Strange... I was more nervous handing my notice in than taking interviews

[Paul Adams]

Had a job interview in Sweden last month and got an offer which I accepted and yesterday handed in my (3 months) notice to my boss... which was more nerve-wracking an experience that the interview I took!

I had this kind of strange guilty feeling that I was letting him down by moving on after working here 4 years and found myself (overly) justifying my decision as "an opportunity for me rather than anything I was unhappy about with my current position".

Anyone else have this kind of odd situation?

[Raz316]

Know exactly what you mean, though in the end I didn't actually quit

I dunno if it will change with experience, seeing as this is my first job, but I consider the fact I was offered the job to be a huge favour to me from the company, and when I almost quit I felt kinda bad that I was leaving because I wanted to do something else, it felt pretty selfish.

[Kezzer]

I would love to work in sweden. That would be so cool

[Rave]

Well, if you're leaving the job for personal reasons rather than because you're dissattisfied with your work it's natural to feel a bit guilty about it- your company will now have the hassle of replacing you, after all. Since (I seem to recall from your previous posts) you're moving to Sweden to be with your girlfriend, I don't think they're going to hold it against you.

Congratulations and good luck, by the way.

Rich :¬)

[GreenPiggy]

Ok, maybe if you quit after a few months then you should feel guilty but not four years!
They have got a lot of good service out of you and should be grateful(obviously i don't know the ins & outs of this)
good luck by the way.

[TeePee]

Whats your secret? I'm crap at interviews and I have one in June!

[Tumble]

bah... I crapped myself a year ago when I went up to hand me notice in... but oddly, it felt a LOT better when I saw his face after reading the letter All I could think was "Ave it you fat git" I nearly laughed when he offered me a ridiculous wage to stay - asked me what i'd been offered by my present employer, and I just picked a number out of the air.... and he said "If we match that will you stay" Thought he was gonna cry when I said no...

[aeonf242]

I've done that before and felt the same, it's almost as bad as breaking up a relationship.

A good maxim is "Business is Business". But if it's personal tell them after you get a good reference from them :-)

I hate the time before you hand in your notice but after you're pretty sure you've got the job...makes me feel such a user :-)

[Rave]

Whats your secret? I'm crap at interviews and I have one in June!

Alrighty:

First, convince yourself that you're perfect for the job, and that it's perfect for you. If you believe it it'll be that much easier to convince the people interviewing you.

Second, be prepared. Find out about the job, and the company/organisation offering it. Try and speak to people who do the same, or similar job, see what questions they were asked at their interview. If you have a ready answer for every question you might possibly get asked, you'll a) feel more confident, and b) look better.

Third, go in and nail it. Don't lie, but bend the truth if necessary. Don't make patently false claims, but do play up your strenghts while not mentioning your weaknesses. Don't try and look honest by mentioning that there are some things you're not brilliant at, just don't mention them at all. Smile, be friendly, look like you're relaxed and happy to be there.

I knew I'd got my current job as soon as I came out of the interview, it went perfectly. I'll probably never have another one as good as that, though......

Rich :¬)

[Paul Adams]

Whats your secret? I'm crap at interviews and I have one in June!

I don't think there is a "secret" as such... for me it's just honesty - I tell the truth about myself, what I can and cant't do and treat the person I'm speaking to as an equal rather than a superior.

I know that a lot of people will say prepare, prepare, prepare for interviews - know as much about the company as yourself and your skills... from (purely) personal perspective I prefer to know myself and my limitation much more than a company I am applying for a job for.

In my experience I have applied for 5 jobs and got 3 of them - the 2 that I did not get I learnt quickly that I did not want the job (case 1) and was not qualified for the job (case 2) so I am glad I did not try to blag my way into getting either of them.

Confidence when applying for jobs comes, for me, from knowing I can do the job they are offering or would have very little difficulty in learning - and during the interview itself I find it easy enough to establish that within minutes.

The first job I did not get was for a company near Henley on Thames - I remember vividly one of the questions (for a technical position) was "describe a point in your life where you had a major problem, how you overcame it and what you learnt from it".

The second job I failed to get was where I was asked about (on reflection rather simple) examples of network setups and how I would achieve their construction - at the time I had no clue about what TCP/IP even stood for, and admitted as much.

I know my boundaries and I know my fields of interest - if a post falls in that area and the people who run the company (or conduct the interview) are not idiots then I could probably get the job.

bah... I crapped myself a year ago when I went up to hand me notice in... but oddly, it felt a LOT better when I saw his face after reading the letter All I could think was "Ave it you fat git" I nearly laughed when he offered me a ridiculous wage to stay - asked me what i'd been offered by my present employer, and I just picked a number out of the air.... and he said "If we match that will you stay" Thought he was gonna cry when I said no...

The last place I worked at did exactly that, and so did the company I work for right now - I hate that idea that they think they may be able to convince you to stay on in your current role by matching the offer you went out of your way to obtain, as if it were purely monetary reasons you went to that effort!


On the whole I am very grateful to be:
- moving out of England
- being near my Swedish girlfriend
- working for Microsoft for a better package than I have right now

but it preys on my mind that I am leaving my current job without being utterly dissatisfied (as with my first job) and makes me feel somewhat guilty - I have enjoyed it and appreciated it, but feel so guilty!

[Knoxville]

I was a bit nervous to be fair, but after i told them and gave them a letter with the date on etc they changed completly, all sorry n mournful looking and askin what it'd take to get me to stay......."to be able to come in wearing my own clothes and without 10 elastoplasts on my face" apparently if i'd said cash they'd have put me up to £5.50 odd an hour but i didn't want the cash that badly.

[SilentDeath]

I hate interviews because the only jobs ive got are where ive done EVERY thing possible wrong. I get very nervous and lack confidence at stuff liek interviews. After a few interviews you get used to it though. One thing to keep in mind is interviews are not just for them to decide if you are good enough for the job, but really its for you to decide if you want to work there. If you think of it like that, well i find it makes me more confident.

I want to leave my crappy retail shop assistant job soon, but im not sure how to do it - or if itll be worth the effort for the next job i get (ive been offered full time there but id prefer a proper job)
Should i just tell the floor manager i want to leave or should I type a letter (seems a bit OTT for this crappy job) and are there any forms and stuff i need to get filled in. I heard something about needing a p45 but that might just be when you get sacked?