Things not to do during an interview

Ok, I feel I need to share a thing or two here about what not to do during job interviews. One of the things about being a headhunter is that you really see all sorts of people, and some of them really do the darnest things.

For starters, there is nothing fashionable about turning late for an interview. It’s basic courtesy: nobody likes to be held up. A candidate who turns up late already creates a bad impression in the mind of the interviewer, and it’s kinda like a self-imagined sense of importance, really. It doesn’t matter if you are highly qualified, you DON’T ever turn up late. If you lived in Changi and don’t drive, and if the interview is in Tuas, then kindly make sure you invest in a taxi trip to ensure you turn up on time, and if you insist on taking the bus or the MRT, then kindly leave your house with more than enough time on hand to the interview venue. Every 5 minutes the interviewers have to wait for you diminishes your credibility—we’re all busy people, so don’t make a potential boss frustrated even before you’re given a chance to strut your stuff.

Next, please turn up appropriately dressed for the interview. I know dressing is a very subjective thing, and I don’t care if you firmly believe in expressing your style, make sure you turn up looking PROFESSIONAL. Be conservative to be safe—it’s only for that 15 minutes at most. I don’t think I need to go on to what you should wear, but note that even if it’s a junior position you’ve applied for, don’t turn up looking like you don’t think much of the job. I always taught that it only takes 20 seconds for someone to form a first impression of you in my effective communications workshops, so whether you want to create a positive or negative impression is really your decision.

Things to note during the interview:

1. NEVER badmouth your last workplace or previous boss. You’ll never know what underlying connections there may be between people, and this is especially so if you are applying for jobs in the same industry. Even if you had an unpleasant experience at the last workplace, try to find something nice to say about why you’ve decided to leave; saying “I don’t get along well with my boss” isn’t the smartest thing to say. (see point 2)

2. Don’t give the interviewer an opportunity to question if there is something wrong with your interpersonal skills. Previous colleagues may backstab or scheme against you, but to say “I can’t get really get along with my superiors/ex-colleagues” will inevitably suggest that you are not easy to get along with. And interviewers are quick to note statements like that.

3. You don’t really have to spend a lot of time emphasizing about your achievements or trying to overplay them. I’m not saying you don’t say anything at all—if anything, it obviously helps if you talk about your roles, responsibilities and past accomplishments on the job—but don’t make it sound like you’re bragging or boasting. Headhunters are resourceful and well-connected, so if anything, they would have known about you if you really were that good, and we would be the ones to help you market your outstanding achievements, so don’t try to over-credit yourself.

4. Don’t lie. It’s something your parents or teachers would have taught you in school, and believe me, it is sound advice. If you got dismissed from a job, I’d rather you be upfront to me about it and leave it to me to speak to your potential employer about your concerns instead of trying to make it sound like your previous workplace went on a “retrenchment exercise” and you were one of those that got displaced. Like I said, headhunters and employers are well-connected and resourceful, and don’t you think we would know if people were being retrenched? In any case, there’s this thing called a “background check”, and I don’t think it is to your advantage if ultimately we found out that you were asked to leave because you were underperforming on a job.

5. If you had a bad track record, don’t try to cover it up by not including references, because that would only make it show up even more. Whenever I get a resume that lists out good organisations the candidate has worked at, I start questioning why he or she doesn’t try to include previous supervisors or managers as references. Who better than someone you’ve worked with at a public listed company, for instance, to give testimony to your contributions? And you have nothing to worry about—in most cases, professional ethics apply, and I’ve had more cases of positive affirmations and testimonies than really bad ones. In any case, the more references you can provide, the better. That way, I will be able to discern if it is indeed a case of just one manager who hates you, or if you really are not suited for a particular industry.

6. There is no such thing as a lousy candidate to me. There is however, a difference between one who possesses all the right attributes and competencies that match a job, and one that doesn’t. So the point here again is this: don’t try to cover up for your inadequacies just because there is a job you really like. In any case, even if you lied in your resume, companies that use personality and behavioural profiling tools like Draco HR will reveal these inadequacies. Technical data don’t tell lies.

7. If you have concerns about a job, kindly voice them out instead of saying, “I have no questions.” I like candidates who ask a lot of questions about the job, however minor, because it’s an indication of their level of interest in the job. Don’t be overly concerned that people will start thinking less of you if you really have concerns you’re dying to voice out: employers, if they are interested in hiring you, will actually try to address your concerns—if you are someone we feel can contribute positively to the organization, don’t you think we’ll take steps to ensure nothing hinders you from doing what you do best?

8. This may sound stupid, but don’t give the interviewers the impression that you are trying to flirt with them, or suck up to them. No matter how much you want the job, don’t give them reason to think you are begging them for the job. Have some dignity for yourself, and don’t beg. We want to give you a job based on a recognition of your abilities, experience and qualifications, not because we feel sorry for you. In any case, I am a mercenary, and I won’t sympathise with you nor will I recommend you just because you’ve been jobless for nine months and have 5 other younger siblings to feed at home. We don’t operate that way.

Ultimately, confidence and faith in yourself will win the day. If you don’t believe in yourself, then you can’t expect me to have reason to believe in your abilities and competencies.

Give me—and your potential employers—reason to believe in you.

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