it’s your Friday good news

by Alison Green on March 18, 2022

It’s your Friday good news!

1.  “After a year or so of trying to get through some issues at work, I decided that the best thing to do was to leave. My job history has hopped around for the last few years, which is pretty normal when your work touches the internet because the internet has changed a lot in the last few years. I knew the position I was in was a bad fit and wanted to transition into one of my previous specialized areas or into a new, adjacent one. It didn’t go well.

While I had all the skills needed for these roles my background didn’t make me an obvious pick. I was doing my best to make a good case and aligning my skills with each role but I hardly had any phone screens and only a handful of interviews. It was really disheartening to be miserable at work and then more miserable job hunting. The early months of excitement quickly faded to a cycle of anxiety, where instead of getting excited about a new application, I would get depressed thinking about the inevitable rejection I would get. After 5 months I pulled back, eventually going from daily searching to weekly searching, to help regulate my mental health.

While all this was happening, I kept seeing stories about how it was a job hunter’s market, how we had so much power, when that wasn’t what was happening to me at all. I struggled a lot with how I was doing everything I could but ultimately so much was out of my control. I had to remind myself all the time that I was a qualified and competent person that would thrive in the roles I was applying for. I read AAM daily, consulted the archives any time I needed a new kind of cover letter or wanted to prep for an interview or wondered if it was too early to send a follow-up email. It definitely helped me feel better, since at least I was doing my best with the things I could control.

Well, it worked out! I ended up getting a job, and more than that it was the one I wanted the most out of all the ones I applied for. I got a good salary bump, around 30%. I am hoping to stick with the path this role sets me on so that I won’t keep having this same problem where my previous job looks too different to the HR departments in the screening process. My team values the variety and the specificity of my background, for them it makes me a more valuable asset. It’s been lovely to already have my coworkers recognize my expertise and to be right that I would be qualified and competent for this role. The job hunt mental health issues lifted, and so did all the frustration and anxiety around my previous job. It was such a relief to finally feel better.

I know I’m not the only specialized job hunter or slight-career-change job hunter who has had a very hard time getting past the screening process, and I just want to send some reassurance to others out there who are also feeling stuck in the same way, and to encourage them to take the steps they need to to manage their mental health during a tough process.

Thanks for being my port in a very long storm!”

2.  “My mom recommended your blog to me for years and I really got into it when I got my first professional/office job after being in the service industry for years. I’m excited to share my own Friday good news!

I started at my current company as an intern four years ago and (with the help of your advice, especially regarding cover letters) was promoted three times. The most recent promotion put me in the position I went back to school for. When I was offered the intern position I didn’t even think about negotiating as I was over the moon someone would even offer me a job. So each raise I received was baselined by that initial salary.

I was pretty confident I would get this new position and finally felt like I was in a place professionally where I could negotiate my salary. When the offer came in it was a reasonable amount but a little lower than the number I had in mind. I countered with $3k over their offer and accepted a salary $2k over their initial offer!

As a young woman working my way into the professional world your advice has been invaluable. As women we are conditioned to make ourselves smaller, not ask too much, and be gracious and grateful despite the circumstances. Your blog has helped me recognize my professional value and not feel out of line for speaking up about it. The extra money is nice, but the personal growth it represents is infinitely more fulfilling.”

3.  “As many here, I’ve been severely underpaid and overworked in my HR position for a local non-profit. Approaching burnout, I started job searching in earnest in late 2019. Then 2020 hit in all its madness and I went WFH. The work stress lessened somewhat but I still found myself wanting to leave. Nothing panned out. Then a series of family deaths occurred and I faced a health issue that I’m still resolving.

I hoped 2021 would be better but I faced another health crisis that laid me out for weeks. I managed to keep my job, fortunately, but my job search understandably stalled. Then my partner decided to leave and forced the sale of our house.

