Some interview notes

Going for job interviews are always harrowing experiences for a lot of people. It's quite interesting when you're at the other side of the table--it's not as nerve-wrecking but still exhausting in a way. It's like, all your senses have to be on high alert to order to sniff out the best from the average.

I (and 2 others) interviewed 4 candidates for a position last week. And of course my colleagues pleaded with me to flex my incredible people reading skills and M'B'T'I the candidates within the 20-mins interviews, which I did, to their everlasting amazement. (I think I shall start charging for this service. Please dial 1900-M'B'T'I-SUCKER for more info). One of them was a clear winner. It didn't hurt that she graduated from H*rv*rd and that she draws very well, which is a great assest as we want her to take charge of an e-magazine.

She has a great smile and seemed so at ease that she put us at ease. I always thought that to score points at an interview, you have to maintain a strict level of professionalism and keep to the issue at hand. But she was a natural, punctuating the interview with little anecdotes that don't even pertain to the interview at hand.

Especially if you're a fresh graduate, all you have to offer are basically a great personality and oodles of enthusiasm. She had an answer to every question we threw at her, no doubt due in part to her super-power brain (why else would she be able to study in freakin' H*rv*rd?), but I think also because she really does have something to offer here. Other things that I observed:

• at least for us, extra-curricular activities are really peripheral in our considerations, unless it's directly relevant to the position. So no point wasting your $ zapping piles of certs of participation in tree hugging etc and waving them in our faces. It smacks of desperation to impress, or to make up for your inferior academic grades.
• I wasn't very concerned about school grades, but my colleague was. I guess they do attest to some degree a person's diligence and commitment to work.
• The interviewer shouldn't talk more than you. Don't think that just because you keep quiet I won't be able to M'B'T'I you, sneak.
• It's OK to profess ignorance in certain things, but there're good and bad ways of doing it. The good way would be to perhaps talk about your proficiency in other (similar) things and how you picked them up quickly as you're a fast learner and you adopt a positive attitude. The bad way? "I dunno." *shrug
• Don't ask banal questions like your working hours and career prospects, or what kind of personality traits the organisation is looking for. What use are of these questions to us? Put it bluntly, the interview is for our benefit. We choose you, not the other way, usually. Instead, show your interest in us, ask questions to show that you've done your research about the organisation, and wants to know more.