Welcome back folks! Welcome back to the English channel (or Mal-Lish to be exact…).
Let’s not do any nonsense opening! We go straight to the points! I will share the Job Seeker point of views only. No more no less.
Job interview is a process for both employer and employee to have a chance to discuss about the job. It is the first or second step of getting a job depends on where you start counting it…
After you confirm a job interview as a employee or job seeker, you must do a background research on the employer. It is a must! If you are lazy, at least you make a anonymous call to the company to ask receptionist or who-ever answer the call about what this company major or core business! Prepare yourself for the interview.
First, your outlook appearance must be presentable (for female) or smart (for male). I emphasize on presentable because most girls/ladies know how to dress themselves very much but some of them may not notice some business attires may not be suitable for you (female). Imagine that you wear like the Air-Asia stewardess… I can recall that their uniform is SOOOOOOOO tight and almost squeeze the breast out! I am not saying it is not nice but please do not wear like that just because you wanted to show your good body figure. Unless you are applying for the position of seXretary (secretary) . No offense to those real and professional secretary. For male, please shave or tidy up your beard! Dress smart! Smart mean fresh, good looking and confident! I do not mean that you have to wear a tie or very shinny boots. You can looks smart even with T-Shirt and Jeans. I wish you know that… else you have to get a girl to do some serious shopping with you 😛
Second, read the job advertisement again! You must know what are the expectations of the employer. I know most of you just apply the job without considering whether or not it is suitable. Sometime you will forget about which job that you had applied… You need a job, I understand. With this preparation, during the interview, you can expect what kind of job-related questions will be asked by the interviewer. It certainly help to impress the interviewer if you speak their mind or their expected answers!
Third, bring along everything that can prove yourself. Your passport-sized photo, certificates, transcripts, letter of recommendations and et cetera.
Fourth, always run a mind-simulation of the interview. Expect nothing but prepare for the worst! For example, if you are going for a programmer interview, prepare for a test or so… If that is a accountant job, be prepared that the interviewer will ask you about the accounting rules and et cetera.
Fifth, be honest. Honesty! This is what you needed to have during the interview. Please do not lie on anything. We knows all the spontaneous lies will be revealed by the liar in no times! So, do not try to fool yourself! You just answer what you know and say “I do not know” at the right time. We are born as a human, it is definitely alright to not knowing everything!
Sixth, do not be nervous. Please be confident with your language. I believe most interviews will be conducted in English. I understand that not every one born with good command or tongue of English. You have bad English but it does not give you any valid reason to be shy or nervous! I have very bad English and now I am writing a English article and hopes you will understand it! Am I ever feel worry or ashamed of my bad English? I am very serious in this. Perhaps what give you a job is not your skill but your English. The written and verbal skill is very important for the job. I will discuss this later when I have time! It is definitely a very interesting topic to discuss!
Seventh, during the interview, please do as much as eye-contact or face-to-face conversation! It is not a trick to impress the interviewer but a must-do action to respect the interviewer! Imagine if you answer a question by looking at the table. I know you are shy but the interviewer may felt insulted because you reply to the table instead of them! If you do not know how to have eye-contact, perhaps you spend some coins and buy me “teh-tarik” so we can have some “eye-contact” sessions in mamak stall (offers for girls only… I have no interests to look into a male’s eye for night!). hee hee
Eighth, try to ask questions to the employer. You must ask questions in order to show your interests for the job offered! If you have no question, perhaps you can seek the answer for the questions that the employer asked you. Please be humble when you ask question.
Ninth, always follow up the interview by a “thank you” letter or email a day or two after the interview. It can helps you to out-list the other candidates by leaving a better impression in the employer’s mind.
Tenth, I will share some questions and answers with you here. I will express it in my very own style during the interview. Perhaps you have to tweak the sentences in order to make it sound like yourself, 😉
Questions that I will ask the interviewer
1. May I know the job requirement in details?
2. May I know the organization culture?
3. Can I have a tour to the work place / environment?
4. What is the career path?
5. Is there any Key Performance Indexes (KPIs) to measure my performance?
You notice? I never talk about salary or the desired package. It is not nice for a employee or job seeker to ask like “How much I will be getting?” or “How much you will pay?” . All you have to do is wait until the employer take the first move to ask about the package you want. When they ask this question, it means they have the intention to give you a chance. If you asked it before them, it will spoil your professional image with all these “money-minded” questions only.
Answers for some common interview questions
1. Why should we hire you?
To answer this question, you have to know what is the employer requirement. Once you know what is the requirement, all you have to do is to relate those requirements into your qualifications. You must sound that you are the right and the best candidates to be hired. I never ask you to lie but be confident to speak the facts! 🙂
2. What makes you think you are suitable for the job?
Almost same as the first question but please answer this question on the focus of yourself. You can say with your xxx and yyy qualification can helps the company to improve this and that. Your aaa and bbb experiences will be very helpful in fulfilling the KPI of the job. Furthermore, you have kkk and mmm knowledge to share with the team/company/business.
3. Why you want to join us?
Very simple. I need a job! You fools! LoL. Please… do not answer this question like this. Perhaps you can answer is with some of the background of the company. For example, I notice this XXX company is very well-known in the market, with the established organization structure, I believe this is a good place to perform my best and to push my career into a brighter level.
4. How can you prove yourself is an asset for the company?
This question, you must answer it with values and facts! Please include your qualifications, experiences and personal strength into the answer. Furthermore, you can include your loyalty, professionalism and other intangible values of yourself into the answer. It definitely helps to convince the interviewer on how valuable you are…
5. Why you quit the last job?
Very simple answer. To seek a brighter career and better job advancement. 🙂
Last but not least, these are my little thoughts only. If you have any criticisms, please do it with suggestion. Thank you.
Happy Job Interviewing!
