got a job interview...
 

I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

Re: got a job interview...
 

I see no conflict with ethics.

Re: got a job interview...
 

who cares just do it. If its ethical or not is something YOU decide, not OOT.

Re: got a job interview...
 

windsurf staff?

Re: got a job interview...
 

I've been contemplating on doing random job interviews with the sole purpose of pulling this Peter Gibbons stunt...

"I don't know, I guess. Listen, I'm gonna go. It's been really nice talking to both of you guys..."

After Bob says this...

"What if - and believe me this is a hypothetical - but what if you were offered some kind of a stock option equity sharing program. Would that do anything for you?"

I'm not sure I could keep a straight face though...

Re: got a job interview...
 

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windsurf staff?

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Weird...

Re: got a job interview...
 

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I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Id have a huge problem with doing this. That company is spending time and resources to interview you. I wouldnt feel right wasting their time and money. If you dont want the job then dont go to the interview. Ive done about 100 interviews and could give you some pointers if you are really desperate.

Richard

Re: got a job interview...
 

There's absolutely no problem with this. They likely took your name off of some random college mailing list, so I think it is fair game.

Go for the learning experience. Who knows? You may end up really liking the position and take an offer (or at least have a decent backup plan if all else goes to hell).

Re: got a job interview...
 

I would do it in a heartbeat. I have certainly hit on girls I didn't really like for this exact reason, and it has paid off greatly over time.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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Go for the learning experience. Who knows? You may end up really liking the position and take an offer (or at least have a decent backup plan if all else goes to hell).

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There is an outside possibility of this. One of my (former) co-workers went to a job interview just for the free lunch, but ended up taking the job.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Id have a huge problem with doing this. That company is spending time and resources to interview you. I wouldnt feel right wasting their time and money. If you dont want the job then dont go to the interview. Ive done about 100 interviews and could give you some pointers if you are really desperate.

Richard

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Time and resources? Whatever man.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Id have a huge problem with doing this. That company is spending time and resources to interview you. I wouldnt feel right wasting their time and money. If you dont want the job then dont go to the interview. Ive done about 100 interviews and could give you some pointers if you are really desperate.

Richard

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Time and resources? Whatever man.

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I guess we dont see it the same way. I just dont think that faking your way through an interview will give you any sort of "training" or "experience" for the real thing.... lol especially if they ask any specific questions about the job that you cant answer because you arent qualified for it. Plus a good interviewer will read through all that BS anyway.

If you qualified for the job and could do it well but wasnt sold on the company for whatever reason then yeah I could see your point, but unless I read this wrong you shouldnt get the job anyways :P

Re: got a job interview...
 

I think you should do the interview. I recently went to an interview in a similar situation and I'm glad that I did it. In the past, all of my job interviews have been tense and uncomfortable for me because I was nervous. So when I went to this interview with the attitude that I was not trying to convince the interviewer to hire me, but rather that he would have to convince me to work for him, it was much more enjoyable. The interview went extremely well, and I was totally relaxed. Unfortunately for the company, I turned down the job offer; however, I think that I will do much better on future interviews because of this.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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If you qualified for the job and could do it well but wasnt sold on the company for whatever reason then yeah I could see your point, but unless I read this wrong you shouldnt get the job anyways :P

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I'm at least somewhat curious as to why they are interested in me for the job without me having any of the required technical skills. I understand your point about not wasting their time; still, there is at least some chance of me taking the job. Nonetheless, I'm curious about the nature of the work.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Do it do it [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Ya never know, maybe they will offer you a good paying job.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Do it do it [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Ya never know, maybe they will offer you a good paying job.

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Money isn't a huge motivator for me right now.

Re: got a job interview...
 

Business ethics is an oxymoron. If you want the experience of the interview, then go. Learn from this and make it work for you in the future.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Id have a huge problem with doing this. That company is spending time and resources to interview you. I wouldnt feel right wasting their time and money. If you dont want the job then dont go to the interview. Ive done about 100 interviews and could give you some pointers if you are really desperate.

Richard

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Time and resources? Whatever man.

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To be fair, a lot of resources are devoted to these things. Especially at good companies that give a [censored] and make an effort to get good solid people. I've recently been doing a bunch of interviewing and it definitely takes time and energy from me. In fact we're probably averaging a cost of 3-4 hundred per person we interview.

