part of workforce reduction. I would not say it in an embarrassed or negative way. I would say that after 35 years, the dealership decided they wanted to reduce some of the mechanics and you were one. 35 years is an incredible amount of time to be with one employer. I'd even say that after 35 years you welcome something a little different. Most of the time when these things happen to talented people it ends up well.

I think if you speak of it matter of factly and discuss how much you contributed over those 35 years and what you've learned and what you are interested in doing now, you'll be fine. Also, the more you talk of it the more comfortable you will be that change just happens.


Good luck.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Thanks to all of you for the very useful advice and kind words.

The Toyota store I worked for is known for being one of the most successful in the area, I don't think anyone would beleive they were downsizing but they might very well accept that they were trying to replace older employes with newer ones to reduce costs.

I do have a fairly long list of former co-workers and supervisors among my references and have a good reputation among them for being helpful both to co-workers and customers. In fact at the old place I had a number of customers who would specifically ask that I work on their cars. Even in my relatively short time at Sears I have had numerous customers who specifically mentionned how much they appreciated my guidance and knowledge when they were making choices in the their first HDTV purchase. I guess I could mention these facts in my interview.

I don't "feel" 57, get along better with the 20 year old coworkers at Sears than with the one or two guys my age so I don't really feel like I'd have any problems getting along with a younger sales force at the car dealership. I've also found that there are a large number of customers my age that are more trusting of me than of some of the younger associates, which may be a plus.

My problem in the past has always been a reluctance to "blow my own horn", I guess I need to get past that in future interviews by expressing an enthusiasm for the product and demonstrating an ability to pass that enthusiasm on to potential buyers.

Thanks again for all the help, you guys are great!!

 

[Jay H]

Maybe the HTF AHL should hire you to dispense car advise, especially toyota! You've been pretty helpful to folks here in the past!

Jay

 

[BrianW]

Steve, I don't have any advice to offer above and beyond the excellent advice you've already been given. But I would like to express my sincerest best wishes that you'll find the perfect job. Given the depth of your automotive knowledge, a dealership would have to be crazy not to hire you in any capacity. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

I can't imagine how tough it must be to be interviewing for jobs after 35 years at the same place. In my profession, nobody goes more than six months without updating their resumes and checking the job listings. Your reluctance to "blow your own horn" is natural, but I think your strategy of expressing enthusiasm for the job/product is a great way to overcome/mitigate that reluctance.

And if customers asked for you by name, I think you should put that on your resume. A company lives or dies by its sales force, and a knowledgeable, personable, trustworthy salsperson who creates repeat customers is money in the bank to them. You should be proud to have that kind of relationship with your customers.

Good hunting, and I hope you start getting offers very soon.

 

[Mike Frezon]

If not on your resume, this is another strong selling point you need to bring up during the interview process. When confronted with that question you don't like about why you were terminated, once you've explained that the company was changing direction with their workforce by dumping their senior workers...you could always say something like I hope that doesn't come back to hurt them because it was employees like myself who had customers coming back and asking for them by name to take care of their needs.

With that one sentence you avoid bad-mouthing your former employer (a potential employer would never want to hear that), you explain how popular your services were to certain customers of your former employer (something ANY potential employer would want to hear), and it further works to bolster the expertise and good work you can supply to your new employer.

Again...good luck!

 

[TravisR]

You've gotten good advice so I can give you some advice from Marge Simpson: "When you get a job interview, try not to call your employer a punk or a skank."

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Well, I'm fresh back from my interview and probably blew it again--I felt like the legendary deer in the headlights. Overall I think I gave pretty good answers to all the questions I was asked, but they didn't just roll off my tongue immediately--I was somewhat hesitant in that I had to think a bit to formulate my answer in order to get across my true feelings. Before the actual interview there was a 12 minute, 50 question test of logic and vocabulary that my interviewer said I did quite well on, so it's obvious I'm no dummy.

The place I applied was actually the local employment dept. for the entire Lithia chain here in Fresno, comprising Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, Mazda, Suzuki, and Dodge dealerships. My interviewer said she'd review my application with her sales managers and that if one of them was interested in me I'd get a call. I hope I got across that I'm a lot less nervous with customers (in fact not nervous at all) than I am with job interviewers.

