4 Sure Tips For Passing Job Interviews

The employment situation in our country is fascinating. On one hand, we have qualified graduates complaining about lack of jobs, and on the other hand, employers are constantly complaining about the lack of good people to employ. Getting a job has never been easier. When I finished university, My Jobs Eye was the only online job search portal (it was far from excellent and you paid to apply for jobs). Other than that, we scoured the newspapers, applied for all jobs then kept our fingers crossed. Today, there are tens of local online job search portals, and it’s even possible to get international jobs from the comfort of your house. There are also many websites that focus on specific industries and jobs, for example, you can search for Clinical jobs with iNTECH.

With so many jobs out there, why is unemployment still a problem? I don’t claim to have all the answers, but in the few years I have interviewed and recruited, there are a few simple mistakes we make when applying for jobs, and today we talk about things you should and shouldn’t do when job searching:

1. Presentation is EVERYTHING! Let us all agree on one thing. Interviewing is not the best way to hire employees, and sending a CV is the worst way to apply for a job. It is impossible to assess someone’s suitability for a job based on a two page typed document, and a 30 minute meeting where you ask routine questions, but don’t really get to learn much. However, that’s the way the world works, and we are in the world.

With that short protest, here are a few tips on presentation when preparing your CV, and at the interview:

• No typos! Two weeks ago I was in an interviewer’s panel, and realized several shortlisted Curriculum Vitae (CVs) had typos. When I asked why we are interviewing people who can’t spell, I was told that if we eliminated CVs based on typos, we would have no one to interview. Really? It seems it is now OK to have typos in our CVs. NO IT’S NOT! Use the spell check function, proof read your CV, get at least two other people to reread it. When I was job hunting,I remember bugging my uncle to read my CV and give me tips (after my mother had read). Do that. Get your twitter crush to proof read your CV (maybe not). But really, no typos.
• CV formatting counts: If you’re going to use a template, make sure your columns are well aligned, use a neat font, make sure the text is “Justified”, and finally, get a free PDF tool to convert your CV before sending it out. You get one chance to impress, you don’t want to risk your future employer being unable to open your .docx CV because they have an older version of Ms Word. On CV formats, it helps to borrow from someone you admire. My current CV format is borrowed from my mentor, I liked that he used burgundy headers on tables and headings, plus a short profile summary on the first page, in case one doesn’t have the time to read the entire CV.
• Overdress or under dress for interviews? The 21st Century is an era of self expression, and everyone has accepted that, except interviewers. So please, avoid wearing anything that will have people forming an opinion of you right from the door. I had to research a bit for this one, because I’m told creative jobs are different, you can show up in sweats and slippers…ermmm. Nope! Your interviewers may be in sweats and slippers, but YOU need to be smartly dressed. It doesn’t have to be a monkey suit, but look good. Neat hair, basic make up, no cleavage (I’m serious!), and guys, that pinkie nail you’ve been growing, cut it because I’ll judge you if you come for an interview with a painted pinkie nail. It is all I’ll think about during the interview, and chances are, I will ask you about it.

2. Be Curious : Be curious about the company you are being interviewed for. Yes, do the obvious which is visiting the website, do a general web search and read all you can about the company, read up on the industry the company is in, its competitors, and maybe even take it a step further, and visit the company before your interview.

I can guarantee that the “What do you know about us?” question will come up, and everyone will repeat what is on the company website. Passing an interview is about being different in a good way. Do things differently, and school them about their company. Don’t be smug about it though, no one likes smug people. 🙂

Secondly, be curious about the job, especially if it is different from what you are currently doing. I recently interviewed for a hotel accountant, and no interviewee knew the differences between hotel accounting and normal accounting. Again, read up on the internet, but also don’t shy off from asking around. You may not have the experience for the job, but your curiosity will show that you can learn new things.

3. Interview Your Interviewees: In most interviews, you will be given a chance to ask the panel questions. This isn’t the place to ask about pay and benefits. There’s ample time for that later. This is your time to find out if this is actually the right job for you. The same way a CV doesn’t say much, a one page job advert doesn’t tell you much about the job either. So ask real questions about the job. Ask about your reporting structure, the systems they use, how they appraise their employees and how you will be appraised, their future as a company. Ask ask ask.

4. Be Likable: Seriously. When I have a choice between two qualified candidates, I ALWAYS pick the one I liked better. Being likable doesn’t mean ass kissing, it just means you should be authentic and truthful. Get the panel to feel they can trust you. Don’t tut your horn too much, be factual about your achievements, without making it too much of a big deal. Avoid looking like a solo player, give credit to others where they helped you along the way.

Be honest about your weaknesses (if you’re asked), and if you are asked a question whose answer you don’t know, be frank and say you don’t know, and politely request the panel to explain the answer to you.

Be relaxed, don’t be over eager, at the same time, don’t be too laid back. Use a life story to answer personal questions, and where you can, distract the panel into story telling. It takes time, gets everyone relaxed and laughing, and they will like you. An example of this:

I was once interviewed for a corporate finance consulting job, and by a stroke of luck, as I waited for my turn at the lobby, I read a newspaper article about a wheat flour company the consulting company had worked with recently, and their report. After the “Tell us about yourself” question, the managers asked me why I wanted the job. I spoke about the professional benefits of working for the firm, but mentioned that I’d seen they have agricultural sector clients, and the fact that farming is my retirement plan, this exposure would be great for me. One of the panelists was a wheat farmer, I had done a bit of wheat farming. Believe it or not, we educated the rest of the panel about wheat farming for 45 minutes, they realized they were out of time, and ended the interview. And this was with one of the Big 4 audit firms. I got a job offer.

There are other things you could do to pass a job interview  and there’s advice on the web on this, I just thought to highlight the above 4, because they’re the most neglected.

Good luck!