Finally, I interviewed for a great position in my field but in an area that I really enjoy. The interview process went smoothly and was, thankfully, devoid of ridiculous hoop-jumping. Two interviews later and I was offered the position at the salary I requested with terrific benefits and a hybrid schedule. I’ll likely be living with friends for a while but I’m looking forward to joining my great new company and moving to a new town.”

4.  “Two months ago, I attended a professional talk over Zoom. The speaker’s new puppy was unhappy about Speaker being distracted and started crying loudly off-camera. It was adorable, and I have been thinking about this dog ever since.

I recently got invited for a job interview. When I noticed the interviewer was Speaker, I knew I had to ask about his dog. Since I couldn’t JUST ask about his dog, I spent a long time thinking about what I wanted to know about the role and the company as well.

The interview was yesterday, and I went in unsure of whether I’d be brave enough. We had a really good conversation about the role. Once I had asked all of my relevant questions, I had a moment where I considered saying, ‘That’s all from me.’ Then I came to this conclusion: If I ask to see the dog, the interview is a success. It’s an unusual question that I really want the answer to. If I can ask to see the dog, it is practice for asking direct questions about culture that I worry are too confrontational. I also don’t want to work with anyone who would judge me for asking to see the dog.

I asked the question, and I SAW THE DOG. He is 9 months old with long, floppy ears. I got to hear the tale of how during the talk I’d attended, he ate an entire magazine and the crying was because the magazine was gone.

It was the best interview I’ve ever had.”

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{ 112 comments }

{ 112 comments… read them below }

  1. Falling Diphthong*

    Our younger dog loved to chew my husband’s insoles but seemed to have outgrown that. Then I brought home “Clockwork Boys” from the library…

    1. Omskivar*

      Is it library books the dog likes, or does he have a particular affinity for T. Kingfisher novels? (Excellent taste, btw!)

        1. Seven If You Count Bad John*

          Ursula Vernon would appreciate this story. (She’s T. Kingfisher) You should tell her!

  2. Momma Bear*

    These are all great, but I love #4 using the dog as a talking point. It also shows that OP remembers details about meetings/people. I hope you got the job, OP. And if not, that was still a great interview.

    1. Slow Gin Lizz*

      I knew my current job was a good fit for me when during my Zoom interview my cat jumped up on the counter behind me and the CFO (now my grandboss) was delighted about it. I’m three weeks shy of my one-year workiversary and I still love working here (from home though; we all work from home and it’s the best). Good luck OP, I hope you get the job too! Please let us know the second you find out!

    2. calonkat*

      That letter made me so happy. I’m also impressed at #4’s memory (I lack short term memory), but it’s just such a great story!

    3. LW4*

      I didn’t get the job, but I’m glad I didn’t in retrospect. I was in a career change job hunt and this was my first application to get to interview. The job in question was a specialism that I’m mildly interested in, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to lock into any specialisms yet. Because that was my only hesitation, if I had been offered the job I would have accepted it. (It actually ended up going to a friend of mine who is an excellent pick!)

      I found that having the dog as my goal changed my focus in interview preparation. For all my other interviews, I found other questions to frame as my Interview Goal. It boosted my confidence in all of them.

      I ended up with a few offers and accepted a job that is giving me the opportunity to explore a lot of different areas in my new field. The people I work with are great, and I’m glad I get to have a job with more variety.

      2. ShinyPenny*

        What a great strategy! Coming up with a strategy to boost your own confidence is so smart. It’s easy to forget to address that with yourself directly, ahead of time.
        Also, gold star for focusing on finding the right fit! Glad you were able to do that.

    4. Murfle*

      Yes! I hope you got the job too!

      I remember when I was interviewing for my current job, my now-boss asked me about my thoughts on Slack vs Teams, and I discussed how I liked Slack more because it allowed for more flexible responses, especially in the use of custom emojis. That started a discussion about the Party Parrot subreddit, and that’s when I *knew* I wanted the job – it seemed like such an indicator of the company’s vibe.