I did mention that I had repeat customers at both my previous jobs, and that I felt that establishing a trusting relationship with customers was important to make them comfortable about their purchases and more likely to repeat and recommend to their friends and relatives.

Overall I think this was the best of a bad lot of interviews for me, in that while I'm not happy with my perception of my performance in the interview I wasn't as bad as I've been in my previous ones.

Again, thanks for all the support.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Steve: Already improvement!

Don't be disheartened. You are taking away good things from this experience. We never stop learning, do we?!

I'm not sure what your personal situation is...but if you've got somebody who is close to you who could do a little role-playing...you can run through some of the give-and-take between yourself and a job interviewer. Even if you go through the same questions over-and-over a few times...it will be a great comfort for you to have run through them a few times before the real deal. It would be a lot like preparing for a test...or for an audition to be in a theatrical production. And it sounds like anything that will help put you at ease in that situation would help a great deal. If you think about it...there's a lot of ways in which you can compare a job interview with a dramatic play.

The best way to show the interviewer that you are comfortable with people is to be comfortable with them. And THAT is NOT an impossible task. Just some more experience at that task (the Q & A) will give you more confidence--and that is what some role-playing will do. I know it may sound dumb...or maybe-better-said might be uncomfortable and a silly thing to do...but once you've practiced the standard give-and-take a few times...it'll seem like the most natural thing in the world for you--almost as natural as changing a carburetor. Mechanics do change carburetors, don't they?! Not sure if my syntax is right. I told you I'm pretty dumb about cars.

Anyway, keep re-reading the posts in this thread and reminding yourself that you are the right guy for these jobs. You've got all the ability that's needed. You just need to be able to get that point across to the people in charge of hiring.

================================

A question for you. Have you considered looking into Car Service Sales? I doubt I have that term correct--maybe I mean Service Manager. Let me explain. At my dealership where I get most of the work done on my car, there are two or three guys who "run" or manage the service department. I don't think they do any actual work on the cars...but they sure do know all about cars and what problems different models have, etc (just like you!). They act more as liaisons between the mechanics and the customer...using their knowledge of cars to explain the repairs and, for me, help calm me down about why the repairs are going to cost me an arm and a leg. It almost seems to me--in the limited capacity I have of your experience--that that kind of job would be just perfect for you. They also field my phone calls when I say dumb things when trying to explain the symptoms of my car...and are understanding when I say my budget is tight right now and I have to triage all the different things that might be wrong with my car at any particular time.

 

[Cees Alons]

Steve,

Perhaps you didn't that bad at all, wait until you hear from them.

But one sentence struck me: "Overall I think I gave pretty good answers to all the questions I was asked".
Some of those questions are, of course pure "questions" indeed and you cannot do anything else but supply the proper answer.

Often, there isn't a "good" answer, not like in a quiz. There's a subject, though, and perhaps you know all about it even if you believe you need to look for a perfect answer for a moment.

But think about this aspect too: they need a way to get the conversation rolling. How else can they finally decide?
So they start with a question, but in reality the interview is a two way conversation.

Try to emphasize the "talk" aspect just a bit more in your mind. That's another guy sitting there, perhaps younger than you are, and he has a problem: he needs to make an informed decision, to the advantage of the firm, and find a colleague in the process. He wants to talk about the job.

It's a matter of just a slightly different attitude and relaxing just a little bit.


But from your description, I already understand you did better than ever before, so .


Cees

 

[DaveF]

Steve,
Mike's given you some great advice. Here's a few lesser tidbits:

- When asked a difficult question, take a moment. Hold your composure. Take a breath. Repeat the question, perhaps rephrasing it a bit to your advantage ("So, you're wondering why I'm no longer with XXX Motors.") Then answer. Those few seconds let you calm down and not given a panic-stricken, brain fart of an answer.

- Go in expecting the best. Look to enjoy meeting the people interviewing you. Seek the rapport you find easily with customers. I believe hiring decisions are fundamentally about the manager(s) finding someone they are comfortable with. It's an emotional thing, not wholly driven by performance and job requirements.

