Comments on: Trial By Fire? No, A Bad Interview

By: vincianne.mifsud

vincianne.mifsud — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:25:07 +0000

Recently I had an interview to apply again for an interview. I am a a supply teacher within the civil service and now I had been working for two and a half years.The strange thing is that I filled the same application and did the same interview withholding the same requirements as two and a half years ago.
This time the new chairman told me during the interview that things has changed and the big deal is that it had changed in one second and that I was not going to be chosen.
Another officer a friend of the chairman told me yes that it had changed. A confrontation arose between me and the interviewers. I protested against this interview and I was granted this second interview and the company told me that it was biased.The new interview was promised to be going completely independent, but there was still the same officer, and so I did not pass this second interview?
Can this interview be illegal? Since long ago I passed the first time with the same requisites. I think these interviewers t are not enough qualified to do these jobs as because they were teachers and not true interviewers.Because the questions what do you wear after school because kids may see you? closed ended questions also were asked like what are core comptences how do you teach year 6 or year 5 and I had never taught in these classes, and the thing was they always wanted an immediate response. I was really stressed during these interviews, because I had to respond with very choiced answers.Do you agree with these questions?
Or they are a type of illegal questions to cut me out from the job? Another thing the chairman knew me and he never wanted me to have a career in teaching.

By: Yancey at You can learn basic employee rights

Yancey at You can learn basic employee rights — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:44:36 +0000

A serious mistake job seekers make is assuming the interviewer is competent or properly trained in how to conduct job interviews! The article points to specific complaints that I believe reveals a significant level of unqualified job interviewers. “Turning interview into a cross-examination”, “Appearing unprepared for the interview” are great examples of incompetence. In my experience as an employment mediator the complaints, “ “Asking questions unrelated to the job skills” and “Asking personal questions” have been the best examples of ill trained interviewers.

The one thing that has been consistent is the inconsistency of job interview questions. Job seekers should understand that the person doing the interview may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He or she may not have been adequately trained. Job interviewers routinely ask illegal or improper questions either out of ignorance or deliberately with the intent to discriminate against certain groups. That makes learning to give good job interview answers and asking good job interview questions so important. The questions asked at job interviews often hide what the job interviewer really wants or needs to know! One of the things in the job interview process for the applicant involves discovering what that is. As a job seeker, why am I being asked these interview questions?

For example, the interviewer asks, “Have you had challenges working in various cultural workplace settings?” From my experience, here is what the job interviewer is really asking. “Have you had trouble dealing with different racial groups?” When preparing for a job interview spend time investigating the business. You should learn about the company’s history and what it does for the industry. Review the company’s website and its about us page. I would be looking at how well it treated its employees with things like salaries, benefits and promotional opportunities. Ask the interviewer questions such as:

“What are the company’s goals?”
“Where does the company see itself in five, ten years?”
“Why is the company a good fit for you?”
“Why will the company be a good fit for me?”

Try to find out how well the company is doing financially. It would be to the job interviewee’s advantage to know if the company is going to be around for a while. You could do some research with the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. I would make inquiries with local, state and federal consumer advocacy groups for any complaints filed against the employer.

Is it on the verge of layoffs that could include the position applied for?
Is the business going to be sold in the near future?
Are their any bankruptcy issues?
Does the organization have a history of employment complaints on file with state and federal agencies?
Are there any employees that you know personally, who could give some insight into the “culture” of the organization and its management?

Interviewees are not just interviewing to get a job; they should interview the company and job to get them!

By: Eric Kramer

Eric Kramer — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:50:47 +0000

Ultimately the company is responsible for a good interview. However, the candidate can be more assertive by preparing for the interview and approaching the interview as a sales process. Good sales people don’t let disorganized and uninformed customers get in the way of doing a good sales job. It would also help if the company expected the candidate to come prepared to sell themselves and gave them the tools (good job description, time in the interview) to do so.
Even with passive candidates, at some point the passive candidate has to step up and show motivation and interest. They can do so by preparing to sell themselves well. If a passive candidate is not willing to make this effort are they really appropriate for the job?

By: My Global Career » Blog Archive » Job Seekers Will Walk Away

My Global Career » Blog Archive » Job Seekers Will Walk Away — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:48:47 +0000

[...] Would you say that these job seekers sound a bit brittle? If you’re called in for four or five or six interviews, aren’t you bound to dislike one or two of them? Unless you’re interviewing for a senior position, expect that one or two interviewers will go through the motions or be distracted by a pressing appointment. [...]