My muse for “What Not To Do” did the absolutely unforgivable - she didn’t show up. Not only did she not come into work, she didn’t bother ringing to let me know and she lied to the agency as to why she didn’t appear. Allegedly her reason for not coming in was that she thought she was starting tomorrow - if that’s the case then why did I ask her to come in on Friday to complete paperwork so that she could start with a clean slate on Monday.
The tips from this fiasco are:
- If you are offered a position and can’t start on the day in question, advise the person you are dealing with so they can make arrangements before hand.
- If you think you will be late - call your new place of employment or your agency and advise them of the situation and what time you will be in.
- Put yourself in your new employers’ shoes. We were short staffed all day due to the ignorance of one person. My part time employee was stressed out as she was trying to cover the position that wasn’t filled as well as do her own job. Not a good thing.
As you can imagine I was not happy, so I advised the agency that I didn’t want her to start at all with us and I had some more CV/Resumes faxed to me. I looked at 10 CV/Resumes and was only able to interview one person. Luckily her referee praised her up and she seemed like a confident person, so hopefully she turns up as requested.
I must admit I’m surprised. I interviewed a young woman recently and let’s just say her interview skills were appalling. If we weren’t desperate to fill the position then I wouldn’t even contemplate employing her. If she had read my earlier pieces about interviews the interview may have gone a lot better.
Negative Point One - Jeans
She wore jeans! Even though she was going to her regular job after the interview still does excuse the fact that she wore jeans. Besides the jeans she was well presented and I felt that the appearance of denim let her down in this regard.
Negative Point Two – Poor Responses
She didn’t appear confident answering our questions, was ill prepared for the interview and nerves just overrode every response. There was a lot of nervous giggling, no eye contact and hair fiddling.
I will admit that this interview was sprung on her last night and she did bring it forward 45 minutes due to prior work commitments. However, we weren’t asking difficult questions and you should be able to recall what you studied at your local College.
Continue reading ‘What Not To Do In An Interview’
This is the final instalment for what to do in an interview. Now you are fully researched, prepared and dressed to kill. You have arrived at the interview 10 minutes early, so you have time to relax, go over your notes and prepared interview questions.
Tip One - Handshake
The interviewer comes to welcome you, take you through to the interview room and somewhere between Reception and the Interview Room you forget everything you have learnt and quite possibly even your name. Nerves have kicked in and you are freaking out. Breathe, take some deep calming breaths and try to relax. Unless you have sweaty palms, shake hands with everyone on the panel, even the women. This may sound strange but make sure you have a firm grip. Not tight and definitely not limp. A person’s character can be, and usually is, judged on a person’s handshake. Too hard and you are perceived as domineering and arrogant. Too soft and you are looked at as passive. The best handshake is firm and confident and that is also the impression you will make.
Continue reading ‘What To Do In An Interview - Part Three’
For this part I will be advising on how to prepare for an interview. You know how to prepare yourself image wise, now it’s time to impress the interviewer/s with your knowledge. Being prepared for the interview will also help conquer the fears. At the end of the day you will be able to acknowledge that you have done all that you can to prepare for the interview.
Tip One – Job Specification
Most companies have a job specification (also known as a j&p) for each designated position. If you didn’t have a copy of the job specification then get one. The job specification is a fantastic tool as it has the answers to most, if not all, of the questions that you will be asked. From this document you can ascertain what the key criteria are for the role that you are applying for and how you can manipulate your answers to encompass these criteria.
For example, if you are applying for an administrative position, the key criteria might be answering phones, opening mail, processing monies received and filing. In your interview you may be asked what skills can you bring to the position, knowing what the position entails you will be able to say I’ve had previous experience using switchboard, processing mail, receipting as well as filing.
You can embellish on these answers but you will get the idea of what I’m driving at, the job specification helps you work out what you need to know and how to answer any question the panel throws at you. They may ask questions about confidentiality or aggressive clients, using the job specification as a guide you can tailor your answers and hit key criteria at the same time.
Continue reading ‘What To Do In An Interview - Part Two’
This is a guide to impressing your future employers in the 30-45 minute time slot they have dedicated to you. You will be nervous, they know that you will be nervous, they are probably just as nervous as you are. However, have you considered that if you’re nervous then every other person that they are interviewing is going to be just as, if not more so, nervous as you. Work with the nerves, let the adrenalin flow and remember that at the end of the day, if you don’t get the job/position then so be it. Something as good if not better will come along and you will nail that interview. Interviews to me are like an extreme sport, you get pumped up, they can be terrifying but interviews will only make you stronger for future interviews.
The best way to conquer interview fears is to be prepared. Not just mentally but physically as well. I don’t mean that you have to be super fit to interview well, rather I am focusing on how you present yourself at the interview. Part One will be getting ready for the interview.
Continue reading ‘What To Do In An Interview - Part One’
