Go for a mock exercise before the real talk at the job table
.........................
How to assess the interviewer ...............In a normal
interview situation, the interviewer assesses you. Why not turn the tables?
Let
us switch roles for once. Instead of being assessed by the interviewer, why
not assess him instead? Is he worthy of conducting the interview? Is he
competent enough to be given the role of being the one who decides the course
of your life by determining your career?
Let's
start by figuring out what the interviewer is thinking. Let's turn his
checklist on him:
IS
HE PREPARED?
- Interviewing is a
responsible job. If the interviewer doesn’t even bother to find out the
details of the position being offered, or the background of the
applicant, he is not suited to the task.
- An interviewer has
to do his homework as well—he just cannot presume he can run an
easy-flowing meeting without knowing the basic details.
IS
HE NERVOUS?
- Look for the
give-aways: shifting legs, tick in the eye, avoiding eye contact.
Realise that probably he's nervous as well.
- Interviewing is not
an easy task. The onus of selection weighs heavy on the interviewer.
- He has been given
the difficult task of finding a suitable candidate who fulfills all the
criteria, yet has moderate salary expectations and is also a reliable
person. All this to be found out—and that too in the duration of a
couple of meetings.
IS
HE HONEST?
- Find out if the
interview is just a sham, and the MD's sister's son-in-law has already
been promised the job.
- A just interviewer
will play it fair, will follow the rules and will be sincere with you.
- He/she won’t come to
the interview with preconceived and fixed ideas.
- He/she will be ready
to listen to you and give you, and other applicants, a fair hearing.
IS
HE NASTY?
Tough
questions are part of the interview repertoire, the likes of which have been
listed by William A. Cohen in The Executive's Guide to Finding a Superior
Job. A few examples:
- "What are your
three greatest strengths, in order?"
- "Where do you
want to be in five years?"
- "What does the
word success mean to you?"
- "Why should we
be interested in hiring you?"
But
there are questions he/she ought not to be asking:
- "Why did you go
in for a divorce?"
- "Why are your
parents separated?"
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