I've been looking at several blogs for past few months. Most of them are about products which really never interest me, but I like the ones with some random articles, thought provoking stuff on them. Really, I never knew if I would start blogging and guess what! I actually am!
So, I am sure you are not reading this for my boring story of how I got started with blogging and stuff. Let's talk about something useful. I recently got a job at a daily. More importantly, I get to read a lot of articles as a part of my job. Today, I read a useful article. Regrettably, it was too late to read something like that as I already have a job now. I was about the mistakes commonly made by the interviewees.
I must admit before moving on that I do not remember the writer's name but the tips were pretty cool, which were something like:
1- Do not boost about the number of interviews you had had in front of you interviewer. You might think that it'll help display your importance but it actually backfires. The HR person might report your company that this person is seriously seeking another job and has gone into several interviews. You can only do this, if you don't really have a job. Remember, HR people have better relations in other companies more than you think. Just be practical and look professional, the interviewer does not really care if you went for a thousand interviews or none. All he wants to see is the real you. So, focus on showing him your value by any other means rather telling him the number of interviews you went to.
2- I hope you did not exaggerate things about you in your CV. What! you did?? Okay now, there is nothing wrong with that, don't panic. Now, if you HAVE done so, please do not act humble or anything in front of your interviewer. Try and play along the -written- lines. If you think that you might get caught, so please keep your calm. Just take a breath and move on.
3- It's nothing to worry about if the interview sits and stares at you with the pin drop silence after you are finished with a certain answer. Don't worry, just show your calm. Most of the time the interviewees think that their interviewer is expecting them to elaborate on a topic and they DO start speaking up stuff. Unfortunately, they end up ruining the whole thing. Let the interviewer know that you have made your point with the required precision and you are not stupid enough to actually speak more about the topic. The only thing your elaborated answer would do is to make you look stupid. So, avoid!! Let the interviewer do the more thinking.
4- You are there to earn money. This leads to two points. Firstly, do not expect 10 bucks when you already know that the job pays only 5 bucks. Secondly, do not let the interviewer know that you can work for 5 bucks even when you know that the job pays 10 bucks. Don't miscalculate in either cases.
5- I am sure most of the interviewees want to know how did they do in their interview. But there are some that go straight on asking, 'how am I doing?' Please, don't ask anything stupid. This gives out a signal that either you are desperate for a job or you are not confident enough. Confidence - though I am mentioning it late but - is the first thing HR would want to look for. So, bite your tongue for the occasion for once. Keep your mind focused on doing well rather then go on asking. As if the interviewer will tell you the truth!
6- "Tell me about yourself..." a simple but a trick question. Do not go on telling about your family history or your education even, leave these for the interviewer to ask you later. Just be precise and tell them about your skills and your achievements, any comments or compliments you get for work from your boss or some known personality. Don't waste your time telling him a boring story. Make things interesting for him so that he can go on with the interview.
7- Expressing yourself helps, but be careful there. Do not show the person that you are a racist. You don't have to say " Females/Males/Gays/Whites/Blacks/Asians etc . think that way". You don't really know your interviewer, do you??
8- "What do you dislike?" Now do not go on saying "Interviews", that may offend the interviewer, after all, he is not some fool who took out time to talk to you.
9- It is not wise to be blunt and ask the interviewer 'who is the real person to hire me?' Like I said, the interviewer, after all, took out time to talk to you, don't make him feel that he is wasting it.
10- Remember, your first interview is not the time to ask 'when do I get a raise?' See, you are not hired yet, try to get the salary first, then talk about raise.
So, these are the things I did in some of the interviews I went for. After reading that article, I finally knew what went wrong : ( . But on the bright side, there are times when you do realize what went wrong and you avoid those 'moves'. I have a job now, and I wish my readers all the luck.
P.S. : If any of you think of other tips that can help people, please leave as comments.
-Tehreem Mahmood
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