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What
does a recruiter hope to achieve in an interview?
The recruiter wants to:
- Assess
your compatibility and your competence. This means whether your personality
will allow you to fit into the team, organization, etc. and from a
technical / vocational point of view - whether you have the necessary
skills / experience to manage the job?
- Supply
you all the relevant information about the company and the job.
- Be
convinced of your genuine interests and enthusiasm for the job.
- Believe
that you are the solution to his problem. He wants to answer the question:
"Why should I employ you?"
Note: You may be interviewed more than once and by different
interviewers before the recruiter is satisfied that you have achieved
all of the above criteria.
What
is the important knowledge of interviews?
- Academic
attainment
Academic attainment is important but it is easy to prove your results.
The interviewer will be much more interested in finding out about
your personality, the way you think and your career plans and forming
an opinion on whether he likes you and whether you will fit into his
organization and make the contribution he is looking for.
- The
interviewers
You cannot be graranteed to be interviewed by an expert. Some interviewers
will be more nervous than you. They may talk too much about themselves,
and not have the experience to ask the sort of questions that will
help you talk about yourself.
- Number
of interviewers
You may be interviewed by more than one person at a time.
- Be
yourself
Recruiters do not employ people they do not like. Being yourself and
projecting your personality is vital. Interviewers rarely recruit
people they dislike even if they are highly qualified for the job.
-
Difficult questions
The interviewer will ask difficult questions but his aim is not to
trick you, but to see how you handle yourself when faced with a challenge.
-
Dress up for an interview
It is wise to wear conservatively, unless you are very sure of the
way people dress in that particular position you are applying for,
e.g.if you want to become a fashion designer, conservative dress may
suggest you have no flair.
-
Hidden question
The important thing is to recognize the hidden question or concern,
e.g. "Why do you want to work here?" The recruiter does
not want to hear that you like the pay and conditions. What he is
really asking is "Why should I hire you?" "What contributions
can you make?"
-
Research the company
It is very important to research the company before the interview.
Otherwise, how do you know what contributions you can make? Moreover,
a likely early question is "What do you know about us?"
-
Asking questions in an interview
By asking questions you demonstrate enthusiasm and knowledge. However,
beware of the type of questions you ask; they should be about the
company and the contribution you can make, but not about salary and
benefits. Also make sure you don't ask questions you could have answered
for yourself if you had done more research.
-
Salary negotiation
There is plenty of time to talk about salary when the job has been
offered to you. Then you are negotiating with more strength because
they have stated that they want you.
-
Never bluff
This opens the way for a skilled interviewer to expose your lack of
knowledge, and your lies. Admit not having a particular experience/skill
etc. but describe similar experiences or ways in which you intend
to acquire the relevant skill.
-
Solving problems in an interview
You cannot be expected to give a solution to a problem when you do
not know about the situation, details and personalities involved.
Employers will be wary of candidates who simply give instant answers
without careful thoughts. It is better to analyse the available information,
and give an outline of how you would go about tackling such a problem
in general.
-
Your first impression to employer
The employer may have many pre-conceived ideas about you from your
resume. However, remember he has invited you for interview so the
impression he has towards you must be favourable.
-
Identify your key selling points
By comparing the position's profile with your own details you can
identify the areas that will interest the interviewer. Then prepare
and practise your approach.
-
Negative effect of "talking too much about yourself"
Talking too much about yourself can defeat yourself.
Before
the interview...
- Be
punctual.
- Send
apologies to the firm should you be unable to attend.
- Inform
the Careers and Placement, CEDARS <placement@cepc.hku.hk>
of apologies.
After
the interview...
- Please
give us your feedback about THIS year's interview format. It will
help us prepare next year's candidates.
How
to excel with questions?
- Do
not try to guess what the recruiter wants to hear.
- Do
not try to find a model answer.
- If
you do the above, you will not be unique.
- Be
natural and sincere instead.
- Structure
your reply in a logical manner, covering as many aspects as possible.
- Consider
organising your answers in this manner-what, how, why, result, and
then so what for the recruiter?
| Example: |
I
like dessert. I like to work with my hands. I like to live on
my own resources rather than taking out loans. So I built a
wooden cart on wheels, cooked Chinese sweet soup and sold them
on the streets near Queen Mary Hospital. I made some money but
then realised that I was breaking the law, hawking without a
licence. So I stopped. |
What
would the interviewers do with my answers?
- From
your answers they will make a judgment about your abilities and attributes.
They will match those against what the firm needs in their new recruits.
The
best preparation for interviews
- There
are neither set questions nor model answers to interviews. Do not
try to outguess the interviewer.
- The
best preparation for interviews is:
- to
prepare evidence from past experience to illustrate your qualities
along the criteria required by the recruiting company,
- to
attend the interview as if you are meeting new friends who need
someone to help them with a project; before the meeting find out
what they need; at the meeting introduce yourself and discuss
with the person how you could be useful to them.
When
attending job interviews...
- Be
natural.
- Be
interesting.
- Be
specific.
- Present
interviewers with reasons to hire you.
- Support
what you say with evidence.
Additional
Resources
You
can get help to improve your interview techniques by referring to the
following recommended reading materials and websites:
Books
- Win
the job at the interview: Finding a job
- Make
your job interview a success
- Interview
Preparation & Practice Workbook
- Interview
Preparation & Practice Worksheet pack
- Preparing
for your interview
Videos
- Tell
me, Mr. Dunstone
- Two
whole days
- Product
is you: Success in interviewing
- Effective
interviewing skills: strategies that get results
- Seven
phases of a job interview
- Effective
answers to interview questions
- Effective
writing and interviewing
Websites
Sign
up for a Careers and Placement, CEDARS session on interview skills. Click Coming
Events for latest programme schedule.
For
enquiries, please e-mail to <careers@hku.hk>.
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