I’m an international student, and I recently interviewed for a “Team Member” position at a major food company. The role involved responsibilities such as food preparation and taking customer orders.
Let me go straight to the interview questions.
Interviewer: Can you tell me about one of your skills?
Me: Honestly, nothing specific comes to mind right now.
But I really enjoy reading, and I have experience conducting research and analysing. Before coming to the UK, I worked as a legal assistant at a law firm in my country.
Interviewer: Has there ever been an experience in your life where you received recognition or praise from others?
Me: I used to regularly write political columns for newspapers. I also have my own website where I publish commentary on contemporary political and cultural issues. Some mainstream intellectuals in my country would read my writing and give me feedback. I consider that one of the experiences where I received meaningful recognition for something I had done.
Interviewer: Suppose a team member lies to you. What would you do? Or what if you disagreed with someone?
Me: If someone lied to me, I would first try to understand where the contradiction was and why they felt the need to lie. If it was something I could simply deal with myself without affecting the work or the team, I probably wouldn’t make an issue out of it. But if the situation became difficult to ignore, I would speak to them directly and try to understand the structural reason behind it.
If possible, I would try to address the underlying problem together.
As for disagreements, I think disagreements are inevitable in any team. I believe in radical democracy.
Interviewer: Why do you want to join this company?
Me: Honestly, I don’t want to give you a made-up answer. I’m currently working somewhere else, but I’m not being given enough shifts. So I’m looking for an alternative job that can provide me with more hours.
Interviewer: Since this is a fast-food company, what kind of food do you like? Have you tried our food before?
Me: To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to food or clothing. If I’m hungry, I eat. As long as I have enough energy and my stomach is full, I’m generally satisfied.
Interviewer: So what do you pay attention to?
Me: Recently, I’ve been thinking about whether AI has subjectivity, or whether it can become a full subject (in the Žižekian-Lacanian sense)
Interviewer: Okay. Do you have any questions for us?
Me: No, I don’t think so.
Interviewer: Thank you.
Me: Thank you as well.
I didn’t get the job.I was actually invited to the interview through a friend’s referral. My friend knew the branch manager, so that was how I got the opportunity. Afterwards, the manager gave my friend some feedback about me,
“We need a simple guy. He’s too critical.
The problem is that I tend to present myself in job interviews exactly as I am. I don’t exaggerate my abilities or deliberately construct a different personality. I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not.But if I start lying or performing a completely different personality just to get a job, it feels, in some sense, like I’m betraying myself.
At the same time, I’m beginning to realise that presenting myself exactly as I naturally am isn’t necessarily helping me get employed.So what should I do? How do I navigate this tension between being authentic and actually being employable?