I worked for Macy's for several years and left a few years ago. It was scary since I almost never interviewed for a job and I was super rusty. I have had ups and downs since I left Macy's but since then I have expanded my network, took on bigger roles, moved to yet another job, and got paid more. I was one of the lucky ones. However, I also took the time to learn from my job interview failures. I want to share some tips from 30+ interviews I've had in the past few years post-Macys:
- It's ok if you flunk your first few interviews. Like everything, it is something you will get better with practice. Replay the session in your head and think of what you can do better or differently.
- Tell your story. Why did you take a job, why did you leave it, and what made you take the next job. Make it funny and relatable. If you have been with MCOM the past 5 years or more, tell the story of being part of a growing team, scaling successes, and building bridges with our store counterpart. That is an uncommon opportunity.
- It is unfortunate that you're looking for a job when you don't have a job. This is the hard but you are better than how you feel right now. It is never as bad as it feels, as it is never as good as it feels. Think about negotiating with car salesman. You are interested but you are not desperate. Every company has it's flaws. You'll score big if you can recognize those flaws and ask questions that show your understanding but accepting and show you'll be part of the solution.
- Be humble and thankful. Take the time to thank your mentors and teams. Many companies are looking for those competent but humble and ego-less folks. You'll be a standout amongst many other competent candidates who just drone on about what they had done.
- Fix your LinkedIn profile. You don't have to subscribe to the Premium, but fix your photo, and your experience. Keep rewriting your profile until it is the same as your resume. Most people's resume is too long anyway. Use LI's constraints to make it shorter.
- In your experience section, start with the overall impact to the company, then what you did, and a little bit of how, if relevant. Delete everything else. Long resumes often means you're not strategic, cluttered, not self aware enough, and can't prioritize. If you really have to, create two resumes. A good one and a verbose one. Send them both.
- Have patience. Most company recruiters are not great with communication timeliness since they also depend on the interviewers and hiring managers.
- It is a number game. You have to take as many shots on the goal as possible. Look at open positions. Even outside the Bay Area, depends on your priority.
- For tech folks, take up online trainings and practice leetcodes. Yes, it's flawed but that's how the game is played. Most companies with decent engineering team will want to see you solve one or two of those coding puzzles. It is actually fun if you approach it the right way.
I've spoken with many of you for the past couple of weeks. You've all made an impact for Macy's and will make an impact for the next team. Yes, time is the enemy but that's just a matter of generating as many shots on the goal by being very active in your job seeking.
The biggest enemy will be yourself. Your self doubt. Your hating those "failures" during interviews, You have to just get through it because like anything, it'll get easier and you'll get better at it.
Good luck!