  3. Let me clear my schedule for you*

    Great news! And if you’re a job seeker … Don’t forget to apply to jobs where you don’t meet 100% of the requirements. I used to skip over jobs until that was pointed out to me.

    1. Sarra N. Dipity*

      +100!

      This especially applies to women, who underestimate themselves way too much.

      And as someone who’s been on the interviewer side, when someone actually does meet 100% of the requirements perfectly – sometimes I wonder why they want the role, honestly. Is it a stopgap until they find something more challenging? Do they expect to get promoted right away? Something else?

      1. Momma Bear*

        Know your worth! Women are especially prone to not reaching for a job where they don’t check all the boxes. Many position descriptions are a wish list. Aim high and see what you get.

    2. Anhaga*

      YES, so much this! If most of the job description looks like something where your skills and knowledge would fit the bill, just go for it. This is especially true when one of the requirements is more time in the field than you have–this past winter all the jobs I applied for asked for 3-5 years of experience in our field and wanted a technical skill where I’m very, very beginning. I only have two years of dedicated experience, but could push it up to a 3-year equivalent if I talk fast about the peripheral requirements of positions in other fields. That missing year was not a problem at all, and never came up in my interviews. The technical skill is one that I know is not necessary for the kind of work I do; the critical thing is to understand how that technical skillset fits into the field, which I do. The interviews were much more interested in hearing about my actual skills and experience than they were about grilling me on the bits that didn’t quite fit. Own your expertise and be enthusiastic about learning new stuff, and you’ll come across well in any reasonable interview. I have a funnier, pithier way of saying this, but it is funny at the expense of the dominant gender/race in any given context, so I’ll not repeat it.

      1. Anonymous salamander*

        I love this so much! It reminds me of when I worked at Extremely Fancy Prestigious Company and was interviewing with the person who would become my Great Grandboss. I was nervous but excited thinking even if I didn’t get the job, I’d be getting a half hour on their calendar. Great Grandboss is highly accomplished and well known in my field. I spent hours researching their work and preparing thoughtful questions to sound impressive to fancy people. During our conversation, we discovered we both attended college in the same working class town. We ended up spending most of the time comparing notes about our favorite mom and pop “hole-in-the-wall” type but awesome restaurants. It was amazing, you really never know!

    4. Hosta*

      Yes this.

      As a manager I’ve tried to get the “required qualifications” down to the bare minimum to counter this. I think my current positions have 3 things like “5 years of experience in field or equivalent knowledge” and “excellent written and spoken communication skills in English”.

    5. writerbecc*

      I’m starting a new position on Monday and my entire attitude while job hunting was “Have the confidence of a mediocre white man”. If I was on the fence about whether I qualified, I sent in an application anyway. (I did, however, very specifically target my job applications and applied to fewer than ten roles all told before I got an offer.)

    1. NPOQueen*

      My dog once ate a plate of butter chicken and some maple fudge from my trash can, no issues. He’s got a better stomach than me! I still freaked out though, as I’m sure the interviewer did at the time!

    2. Rage*

      My ex-BF’s dog ate my prescription eyeglasses one time, and the grout from the kitchen remodel. But heaven forbid we feed her dog food with preservatives or chicken.

    3. londonedit*

      You know how chocolate is meant to be poisonous to dogs? A friend’s dog ate the whole family’s Easter eggs one year, foil wrappers and all. Amazingly he was absolutely fine! And a labrador, in case anyone was in any doubt…

      1. Anhaga*

        My Dalmatian once got into a 2 lb bag of M&Ms and probably ate a third of them before we found him. He had no problem at all.

        1. Wendy Darling*

          Fortunately for dogs, cheap chocolate has a really low proportion of actual cacao, and so an even lower proportion of the compound they have an issue with. Which is how our great dane ate my whole christmas stocking and was fine — there’s barely any theobromine in a bunch of hershey’s kisses!

      2. iliketoknit*

        We had a golden retriever who ate a batch of triple chocolate chip cookies AND a batch of brownies with no apparent ill effects! (I left them out on the corner to cool – the next morning they were gone, and my mom and I both initially assumed the other had put them away. Nope!!)

