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I have a job interview tomorrow morning for a PA position at my local city council, through a recruitment agency. I was talking to the agency contact earlier, and she was saying that she thought I would get the job because there are some strong confident characters there who want someone fairly quiet and compliant, who won't challenge anything.


I am very sensitive and took this quite badly - was she subtly implying that she thinks I am a pushover because i'm quiet?

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No. Definitely not.
Some very confident people are quiet. It is just that they don't need to make a fuss about it. Some people are full of talk, but inside feel insecure.
Quietly confident is good.
Also some people don't make a habit of challenging things because there is often no need.
But if something vital crops up, they will then challenge.
And in your particular case sheryl, if the interviewers are really looking for an unchallenging, quiet compliant person, then they must be pretty poor at their job.


Do your best not to worry. Be yourself and good luck.
brisket
Office politics are a complete nightmare Sheryl.
She could have meant that they just didn't want a loud type of person there.
A friend of mine was once told she had got her job as she was so confident and outgoing at the interview that they picked her on the basis that they thought she would stand up to the office bully
FM
Imo, in my life experience, I am fairly quiet ... and people definitely do seem to see me as a push over.

There have been a few occasions I can recall when more confident people have taken me as a complete push over .... but I can exert my authority as and when needed even though I don't do it often ..... people are usually very taken back ..... but just because I am not seen as an overly confident kind of person ... doesn't mean I am a complete push over either.

Imo, there is something to be said for someone who is quietly confident ...... so many people are overly pushy ...... it's not always the desired effect

Try not to take it to heart Sheryl

I could have taken the "fairly quiet and compliant" part .... but the " won't callenge anything" part would have offended me too.

Oh and good luck & all the very best with your interview
Angel
Reference:
Office politics are a complete nightmare Sheryl. She could have meant that they just didn't want a loud type of person there. A friend of mine was once told she had got her job as she was so confident and outgoing at the interview that they picked her on the basis that they thought she would stand up to the office bully
had they not thought of just disciplining or sacking the office bully ffs!?
fookat
Reference: Fookat
had they not thought of just disciplining or sacking the office bully ffs!?
My thoughts exactly Foo. It was an FE College and she ended up being there for 11 years with the last two years spent mainly off sick. It had the worse bullying I've ever heard about and the most dispirited staff. It was systematic institutional bullying from the top down.

My friend hasn't been able to work since she left there, the damage to her mental health has been immense. She always says now that her advice to anyone being bullied at work is to report it first and then if nothing is done to get the hell out of dodge
FM
Reference:
Poker Face online 2079 Forum Posts Today at 19:11 (Edited: ) Imo, in my life experience, I am fairly quiet ... and people definitely do seem to see me as a push over. There have been a few occasions I can recall when more confident people have taken me as a complete push over .... but I can exert my authority as and when needed even though I don't do it often ..... people are usually very taken back ..... but just because I am not seen as an overly confident kind of person ... doesn't mean I am a complete push over either. Imo, there is something to be said for someone who is quietly confident ...... so many people are overly pushy ...... it's not always the desired effect
I agree completley! I'm fairly quiet and I think people give me duff jobs at work cos they know i won't moan - but when i do they listen as it''s so unusual!

Good luck Sheryl - if you want the job of course, sounds like they may not be good employers!
liverbird
Thanks for the positive encouraging comments everyone. The agency contact can be a bit thoughtless in the things she says sometimes without intending to, I am sure she did not intend to offend/insult me with her comments. I will let you all know how I get on tomorrow...


I didn't know I was being hunted after on here Karma. I don't come on often, but if you see Renton, then can you tell him that I am not overly keen on catching up again, as the last time we spoke, he said some pretty presumptious insensitive things ....
S
Reference: Foo
crap i meant to quote someone and ended up hitting report instead! anyway i was meaning to say that if there is bullying and it ends up affecting someone that bad she should have sued their arses!
She tried but couldn't get legal aid. After two years of trying to pursue it (which is not easy at the best of times but a nightmare if you have mental health issues) she gave up.She was more annoyed with her union, she paid them subs for 11 years and they wouldn't even allow her to see their legal dept.

Gawd knows how these women get payouts of 10 million because someone told them they liked their dress and suchlike.

Sheryl - if you get the job then make sure that you stick up for yourself if they are all domineering types there. Start the way you mean to go on
FM
Reference velvet donkey 124 Forum PostsToday at 17:58:
Don't pay any attention to Agency staff and good luck with the interview
Totally agree. It's often the case in Recruitment that "no-one knows anything", but they can't possibly admit it or else it would be a case of "the Emperor's new clothes".


A friend of mine is still debating whether or not to send a "snot-o-gram" to a recruitment agency who refused to put him forward for a vacancy because they didn't think he had the right qualifications. He applied for it via another agency, and got the job!
Eugene's Lair
Reference:
Right - here goes ... IN PRINT ... i swear on the lives of the three little girls in our family (whom i love very dearly) that the comment was truly not meant like that at all.
Bloody hell that's a bit strong isn't it? It's only the internet and while I'm sure you want to prove your innocence, don't think you needed to go that far
Karma_

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