6 Reasons why a job interview is important

After going through piles of resumes and endless phone calls, finally, I have the selected some candidates for interview. These candidates match the requirements that we were looking for. So, I called these candidates for interview and I was so excited that I wanted to be prepared when they come to see me too. 

My experience of one employment selection process

I had such an experience and not a single one of them stood up and gave me the desire to hire them immediately. But, there is one person who inspired me to do this post. So, here let me tell you what happened that day, the day of the interview and I will let you be the judge of my experience.  

I had three candidates scheduled in the morning and another five for afternoon time. From the three in the morning, one came on time. One came two hours late and wear his sunglasses the entire time of his interview. The other one did not show up and he did not even bother to call to cancel or withdraw from the application, just didn’t show up. 

The five candidates in the afternoon were all came. But one who I expect to be my number one choice came one and a half hour late, and he came in sandals and jogging pants. Okay, fine! The position that I was interviewing was for an entry-level, I know. However, coming to an interview late, wearing sunglasses, sandals and jogging pants? What do you think? 

So, the first candidate came early and crisp. During his interview, he stares at me without blinking. I know what you all thinking! He must have been mesmerized by me that doesn’t blink for a second. But I like to think that he might have been very sleepy that he had to attend an early morning interview and was trying to stay awake. 

Anyhow, his salary expectation was already above my budget and I cannot afford him. Since he said he is willing to go lower than his expectation, so I keep his profile. But the staring though really put me off. So I told him I will call him if there will be the second interview. Moments after he left my office, he sends me a message to make a complaint that I should have been more organised and second interview should also be arranged at the same time. 

Hmmm… what should I say? I have not even hired him yet, but he already starts complaining about how disorganized I am. So, my decision about his application was very easy – my gut feeling tells me, I will not be able to get along with him. But my main reason for not hiring him is not because of his put-off staring or the complaint, but I was honestly cannot afford his salary expectation.    

Why interview process is important?

Many employers use the one-to-one interview method, while others might use a panel interview method or sometimes a telephone or video call interview is often being used as well. Actually recently I had an interview with a robot. That was very sophisticated, but I still prefer to have human interaction during my interview. 

Therefore, I have carefully outlined 6 reasons why Job Interview is very important. 

Time Management

Employers often like to see how are you keeping up with your appointments. If you are currently working, surely you are busy already. Attending an interview is like another appointment with a client. Are you really making an effort? Did you come early? On-time? Or late? How late are you? 

If you happen to be late coming for your interview, your employer would love to hear from you why you are coming late. God forbid you will not be experiencing any emergency like being robbed while on the way to interview, road accident, heart attack, or natural disaster. These should be examples of the reasons why an employer will not hear back from you.

Tips:

Give them a call to notify them that you will be late. The person who has an appointment with you might have another appointment. If, you cannot make it, re-schedule. They will appreciate your call. 

First impression

What do you think about the candidate who comes to interview with his sunglasses on? Or came in his sandals and jogging pants? 

Have you heard about love at first sight? Well, finding the right candidate to hire for a role is exactly like that. First of all, the employer has to love your profile which is your CV. When he or she sees you for the first time is really put on a huge mark towards the success of your interview.  

Imagine the candidate who had come on time, dress crisps and polite. This is the kind of candidate whom I will put on top priority. 

Tips:

The look of your CV really tells the hiring manager about you. Your appearance when you come for an interview was to confirm that their first impression about you was good or bad. Sometimes, when you see someone in person, it could be a totally different impression altogether. 

To see directly our face expression

Absolutely! 

We want to see how you react to the questions. Your body language? We want to know if you were being genuine and honest about it.
How do you smile during the interview?
Are you staring at the interviewer?
Are you nodding?
Are you listening?
Do you understand the questions? 

Communication Skills

This could become a problem. Sometimes communication skills are not about understanding each other, but a willingness to ask questions and apologise if you don’t understand. The worse thing could happen that it may lead to a fatal miscommunication. 

A friend of mine travelled to China to recruit. One morning he had a headache and came to the concierge desk at the hotel and ask if they have “Panadol”. (Panadol: a brand for a medicine contains paracetamol) The Concierge said he will deliver it to his meeting room. After a while, the concierge turned up with a “Panda Doll”. 

Tips:

Very important to always repeat the question when unsure. Still not sure, ask them to write it down. Be confident and be honest when you are in an interview. Never make-up stories and excuses for the things that you never do.  

Value for money

Employees are the most expensive assets for a company. Top expenses after utility bills and rents. Nowadays many employers are restructuring their organization by letting go of some employees to save money. 

Many salary negotiation happens during the interview. Finding the perfect candidate is like finding a diamond in a stack of straws. Both employee and the employers must eventually come to an agreement.    

Professionalism & Personality Check

We are taking note of your level of professionalism from the moment you are answering your call for an interview invitation. A recruitment agent can totally love you or hate you from right this moment. 

Some serious interview session can involve some questions about your personality. Have you ever experienced an interview where you were questioned a three of the same questions in three different time at the same session of an interview? Don’t worry. It was not a mistake. They just want to check your personality and consistency of your answers.

Final Thought

For an employer, a job interview is not only getting to know the candidate better. A resume can be written in a very beautiful and creative way. But that doesn’t mean the candidate create it themselves.

At one time I received a couple of CVs which is exactly the same only different name and contact details. Turned out that they are brothers and they come to Dubai to find jobs.

Some employers sometimes ask a candidate to do a trial day. This will be the next step after an interview if you are further selected in the process. Some of my chefs prefer this method because they prefer to judge the way they work in the kitchen, the taste of their cooking and about how fast you are responding to an order. And this is totally valid.

My tip: attend the interview even if you don’t like the job. You could be surprised what you find at the end and you might be landing in your dream job. If you have doubts, always call them back and apologies for not coming to the interview. Lastly, impress them with your smile. They always go well in any case. And, Be-Confident!

Good Luck with your job hunt.
Let me know if you need further advice.

Be-Patient! Be-Organised! Be-Confident!
Let there be light!