      3. Environmental Compliance*

        My childhood dog once ate a dinner plate sized Christmas cookie and a bag of chocolate candies. She was totally fine. Kindergartner me, though, was very much not fine that my cookie was gone. Same dog had a deep love of eating earplugs, which never seemed to do anything to her.

        A different dog of my parents once stole and ate an entire new loaf of bread, wrapper and all, or so we assume, since in the 15 minutes it took to find her once she snagged it off the counter the entire thing was never to be seen again.

        And then there’s another dog of my parents, who was at least twice the size of the other two dogs mentioned above, and dug one singular piece of chewed sugar-free gum out of the trash can and then had to be hospitalized for 3 days.

        1. Jay*

          My daughter had a rough week at school when she was about ten and was too sad to eat her dessert on Friday night, so I put it away for her. It was a big fancy iced cookie. We had a long talk on Saturday and cleared the air. About ten minutes later she came downstairs and asked if she could have her cookie, took it out of the cabinet, placed it on the counter, and turned to get a glass of milk. And the dog – a large black Lab – ate the cookie before I could say “stop!”

          By the time she realized what had happened, I had my car key in my hand and was ready to take her for ice cream.

      4. starsaphire*

        Of course he was a Lab.

        We had a lovely but not terribly clever Lab who used to stealth up to the end of the dining table and wait for things to fly into the air, then leap up and swallow them whole…

        …we had to stop playing games with counters, tokens, and/or dice for a loooong time.

      5. Susan Calvin*

        When I was 15, I spent two weeks in an ESL summer school in England, and my host family had a dalmatian (formerly one of the puppies from the Disney movie, actually!). My best friend back home was, at the time, kind of obsessed with a certain kind of chocolate bar that was very hard to get on the continent, so the day before leaving, I bought like 20 of them, and (foolishly) left them lying on the bed with the other things I was in the process of packing.
        They did not remain there long. Doggo was fine, too, of course.

      6. All Het Up About It*

        I was nearly in high school before I learned that chocolate was bad for dogs. We didn’t have dogs and the one dog I hung out with on the regular was fed a snickers bar every day. I seriously though that people who were telling me this were messing with me.

        1. Reluctant Mezzo*

          One thing I really liked in the movie UP is that the kid had chocolate but never, ever gave any to his dog.

      7. Red Reader the Adulting Fairy*

        The very first time I met the Elder Statesdog (before she became mine and I refused to return her to her previous owner) was at a Saint Patrick’s Day party. Someone had, god knows why, handed a toddler a giant chocolate Guinness cupcake with chocolate Bailey’s frosting, and I was like “… is that okay?” Toddler’s mom was like “Eh, she doesn’t like chocolate anyway, she’ll probably put it down any minute.” Toddler put it down on the coffee table, and without missing a beat, Elder Statesdog came by and swallowed it whole, wrapper and all. I was like “… IS THAT OKAY??” But she was fine, and had an iron stomach all her life, the only thing in her entire life that EVER gave her trouble was when she ate a bowl of Halloween candy and threw up one single Reese’s wrapper. (My now-husband, who was the one that forgot to put away the candy, got cleanup duty for the next couple days though. He said it was very colorful.)

      8. Sibilant Susurrus*

        Labradors and Golden Retrievers: Hearts of gold and stomachs of iron (occasionally heads of stone).

    4. I edit everything*

      My dog very proudly brought home some “squirrel jerky” she picked up along the side of the road yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Seemingly no ill effects. And she ate a full supper on top of it.

    5. calonkat*

      My sister’s newfoundland once ate a garbage back full of christmas chocolates (bag was used for transporting as there was so much from the inlaws). The yard had little colorful foil bits from the kisses for quite a while. Then the dog ate a trash bin full of diapers, which also led to a colorful yard…

      My niece’s newfoundland ate the contents of refrigerators at least twice. Like opened the door up, opened every container and ate everything. Tummy dragging on the ground and mournful whimpers until it all passed.

