Posts Tagged ‘Interviews’

The following is a guest post from Sandbox Advisors courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

The job interview is the most common form of selection and one that most people are familiar with. Until recently, the interview has had bad press. Compared to other selection techniques it has been viewed as unscientific and highly prone to the effects of biases and prejudices held by interviewers.

Some of the reasons why interviews were/are viewed in negative light are as follows:

• They are prone to judgements. For example – interviewers’ rating can be influenced by physical attractiveness and non-verbal cues such as smiling, body posture and hand movements. There is evidence that women who wear masculine suits receive more favorable ratings

• Some research indicates that negative information (even if irrelevant) is given for more importance that positive information during an interview, which can lead to a wrong decision

• Many times interviews are conducted in an un-structured format, without proper/standard measurement and rating procedures

However, even during the time when many viewed interviews negatively, there were areas where they were considered valuable. For example, there was evidence that two aspects of the characteristics of the applicant – personal relations and good citizenship behaviors – could be evaluated particularly well with the interview. Personal relations is the ability to form and maintain effective relations with others in the organization. Good citizenship behavior refers to the individual’s willingness to make a positive contribution to the organization, often by doing things which are not part of their formal job description, in order to help those around them and the organization in general.

Partly as a result of such criticism, improvements have been made to the design of interviews and there is evidence that this has had a positive effect. Properly designed and carried out, the selection interview can play a valuable role in the selection process. For organizations, an effort must be made to design an interview process which is structured and measurable. A structured interview is highly organized and involves the interviewer asking a pre-determined set of questions in a set order. These questions should be designed to evaluate the extent to which the interviewee has the characteristics that are known to be critical for performance on the job. Answers should then be scored according to a set of clearly defined rules.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

MSN Careers, a great source of generic job search advice, has a crowd-sourced article up filled with tricks on how you can improve your interview performance. Have You Tried These Interview Tips? contains the advice of many successful job seekers across a variety of industries.

It is the fact that the advice is coming directly from job seekers (who are able to share “what works”) that I like most about this piece.

Among the best advice:

…talk if as if you already have the job. Say ‘I will,” not ‘I would.’ ‘I can,’ not ‘I could.’ This will remove doubt instead of inject it. Bosses like someone confident and proactive.

and

The interview is not about the candidate, it’s about the job. No matter how great you are as a person or employee, the interviewer is trying to fill a position. Hence, talk about the job as much as possible. Ask what a perfect candidate would be like. Only occasionally talk about yourself and only to show how you suit their requirements.

Regardless of whether you are actively looking for work, planning to switch careers, or just enjoy reading interesting material, this article is worth a read.

Check it out here.

Having heard some recent horror stories from employers, I thought I would share my list of ways to ruin an interview. My hope is to provide a pre-interview checklist that you can use to ensure that you have all of your bases covered.

Here is my list of things to avoid when interviewing for the job you really, really want.

• Arrive Late: Nothing ruins your chances faster than showing up late. Respecting the employer’s time is essential to show that you will make a reliable employee.
• Be Needy or Overbearing: Coming off desperate is a major turn-off. Employers want confident, capable candidates who are easy to get along with.
• Avoid Eye Contact: Eye contact is the best way to connect with the person on the other side of the table. Use it to your advantage and it can win you the job. Avoid it and it looks like you are hiding something.
• Give a Weak Handshake: I hate the “limp fish” handshake. It can destroy an otherwise good first impression. Practice ahead of time if necessary.
• Forget to Smile: Goes hand-in-hand with eye contact when it comes to making a good impression. A smile can make the difference between otherwise equal candidates.
• Give Long Answers: This relates to respecting the employer’s time. Give short, concise answers to avoid rambling. It will help to reinforce that you know what you are talking about.
• Ask No Questions: This is critical. If you don’t ask intelligent, informed questions, it will appear that you are only there for the job and not to become part of the team.

There are many other ways to ruin an interview that aren’t listed here. Share yours on the comment boards below!

I love Laurie Ruettimann’s posts on Punk Rock HR. There’s just something about her ability to “Tell It Like It Is” that really appeals to me. And once again, she is right on the money.

In a recent post, Punk Rock HR’s Best Advice for Job Seekers, Laurie outlines the one piece of advice that current job seekers are most in need of.

That advice?

Stop being needy.

She couldn’t be more right. When I read this article, I realized that it is written for the benefit of people who are already in the workforce and who are looking to change jobs/careers. However, this is also great advice for New Grads who are looking for Entry Level Jobs as well.

When you are applying for a job after graduation, it’s easy to come across as needy. It could be an over-reliance on the support your parents, the weight of your student loans, or the realization that you don’t know what you want to do with your life. Regardless, being needy is a major turn-off for employers.

I guess Laurie said it best when she writes about people bringing…

…psychological baggage into our interviews. There’s no bigger turn-off than a clingy, needy, desperate candidate who lacks confidence and self-awareness.

If you lack meaning in your life, and if you feel disconnected from the ones you love, a job will not fill that void.

I would suggest reading the whole article. It might change your perspective on interviewing.

Thoughts? Comments? Respond below!