I got my feedback from the job interview so I can be prepared going into the third one and it was a ton of positives. The one potential negative he said that they would probe on is that, “You have a strong personality.” Basically strong personality is good but do I know how to tone it down when necessary?
The funny part is I don’t think of myself as having a strong personality given some people that I have dealt with in my life. I rather like the thought that someone thinks I have a strong personality.
January 19th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Watch out that…
“you have a strong personality” doesn’t equal “you are a pushy American”.
Seriously. Some British interviewers will take it against you that you are American. There’s almost nothing you can do about it. You can’t pretend to be British, you’re not, and why should you?
Instead, don’t play against type, run with it (but in an understated kind of way). For some interviewers it will be a huge asset, and for others it will be an eliminator, but you can’t help that.
It does help to be aware. Get S or a Brit friend to interview you. When I was first looking for jobs, I did some f’d up stupid things that were antithetical to British practice and needlessly shot myself in the foot.
I hope I’m not being too much of a downer. Good luck! There’s a great job out there for you.