      My niece’s first dog ate my sister’s kitchen furniture and floor down through the sub floor. Developed a taste for everything we used to discourage that.

      And those firestarter logs? Basically non-toxic but can cause diarrhea in dogs (after the emergency vet and poison control had to call the manufacturer to discuss).

      Basically I’m not surprised when any story starts “so the dog ate…” Just fill in whatever. Couch? sure. Volkswagon? OK.

      1. Heck, darn, and other salty expressions*

        When we were kids my sister’s recently acquired Llassa Apso ate the arm of my mom’s recently acquired couch, including the threaded embroidery needle I stuck in it shortly before dosing off on said couch. The next night the dog ate the other arm of the couch, also while I slept on it without waking up. The dog was returned to her previous owner the next day and my mom got to explain to her mother (previous owner of the couch) why she needed yet another couch.

      2. Daisy*

        Hey, so my dog ate …
        an entire corner of the hatchback/trunk interior of our Volkswagen, from the molded carpet-covered plastic down into the tail-light wiring… during a 4 hour drive. We didn’t notice en-route because of our two young kids in the back seat.

        Yes that dog was a Labrador, and no he didn’t show any discomfort at the time or afterwards.

        Later we had to put a plastic latch baby-proofer on our refrigerator because he’d learned how to self-serve packages of chicken, sausage, etc. If we weren’t watching, no food product was safe on the kitchen counter. He chewed into cans of soup and soda.

        I still miss the big lunkhead.

    6. Where’s the Orchestra?*

      Used to have a Siberian husky that would break into the garden to eat our jalapeño and habanero pepper plants (fruit and all). She left everything else in the garden alone. This went on for at least six years.

      Till the year she discovered pumpkins – she ate two whole sugar pie pumpkins……and was really uncomfortable, and puking nonstop for ten hours. The vet had us set husky up in a very oversized plastic crate on the back patio, and give her water every half hour or so. Told us to call him back if the vomiting lasted more than 12 hours. Husky left the garden completely alone after that, but would beg at the table if she smelled peppers till the end of her life.

      1. Hosta*

        My cat adores peppers in all forms. He eats my pepper starts in the house. When I bring the plants in for the winter to get the last few peppers to ripen he eats the leaves, the peppers, etc. If I spill pepper flakes in the kitchen, he rolls in them. If a plate of curry or other spicy food is left out where he can reach he’ll either steal the food or lick the plate clean if all the food is gone. In situations where I had to leave the kitchen because the pepper fumes were too much he’s in there purring his stupid little head off.

        All the things that are supposedly fatal to cats if they even get a small amount of it on their fur, like lilies? He’s fine. No idea how.

        He’s my favorite weirdo.

    7. Loredena Frisealach*

      My eskie snatched an entire bag of shea butter and ate it all. Not surprisingly she had very soft stools for days, but her stomach was unbothered. She also would eat drywall. On the other hand the one time I gave her rawhide she was so so sick she never again had any edible chew beyond standard milkbones and similar.

  5. NPOQueen*

    I 100% would have asked about the dog, commiserated with dog tales, and let them know that it gets easier as the dog grows older. My 10 year old boy used to tear up the kitty litter and trash cans when I was gone, but now he sleeps all day and can’t be bothered! Pets are great talking points and if any interviewer denies this, we can’t work together.

  6. NeedRain47*

    If I were LW4 and they didn’t want to talk about their dog, I wouldn’t want to work there.

    1. Thin Mints didn't make me thin*

      I stopped a meeting a couple of weeks ago to ask the name of the cat screaming in someone’s house. It was Tuna. Tuna had GRIEVANCES.

    2. writerbecc*

      My rule is that if I hear your pet on a call, I will message you after the call to request picture or video of said pet.