That being said, I don't have a problem with you doing the interview. If they offered you an interview they see something they like or are interested in and they're going to try and sell you the company if they like you. I also think its valuable experience. Every interview makes you that much better, and believe me, there are lots of bad interviewees out there.

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In my experience, any job that actively solicits you sucks way too badly to bother with. If you just want to practice your interview skills it might be worth it, but make sure that you make a scene at the end or else they'll never stop calling you. "You're sure you don't want to sell knives door to door?"

Re: got a job interview...
 

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In my experience, any job that actively solicits you sucks way too badly to bother with. If you just want to practice your interview skills it might be worth it, but make sure that you make a scene at the end or else they'll never stop calling you. "You're sure you don't want to sell knives door to door?"

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Fair enough, I read the OP to be be more that he applied to it, just didn't remember. But you're right if he did nothing the company is likely not that great. Although I did have a friend that got a job from Microsoft after getting a random email from one of their recruiters.

Re: got a job interview...
 

I'm a recruiter. I put food on the table by helping to hire people for other companies. If it were me, I'd prefer that you didn't waste my time. However, I have also had lots of conversations with people I would never possibly place, helping them improve their resumes, giving them job search tips and so on. The issue is though, I don't want to get my hopes up on a candidate who clearly isn't going to take a job, and I want to have some control over the hours I volunteer helping others out.

In the end, though, it's not going to be a major deal if you do go to the interview. Just be open with the recruiter and let him/her know that you're not entirely convinced you want this job. Part of a recruiter's job is to sell you on the opportunity. Maybe it will turn out to be a good one for you.

If it's not a good match, though, you should both know it by the end of the interview. Don't play games wuth them...

Re: got a job interview...
 

You bet. Practice all you want on whomever will give you airtime.

After all, does the interviewing company offer you any assurances of an offer following this interview? Um, no.

Re: got a job interview...
 

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I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Id have a huge problem with doing this. That company is spending time and resources to interview you. I wouldnt feel right wasting their time and money. If you dont want the job then dont go to the interview. Ive done about 100 interviews and could give you some pointers if you are really desperate.

Richard

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Companies waste your time all the time by calling in interview candidates when they already have an internal in mind to say the least. Go ahead - waste their time - use their staff to improve your interview skills. If you're gonna work in corp america, they're gonna screw you a lot - at least take advantage of them to improve yourself.

Re: got a job interview...
 

As a former corporate recruiter I can tell you that most recruiters wouldn't/don't do that. They have too much on their plate to waste their time interviewing someone if they know the position will be filled internally. I'm not saying that it NEVER happens, but I can't fathom why it would happen.

Now if an external candidate looks more qualified than an internal candidate, then that's a different story. You definitely want to consider those people, but sometimes they turn out not to be as good as they look on paper.

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Companies waste your time all the time by calling in interview candidates when they already have an internal in mind to say the least. Go ahead - waste their time - use their staff to improve your interview skills. If you're gonna work in corp america, they're gonna screw you a lot - at least take advantage of them to improve yourself.

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Re: got a job interview...
 

the real play here is to just do the interview and get the job. From teh sounds of it, it's a pretty good job that might make you happy, just do a little lying and try to suckout int he job world

Re: got a job interview...
 

Lou,

why do you keep bumping this thread month(s) after it has died?

Re: got a job interview...
 

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I received an email from a company I don't remember applying to. I re-read the job description and it doesn't appear that I am in any way qualified for the position. The job is also local to my university city, a city in which I never planned to stay. There is a very small chance that I will accept any offer that is made.

Is it ethical for me to accept the interview for the main purpose of practicing my interview skills?

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Id have a huge problem with doing this. That company is spending time and resources to interview you. I wouldnt feel right wasting their time and money. If you dont want the job then dont go to the interview. Ive done about 100 interviews and could give you some pointers if you are really desperate.

Richard

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Companies waste your time all the time by calling in interview candidates when they already have an internal in mind to say the least. Go ahead - waste their time - use their staff to improve your interview skills. If you're gonna work in corp america, they're gonna screw you a lot - at least take advantage of them to improve yourself.

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I've seen this happen too many times to count. People do interviews because company policy requires them to interview X number of candidates -- sometimes specifically external candidates -- before hiring someone's nephew. Many firms hire relatives and friends for any opening possible, but doing interviews keeps them somewhat immune from charges of nepotism and general failure to promote from within.