I am not hard of hearing and I have been turned down for at least 100 jobs. (I am 50). I only get 'rejection letters' from small companies. Big companies (1000 people) do not bother to inform us at all.
Some of them I am glad I did not get an offer.
multichoice test in english definations and grammer. and the math.
And if spelling and punctuation are important in that job, you should be glad you did not get it.
When I was young I hated very much to hear the question "what are your weaknesses" during an interview. I thought it was an insult. Today I understand what they are asking.
I promptly, politely respond "I am rarely able to sit still, I hate calculus and I am no good at it, I stay away from digital hardware design, and I find most meetings to be a waste of time."
One time I said that, the interviewer ended our interview, but I ended up interviewing at that same company for a different job a couple weeks later. (I turned it down). Because I now understand what I want out of a job, I am able to let interviewers know that I might fit in somewhere else much better.
You said you are in a small town. That is going to make it tough to find a job that is 'just right' for you. But keep looking and interviewing. Let them know what kind of work you like to do, what kind of work you are good at, and what kind of work you hate. It may take years, but eventually someones business will be growing and they will think 'wait, I remember that scuba diver said he would like to do this kind of work'.
Of course if you are younger, than you may not know what you like to do. Job titles certainly do not tell you what your day will be like. That just takes experience to figure out.
Get out a full sheet of paper. Make two vertical columns. On the left, write down things you hate to do, or just do not like to do, or things you do not know how to do. On the right, write down things you like to do and things that you believe you are good at. Keep this list around for 2 or 3 weeks and you will keep adding to it. Then study the list. It WILL help. My first girlfriend (30 years ago) was majoring in mathematics at the university. I asked her why. She said "because it is so easy to get A's in math and I need good grades to get into medical school". I pointed out to her that Electrical Engineering is math, math, math, math and math. So she switched to EE, found it to be very easy and then went into bioelectronics.
Here is another tactic that works, although most people never get the chance to do this. I was working at a job that I began to dislike (hate the new owners treatment of the customers). I knew a manager in a different line of work that had an opening. I let it be known that I was looking for a change. Neither I, nor the manager knew if I would like doing his type of work, though we knew I could learn the job quickly. So I asked him for a task that was small, but large enough that I could see what the job was like. A few days later he gave me an "assignment" and I did it. I think I would have liked that job. But then his budget got cut and he was told he could not hire anyone.
Network, network, network. You have heard "its not what you know its who you know". Well, that is not completely true and it is not completely wrong. Keep in touch with everyone you know (that is honest and reliable). Be sure they always know your mailing address and where you work. Make sure they always know what you do, what you like and what you hate. Hmmm.... this is why you send christmas cards (birthday cards whatever). I assure you that people want to hire people they know first. (You like to shop where you know people, correct?)
Oh, and another thing. Near the end of an interview, when you begin to realize that you are not getting that job, ASK the interviewer what skills or knowledge he is having trouble finding. This is FREE advice from an expert. He/she will tell you exactly what would make the difference. He might say "gee, if someone walked in here that knew how to ........ we would hire him in an instant." That advice is worth a 1000 times the advice from a job counsultant.
In the early 90's I was interviewing to hire a machinist. I do not know anything about that, yet I had to select the person. I asked each person what they liked to do in addition to machinist. We were a growing company (the machinist was our 3rd employee). So we needed a machinist immediately, but we would need all kinds of people in the next few years. So the gentleman we hired said he eventually wanted to spend less time in the machine shop and learn to manage production, inventory, job scheduling. So I hired him. I knew that as we grew he would be valuable in those new positions and he would know better than anyone how to pick his replacement to run the machine shop.
Be flexible.
That is a skill that all smart employers are looking for. An employee that is able to adapt to changing job needs; able to fill in for people that are on vacation or out on medical leave.
"Do not burn your bridges behind you"
Always be polite, always exhibit a positive attitude. You might not have gotten the job, but it might have been a very very tough choice between you and someone else. The interviewer will remember you for your professional behaviour and that you showed a positive attitude. Maybe the next time they have a job opening they will not even advertise it, they might just contact you right away. I got a call from Harris once for a job more than a year after I interviewed there for a job that I did not get. No need for a second interview. They just called up a year later and offered me a job.
And 'employers' talk to one another. Sometimes when I needed a technician I would call an engineer at another manufacturer in town and let them know I needed someone. Who knows, they might have just had a layoff and would like to help one of their ex-employees find a job. Or perhaps someone interviewed with him that was not right for them but would be right for me. Conversely, I would get calls from other companies saying "hey Alan, do you know any opto-electronic technicians looking for work?" And it did happen that I would look in my file and say "yeah, I had one walk in here a few weeks ago, he looks good, but I do not have any openings"
oh my gosh... I wrote way too much... .sorry about that.....