  7. Just Another Starving Artist*

    I completely sympathize with HR departments looking for exact fits for a role — you don’t design teapots, how are you supposed to know how years of working with coffee pot schematics will map on to that job? It’s safer to look someone who checks all of the exact boxes. But it does get frustrating when you know exactly how qualified you are, only to have others unable to see it.

    1. Fae Kamen*

      That’s why I prefer to screen candidates myself. But I work somewhere small enough to do this.

      1. Hosta*

        Exactly! I work at a big company, but if I know about someone I can pull their resume/application out of the auto-reject pile. So when I do outreach for my roles on social media or other places I tell folks to let me know when they apply. No college degree might result in you getting auto-rejected by the computer, but I do not care at all for my roles.

  9. non tech girl in a tech world*

    LW 4, that is the best story I have heard all day. always ask to see the dog!

    3. ShinyCoolKaylee*

      LW#2 and daughter here – I owe my mom a cake with icing that says “You were right and I should have done this sooner” :)

    4. Daisy*

      Yes, I am also that mom and idk if the spawn have clicked my forwarded links to aam.

      Toast to eventual vindication!

  11. Anna Badger*

    I love how #4 seems like a story about a dog, but is actually a story about how assertively being yourself in an interview basically always pays off

  12. Uranus Wars*

    …he ate an entire magazine and the crying was because the magazine was gone

    This is how I feel when I read a good book too fast and it’s over.

  13. Mimi*

    Am I the only one that thinks it’s strange that LW2’s raises were all based off of what she was paid as an intern…?

    1. Formerly in HR*

      This usually reflect the internal processes of many employers, where each promotion comes with a ‘standard’ raise. Everything over that requires special approvals, sometimes going all the way up to the CEO. And sometimes hiring managers don’t want to make the effort/ advicate for their hires, so they settle for the 5% or whataver’s the norm. When the starting salary was low, any such ‘standard’ raise barely makes an impression.

      1. Manager*

        Yes, this is the case at my organization. I’m currently trying to get approval to offer more than the standard bump so our internal transfer candidate will be offered the same amount as similar candidates coming in from the outside. It’s super frustrating, and is a big contributor to pay disparities.

      2. Mimi*

        But does the pay someone gets as an intern really count as their starting salary? I would imagine future raises would be based off of their salary in their first full time permanent role, not whatever they were paid during their internship.

        1. Formerly in HR*

          It might depend how/ where on the salary scale are the intern and the real job located. If they’re considered to be at the same level (i.e. first real role is clerk 4 and the intern is also assmilated to a clerk 4 for salary scale), then they’re basically paying the same range.

      3. ShinyCoolKaylee*

        LW#2 here. That’s exactly what happened. I work at a big firm with lots of red tape. On top of that I was as excited to get a permanent job as I was the internship so it didn’t occur to me to negotiate the salary which was about $2/hour more than I was making as an intern. After that merit raises were nominal, although I did get a pretty sizable bump about 6 months before I was promoted. But it was only because the attorneys I work for basically said if you don’t give her more she will probably quit given the nature of the job market. My (now thankfully ex) supervisor brushed me off every time I did venture to mention my concern about the low starting salary and its impacts on future salary. I could write a book about her.

  14. $CLEVER_NICKNAME*

    My cat likes to be held during meetings, including interviews. So far this has worked out well. People find a person who’s holding a kitty more likeable and relatable than a person who isn’t.

    1. Tired SW*

      My cat launches himself at my chest and just trusts that I’ll catch him. He likes to be held over my shoulder like a baby. He will not take no for an answer when is Meowma/Rory time. He also knows how to open doors, so he’ll let himself into my office. He has made a cameo appearance in every Zoom meeting since the start of the pandemic.

      1. Damn it, Hardison!*

        If any of my coworkers reads this, they might think your comment came from me! They are used to my cat announcing herself loudly before jumping on my shoulder during calls. She joined a 100+ person training I was leading the other night and was the obvious star (she was quickly put on the floor and for once didn’t jump right back up).

