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THE
CAREER DOCTOR
PREPARE
TO MEET THINE EMPLOYER |
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First
you have to successfully negotiate the interview and there
are a couple of crucial questions where many candidates
fail to get the measure of the task, writes ROWAN MANAHAN
THESE
days, one could be forgiven for thinking that interviewers
lack a certain degree of imagination. They are still asking
the standard old interview questions:
'Tell
us a bit about yourself'
'What
are your strengths?'
'What
is your biggest weakness?'
and
the ever-popular, 'I'm sure you must have
some questions for me'
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and
interview candidates everywhere dread these chestnuts.
If you have decided that you definitely don't want
to work for the company you are being interviewed by,
then I can recommend the following answers:
My
biggest weakness? 'I have a huge weakness
for chocolate.' or 'I have a big mouth and people
constantly misunderstand me.' My questions for you?
'What are the working hours like here? - because I have
to be at the club for training by six o'clock every evening.'
or 'How big will my company car be?'
These
are all answers that I have heard while sitting (usually
open-mouthed with disbelief) on interview panels. If,
on the other hand, you actually do want the job
that you are being interviewed for, your answers to these
standard questions will need to be just a tad better than
these.
Questions
for them
Most candidates hate this part of the interview, regard
it as being very difficult to do at the end of a tiring,
stressful process and just trot out one or two trite little
questions which utterly fail to impress the interviewer(s).
And that last point is the key - if you have intelligent,
well-researched questions to ask at the conclusion of
the interview, you have yet another chance to impress
and to distinguish yourself from the herd. The most common
mistakes made at this juncture are:
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Having
no questions to ask at all (either due to memory
loss, tiredness or lack of preparation). |
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Asking
self-serving questions about salary, benefits, training
and holidays. |
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Asking
clichéd questions. |
It
is inappropriate to bring up remuneration at a preliminary
interview unless the interviewer does so first. If you
are not supposed to bring up salary, then asking how big
your car is going to be is not a good idea. Likewise
training. If you are coming out of education into an entry-level
position, your research should have answered any basic
questions you have about training. If you are going for
a more senior role and start harping on about training,
you will position yourself as (at best) self-serving or
(at worst) needy.
So,
how do you play this one? In interview practice and preparation,
it is vital to put on the recruiter's hat on and look
at it from their perspective. Why do they ask this question
of all candidates? Clearly, your questions tell the interviewer(s)
more about you which can help them in the weeding-out/selection
process. What does this question reveal?
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It
allows them to cross-check against your answers
as to why you want to work for the organisation. |
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It
helps to identify (or confirm) self-serving candidates
who are looking to join an organisation, extract
the maximum training and good experience and then
quickly jump ship. |
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Likewise
ill-prepared candidates. This question helps the
interviewer to assess the depth and quality of your
preparation for the interview. Very important these
days. If you won't work hard in preparing on your
own behalf, what chance is there that you
will prepare well for an important element of the
job on their behalf? |
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If
you are being interviewed for a senior position,
it allows the interviewer(s) to assess your mindset.
Are you a general or a foot-soldier? Do you have
management potential? In other words, are you a
player? |
Your
research in preparation for asking your questions should,
as always, be comprehensive.
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Company
literature, websites, advertising and annual reports
are all easily obtainable. |
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Promotional
material, articles about the organisation, broad-based
industry articles, anything relating to competitors
and finally, legislation affecting the sector and
organisation. |
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Someone
you know knows someone who is useful. Ex-employees,
competitors, suppliers, industry figures, journalists.
Ferret them out and get the inside track. |
Talking
about your weaknesses
Once again, look at why they ask
the question in the first place. Rest assured that they
do not expect you to bare your soul or reveal sordid details
from your private life. On the other hand they do expect
you to:
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Know what your weaknesses
are, demonstrating self-knowledge and insight. |
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Be sufficiently confident
to admit to a weakness. |
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Have listened to criticism
of your failings in the past. |
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Have corrected, or
be in the process of correcting, your weaknesses. |
Candidates rarely approach
this question with confidence and most regurgitate the
same tired old clichés:
'Oh, I suppose
I'm a bit of a perfectionist'
'I'm a workaholic
and that can irritate my workmates sometimes'
'I don't
suffer fools gladly.'
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Interviewers hear these
answers about as often as the police hear, 'Is this
really a 30mph zone Officer? I didn't realise ...'
Any trained interviewer will take a very dim view indeed
if you have the temerity to come out with this sort of
rubbish.
If you will be attending
an interview in the near future and you don't have a ready
and honest answer to the weakness question, you need to
do a little soul-searching. Failing that, ask your spouse/partner.
Spouses are always ready to point out your failings
and need very little encouragement to do so.
Talk to friends and family.
Ask them to tell you three strong points and one weakness
about yourself. Tell them to do you the favour of being
brutally honest. Do the same with colleagues from past
jobs, or better yet, an old boss of yours. Mental health
professionals charge a fortune to help you along this
sort of voyage of self-discovery. The information is there
for free, if you have the courage to ask for it.
The business of hiring
people is as much a process of elimination as it is of
selection. Getting onto the short list for interview is,
in many instances, the biggest hurdle. Once you are at
the interview, do not give a recruiter a reason to reject
you merely because of inadequate preparation. The questions
above, clichéd though they may be, are pivotal.
Frequently, they are the 'eliminators.' Fail to
answer them to the interviewer's satisfaction, and you
will almost certainly have blown your chance.
Rowan Manahan is Managing
Director of Fortify
Services, a Dublin-based outplacement and career management
firm.
Original article here.