- Join a speaking group, like Toastmasters, to further develop your communication skills. It will help your salesmanship. It will help your interviewing.

Good luck!

 

[BrianW]

Actually, Steve, I just thought of something that I don't think has been mentioned: After the interview, always be sure to send a thank-you note. In this day and age, I think it's perfectly all right to do this via email (others will differ), but if you didn't get the interviewer's business card and don't know his/her email address, a short, handwritten note sent by USPS would be well-received.

In the note, simply thank the interviewer for taking the time to speak with you, and tell him/her how delighted (or whatever adjective you think is appropriate, depending on the interviewer and the nature of the conversation) you were to have the opportunity to discuss how your 35 years of experience can be put to effective use at XYZ Motorcars. If there was something in your conversation with the interviewer that "clicked", be sure to pick up on that. Keep it simple, and keep it positive. Don't try to clarify insufficient answers you may have given, and don't try to smooth over or mitigate any uncomfortable moments there may have been during the interview. The interviewer, like most people, will remember what is reinforced, and forget everything else, so don't even think about mentioning anything bad at all. (And whatever you do, don't beg!) It's a thank-you note, not a make-up exam. For better or worse, the interview is over, so the purpose of the note is to make the interviewer feel good about having talked to you and to give him/her a good idea of how much better it would be to work with someone who's articulate and gracious like you, as opposed to the other shmuck candidates who can't even write a coherent sentence (for example ). It's a touchy-feely thing. The fact that you even take the time to write a thank-you note is often enough to put you over the top.

I'm sorry I didn't mention this earlier, Steve. From now on, be sure to get the interviewers' business cards so you have their email addresses. And it's definitely not too late to drop thank-you notes in the mail for the interviews you've already had.

We're all pulling for you.

 

[Bob Graz]

Another thought. It's good to develop some responses to general questions and have them prepared. For instance, what's the greatest obstacle you've overcome, what has been your biggest challenge and how did you handle it. What's an example of an instance when something did not go as expected and what did you do. By developing responses to these types of questions, you can fit them to the questions in the interview. The best defense is a good offense.
Hang in there...

 

[andrew markworthy]

I'm not sure that the following will really add anything to the excellent advice already given, but here goes ...

I'll start with the advice I was taught at school. In the interview, sit with your hands in your lap. Don't gesticulate and maintain a sensible level of eye contact. Learn all you can about the company before you go for the interview.

Never ever expand on answers where you know it's one of your negative areas. People get made redundant because of changes in company strategy. That's a fact of life. Say that. Add on that you thought it a great shame because you had an excellent sales record (or whatever is most appropriate in your record that you want to highlight). Express regret at this. Then leave it there. An interviewer will appreciate that after a long period with a company you may feel upset about the experience and with any luck will leave it at that. But if you start making excuses or use it as an opportunity to blame management for what happened, it sends totally the wrong signals (and you'll get marked down as either always apologising for mistakes or bitching about the boss).

Don't *ever* regard age as a negative attribute. If the firm has a high proportion of older employees already, indicate that you'll fit in with the existing demographic. If a lot of the others are younger, say that you will complement the existing workforce by offering greater experience and bringing a different range of knowledge. Don't intimate though that the younger ones will provide the energy and you the experience - that implies that you're a physical wreck and will let others do the harder tasks. Emphasise that at times an older person may provide a better interface with some customers/clients than a younger person. And add that there'll be times when the reverse is true, so a good cross-mix of ages is a great idea and that accordingly you'd fit into the team.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Wow, I wish I'd come here sooner for advice and help--a real wealth of really good suggestions.

The young lady that interviewed me did give me her business card so I will definitely be sending her an e-mail or snail mail thank-you note.

Having slept on it and in retrospect I feel that while I was obviously nervous during the interview I was able to get across a few positives about myself and express my desire to be an asset to my employer.

Mike Frezon,

In fact my first choice of jobs would have been as a Service Advisor--it would be an excellent combination for my "people skills" and automotive technical background, and one of the interviews I severely blew was for just such a position so I have not tried for it again. Perhaps I should really take another shot at such a job.