      2. Jay*

        I finally asked one of my coworkers to show me her cat’s face. I had seen the cat’s butt and tail on every meeting for months. I wanted to see the other side!

      1. Hosta*

        This exact comment from a friend at work is why I give my cat a puzzle toy before interviews. I can usually settle him out of sight on my lap within a minute or two, but I do absentmindedly pet him to keep him quiet and it does give Dr. Evil vibes. And of course he can open any door with a knob and will meow loudly enough to be heard on the call if I don’t grab him.

        So he gets a puzzle toy with treats downstairs before I do actual interviews if I think he’s going to make himself known.

  17. Amber Rose*

    I have this theory that puppies are the solution to basically all of life’s problems, and this is just more proof. :D

      2. Amber Rose*

        Any small, living thing will honestly do. Kittens. Gerbils. Tiny plants. I lavished a ton of love and language learning practice on a small, weird plant I bought for a dollar in university when I wasn’t allowed pets. It grew like a mofo and eventually had to be given away to someone who could care for a tree.

        1. KateM*

          Anything hairy or feathery is out of question. Dust mites as well (well, these ARE small and living things).

          1. Sibilant Susurrus*

            Lizards are good! They can be very affectionate – bearded dragons in particular love interacting with their humans.

  18. Evelyn Carnahan*

    LW4, I had an in-person job interview that I knew was a success when everyone on the hiring committee and I pulled out our phones to show pictures of our cats. I hope you get the job!

  19. Alexander Graham Yell*

    So if I were an interviewer and #4 happened to me, it’d tell me that not only did LW4 attend something they weren’t required to because they wanted to learn, they stuck around through it, paid enough attention to know that I was the one who presented and remember me, and treated me like a person and not just Faceless Interviewer #1298473. Sounds like a win on both sides (and I especially love “I SAW THE DOG” as a piece of Friday good news).

  20. ms_yvonne*

    Hi – I wonder about multiple interviews re LW3’s three interviews …. is it common in the USA for 3+ interviews? I feel like on here people have had more than that (to the point of nine even as I recall someone saying? WTH is that all about – although, if I recall, that person was also “wth”). Appreciating of course there’s regional nuances, and this is prob a white collar thing more than a blue, and depends on the job itself, I live in Canada (officey work, various roles) and maybe maybe once had a 3x interview for a job, now and again two, but by far most (I’ve done a lot of contracts) have been a single interview. Interview, if it goes well ref check, if that goes well, job.

    1. Evelyn Carnahan*

      I think it can depend on the field and type of job? In my field two interviews are most common (as phone interview and an all-day in person interview). My sibling is in a different field and is job hunting right now. It seems like it’s common for them to have 3 or 4 interviews.

    2. WantonSeedStitch*

      For my last set of interviews, for an internal role that was a promotion for me, I had six interviews. Each interview was brief–only half an hour. I met with the grandboss, an indirect report(was supposed to be two of those), a peer and a direct report together, a member of a team that collaborates with mine in several ways, a member of a team whose people are clients of my team’s work (internal clients), and lastly the boss/hiring manager and an HR rep. That’s considered normal for a middle management position in my workplace. Every interviewer has to complete a form with feedback that they submit to HR and the hiring manager.

    3. Mirve*

      We have been hiring for a technical/programmer role and the process is something like: initial phone screen, report back to group, if we want to move them forward, then schedule follow up interviews (generally on the same day): with hiring manager, with a peer group (culture), and with an expert (in-depth skills). Each of those three is generally 30-60 minutes each.

      Now, do you consider that to be two “rounds” of interviews or four interviews?

    4. JayemGriffin*

      I work in higher ed (although not in a teaching/research position), and all of our hires have had at least four interviews:

      .5: Everybody gets phone screened by the recruiter (if you want to count this as an interview)
      1: Interview with manager
      2: Interview with prospective peers
      3: Interview with manager’s manager
      4: Interview(s) with VIPs who work closely with our team

      Each of these is an hour at most, and often will all be scheduled for a single day, with lunch included. Strictly speaking, #4 is probably not necessary… but don’t tell the VIPs I said that!

