31/07/2019
Yesterday I had an opportunity to conduct few interviews in a well-known university of Islamabad to hire candidates for my friend's organization. We did total of 18 interviews. It was an interesting experience and I was stunned to observe following in majority of interviews.
1- CV's had typo and basic formatting mistakes.
2- Headings were not visible due to substandard printing quality. Not a single CV was printed on high quality paper.
3- Majority of them didn't read the requirements of internship and had no idea what they were applying for. (Emails were sent to them a day before from the university)
4- Personal grooming: Student who had worn tie didn't knot it properly and the button was untucked. Un-ironed clothes. Unkempt hair. Sandals. (Majority of them)
5- We deliberately asked the easiest questions: Like 1- Tell us about yourself 2- Your strengths 3- Your aspiration to work and future goals..
Majority of them didn't know how to respond these "highly unexpected" questions. A couple of students started smiling and said "Kia bataien sir? Mera naam _____ hai or yahan se bba/bsc kar rahe hain." Many of them couldn't speak for more than 5 seconds on this 1st question. Students went silent when asked about their strengths. They said sorry when asked "How can you practically assist our organization."
6- Out of 18 students only one could tell us what he wanted to do in future. Others answered "settle hona chahte hain", "Koi bhi job miljaie. Finance mein ya Marketing mein kuch bhi karlienge."
7- When we asked "Do you have any questions for us" 15 out of 18 said No. Thank you. (Its important that you must ask some relevant quality questions if given the opportunity)
8- Few students kept trying to speak incorrect English even when we were talking in Urdu. English doesn't matter but flawed language can ruin your credibility.
Despite all this, there were few students who were really good. We shortlisted four individuals. They expressed with clarity. Showed commitment by displaying genuine interest in work and emphasized how they could add value in our organization.
My suggestions for job hunters:
1- Know about yourself (Your interests, strengths, skills, passions, values etc)
2- Know about the organization where you are applying for (What do they want to achieve)
3- Show how can you be valuable to organization in achieving their goals/tasks with your capabilities.
4- Rehearse common answers to questions so that you don't become too nervous during interview.
Based on this experience, I feel winning interviews are easy if you just do little homework because a majority would appear without preparation.
via Muhammad Usman Gulzari
