By Murigi Macharia
An interview is the dreaded process where an employer meets a job applicant to obtain information to determine whether the person has the necessary attributes.
Through the interview, the employer can assess whether and how the jobseeker will fit into the department or section .
Ideally, it is also an occasion where the employer is expected to tell the applicant more about the job and the organisation.
Although there are more than 10 types of interviews, the selection interview is the only encounter most employees associate with interviewing.
Selection process
During the selection interview, one or more senior staff or the human resources manager will ask questions on various subjects which will help in assessing the suitability of the candidate.
Besides the selection process, the other types of interviews include those for promotion, demotion, appraisal, instruction, disciplinary, grievance, decision making and exit.
Reflect back to your last selection interview where a team of serious-looking panelists scared you by poking holes into all your answers.
Did you ever find out why you failed the interview? Did you also find out what the interviewers were scribbling their pads as you figured out answers to their questions?
By reviewing all the adjectives they had scribbled on their pads, the team of interviewers drew a profile of a person who was, in their view, suitable for the job..
Your first mistake was to arrive at the venue of the interview five minutes late. Although you apologised for keeping the panelists waiting, they made their own notes: Not serious, poor in punctuality.
As you entered the interview room sweating, shabbily dressed in clothes that had not known ironing for many months, the keen interviewers made more furious notes: Unpresentable and disorganised.
Writing notes
As you went round reluctantly shaking their hands and avoiding eye-contact, the panelists were observing your every move and making more notes: Shy, lacks confidence, poor entry behaviour.
Now let us go through the answers you gave to their first five questions and a sample of profile they drew about you:
l Now tell us about yourself?
Instead of dwelling on relevant issues like your current job responsibilities, duties and your recent career history and achievements, you retraced your life history and educational background from the ‘village academy’, the national school and ended reminding panelists that you attended a prestigious university abroad.
As you waffled along for what looked like eternity, the panelists made several notes about you: Conceited, too proud.
l Why are you leaving your current employer?
The panelists expected that you would talk about the need for more challenges in a new environment, the need for personal growth, new experiences and envisaged career development. But you ended up bad-mouthing your employer.
l How do you spend your free time? What are your hobbies?
Talking about physically engaging activities like sports or involvement in communal affairs means you are a team player.
If you do not participate in such off-work and off-family activities, the panelists would make more notes: Lacks initiative, laid back person, unfriendly, no ambition.
l How long have you worked for the current employer?
Be careful with this question. Managers want ambitious dreamers and risk-takers rather than employees who have no ambition to change careers.
l How much salary do you expect from us?
Keep your options open by indicating that you would be comfortable with a salary package between X and Y. You can also propose a certain salary based on the pay of the previous job-holder but indicate that you expect a review upon completion of probation.
