Directly from the school of hard knocks.
Over the past two years, I’ve spent considerable time speaking to clients, giving them advice on web related matters etc. I forget that a job interview is somewhat similar, but also very different.
When at a panel interview for a job position at a certain government branch two days ago, the guy in charge of website matters asked me if I had seen their corporate website and whether it could be improved.
Rhetorical question, right? Think again.
I replied, albeit too eagerly, that it could be improved. Code bloat could be reduced and information better laid out. My spider-sense tells me it didn’t go down too well with the web guy.
If I had replied, “the site’s great as it is and pretty much needs no improvement”, the interview would have stopped dead in its tracks. What would they need me there for then?
Vanessa, who managed to secure a similar job, offered me great post-humous advice.
She said,
must say, it’s GREAT! i love it …. however, of course as times change, ppl might expect more xxx techy features blah blah blah
The perfect answer I didn’t think of. It compliments web guy’s work but acknowledges the inevitability of change, hence the need to hire you.
Wooh. I gotta be careful the next time I chat with you. Just kidding.
Anyway, let me know if you got the job.