The Job Interview

So for the start of the new year i started to look for a new job.   I ended up doing a ton of interviews and I think I have learned a lot.  So I thought I'll pass on any tips that I have learned.  Before I begin, I would like to start with the basic info you need to know about my situation.  I used to be a line cook, restaurants are the worst places to work for because if you are going to get scammed,. its at a job interview for a restaurant.  So I like to think I know all the tricks. (but i still dont)
   I am now a licensed Truck / Trailer mechanic looking for a job in Toronto GTA, Ontario,  believe it or not the industry is actually really small and you will always come across people you know.   The second thing you need to know is that at the time I was not a licensed truck and coach mechanic and I was looking to get more truck experience which would help me pass the truck and coach test.  So at the time I was really interested in applying for  a mechanic at a truck dealership.

Job Interview #1  European Truck Dealership.

So I'll describe the shop, its dark and dirty and the shop looks like it hasnt changed since 1945,   I walk in and ask for the service manager, lets say his name is Anish,  So Anish is an older gentleman who smiles, and greets me with a handshake and invites me into his office.    I sit down and I hand him a copy of my resume,  he looks it over and calls the lead hand into the office Dony.  For those of you who are not familiar with the term lead hand, it means shift supervisor who is typically a mechanic and works on the floor too. This is actually a new trend that is happening at most Truck shops, when i first started interviewing for Truck and Coach jobs it would be just me and the service manager or shop manager.   Now its always the service manager and or the lead hand and or the assistant manager. 
      While Dony is looking over my resume,  Anish asks me the typical questions,  What experience do you have?  To which i answer very directly that  I am not very familiar with Engine work nor do i have experience with transmission work.   Anish seems pleasantly surprised that I am answering very honestly.    I continue talking by saying that the shop that im presently working at i do a lot of work on air brakes, wheel seals, welding etc, but at my current employer nobody does engine work or transmission work.
    There are actually benefits to admitting the skills you are weak in.  It can be really dangerous to do a job that you have not had the proper training, if you remove a transmission jack and you havent been trained properly it could fall on you or a co-worker.   You should never be ashamed in admitting you dont know something, if your a mechanic its impossible to know everything, the only unfortunate thing about this is there is always a mechanic who believes he does know everything and tell you that until he is blue in the face.  Ill deal with those people on another blog. 
  In this particular interview, I believe the service manager was happy i was telling him about my short comings because he therefore believes he wont have to pay me very much.
     This is when the interview starts to go South, While I'm explaining my lack of engine and transmission experience, another mechanic walks in  and leans against a table at the side of the office, and (while listening to the conversation) starts scowling at me, as if to say you have no experience! what are you doing here?     Anish tells me that he's happy I revealed to him my lack of experience because he has hired people in the past who have told him they can do everything and he only finds out later the truth and inevitably has to fire them.  He then asks me about my present employer and why I am leaving, the only answer that i typically give about a  previous employer and its almost always true is that "I'm looking for more diverse experience."  Even if its not true its still a good one to use, or another one is "I'm looking for something closer to home."  

     Just then the mechanic who was staring  and scowling at me  blurts out "do you know Gabe" ?  "He's Dony's best friend do you think he's a good mechanic."  I think a little and I realize that I do know Gabe. So to be sure we are talking about the same person I ask "Is he the guy with the huge Snap On tool box."?  They all say in unison "YES"  I do know Gabe and yes  hes a terrible mechanic but I'm not going to tell them that.  But I said to myself that this jackass mechanic that just walked in the room and scowls at me; just tried to set me up with that question.   Its a double edged question because he supposedly Dony's best friend so I cant say anything bad about him;  and if i do i just pissed off  Dony but if i say hes a great worker to which he is probably not, then I look like an idiot.   So my response was Gabe works on the day shift and I work on the evening shift, so  I have no idea how hard he works because I only see him for about 5 minutes during the shift change.

    Anish then asks the scowling mechanic to leave because we are about to discuss wages.    How much do you want to get paid? Anish ask's me.  I tell them obviously due to my lack of experience I am willing to take a pay cut.  What can you pay me I ask.   Firstly its important for people to realize that an employer will always try and ask the potential employee what he wants to make because there is a chance you will start out with a wage lower than what he was prepared to offer.  So if  I remember correctly he offered me something like 22 or 23 dollars.  This is definitely not acceptable because im a licensed trailer mechanic I can make 28.00 an hour without even trying.   And as a mobile trailer mechanic I  could make 80,000-100,000
But I hate mobile and I dont want to go that route.  
    So I tell Anish that im currently making 29.00 and that what he has offered me is too low.   Well when i say that Anish's personality totally changes he gets really angry and says theres no way we can pay that much and theres no way we can come close to what you want.    Dony is still looking at my resume and saying " I can't believe trailer mechanics make that much."   I said "Dony 28.00 and hour is pretty much standard for a licensed trailer mechanic. If you cant make that something is really wrong"   Anish is now really angry and I havent even told Dony what mobile mechanics make a year.  Anish starts yelling at Dony "Dony!! give him back his resume so he can leave."  Dony is still holding it looking at it and says i want to hang on to it.  Then Anish is even more perplexed and says "give it back i have it on the computer.


The take aways from this interview are:

Even though its hard to admit some of the skills you are lacking, a good shop, a reputable one will be  willing to train you. And its ultimately better to be honest.

You are not always going to get every job and that's a good thing.  This place gave me a really bad vibe so I wasnt upset when I didnt get the job.  I called a friend who had worked there and he said Dony was the reason he quit.  My friend had at least 10 years experience as a truck mechanic he quit the industry completely.

If they ask you "how much are you making now"  you tell them what you want to make.  So if your making 22.00 an hour and you want to make 29.00 tell them you are making 30.00 you can always say "I can come down in price if certain conditions are met."  It shows that you are a reasonable person.