    5. LW3*

      LW3 here…. Yes, three is pretty common for mid-level white-collar positions in my neck of the woods. But sometimes it takes many more like in academia. I remember one HR position I interviewed for at a junior college that had a total of 6 interviews and took over 3 months to get the final decision.
      I greatly dislike situations with 4 + interviews, a lengthy application, multiple skills tests, psychological evaluations, and multi – part projects taking hours to complete. I’ve gone through processes like that and felt it was such a waste of everyone’s time and my patience. That’s why the short interview process for my current position was so refreshing.

    6. ms_yvonne*

      Holy shit, this is blowing me away. I think my read is that a phone call is an initial screen (is _that_ an interview… I don’t think so, but AAM would say that ya, you should assume that is – although that call might come when you’re not ready/available, so is it legit if you’re caught unexpected?), but often there is no phone screen. Meet with HR plus hiring manager. Often that will include someone from the internal working groups you’d overlap with (peers or not) if that’s how the job functions, but sometimes not and that’s where you’d have a second interview. I find the person who is strictly a peer is more commonly put into that first interview with the hiring manager. But ya, I’ve got my world that I work in (supporting research in med, social sci, health doing analysis and/or admin and/or project coord, depending on the job, often in an academic setting)… I’m sure stuff I don’t work in is different. But it is interesting. (As is how LinkedIn is way more of a thing among Americans I know in a professional context than it is for people in similar roles here). Psychological evaluations – only for a job with high risk population, but I doubt that even. Not unusual to have an assignment screen in advance, however, or a test at the end. I do think, however, any level of government here is bonkers… interview, testing, interview again, for federal jobs a language test, and takes months.

    7. Momma Bear*

      At my job we have a phone screen which could be #1 and then at least one more, sometimes two if the people that needed to be there were not. It may also depend on if they do committee interviews or not. We tend to bring in several key players at once vs individual interviews with different managers. Your hiring manager here is also likely to be your job manager.

  21. Guacamole Bob*

    The only bad part of LW#4’s story is that since it was about someone else’s dog, we don’t get pictures of this adorable floppy-eared puppy.

  22. Avril Ludgateau*

    From now on, any job or career success I have is going to be celebrated with “I SAW THE DOG.” lol :’)

  23. Seven If You Count Bad John*

    Ursula Vernon would appreciate this story. (She’s T. Kingfisher) You should tell her!

  24. WoodswomanWrites*

    #3 – You’ve had such a hard couple years and I’m glad to hear your job news. Best wishes to you.

  26. Jenni (& Ranger)*

    Thank you for the dog story! I got a new puppy 7 weeks ago and then (unexpectedly) started a new role within my company 3 weeks ago so needless to say, my zoom calls are frequently interrupted chasing him around or letting him out. Glad to see that people can view it as being human and having life interrupt sometimes!

    1. allathian*

      Yeah, me too! And all the doggy stories that were posted in another thread.

      Sadly we can’t have any furry pets due to allergies, especially on my husband’s side of the family. Our son’s very keen on dogs. He’s almost 13 and goes to school by public transit. When he gets home, he always tells me how many dogs he’s seen that day (usually anything between 4 and 14).

  28. Photon*

    LW#1 – This is me right now! I have relevant experience in a number of interrelated roles, but I’m a generalist so it’s been hard. Thanks for the encouragement.

  29. Texan In Exile*

    I was new to a job last year. The VP of Marketing had a town hall and mentioned that she had a new puppy.

    Nobody said anything on the meeting Slack channel. Nobody.

    I thought, “Do I have to do everything around here?” and typed, “Please show us the puppy!”

    This VP had a rep of being wooden and unapproachable. I couldn’t believe that nobody on her team had suggested that she show the puppy as a way to soften her image.

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