How to Pass a Job Interview

By Rasheed Yusuf

PURPOSE OF JOB INTERVIEW

The first step to winning in a job is to be cleared as to the purpose of the interview. The job interview is not a battlefront where one opponent is contesting to triumph over the other. It is a two way process involving you and the interviewer, whose main purpose is to find out the most suitable applicant, who meets requirements of the position being interviewed and who can add value exceptionally when compared to other applicants.

On the other side, for applicant, it is an opportunity not only to demonstrate your abilities, skills and qualifications that makes you a strong and possibly the most suitable candidate for that position, but also to find out more about the organisation, from deep interest in working;if they really fit into your career goals. This is usually achieved when given an opportunity to ask questions at the concluding session of the interview.

Having understood central concept of job interviews, it is necessary to know also, the various methods employed by recruiters in interviewing job applicants.

METHODS OF INTERVIEWING BY RECRUITERS

Employment or selection interviews are classified primarily according to the methods or approaches that are used to obtain information and to elicit attitudes and feeling from an applicant. These methods differ from one another in various ways.

The most important difference is with respect to the amount of control or structure that is exercised by the interviewer as a particular method is used. In the highly structured interview the interviewer determines the course that interview will follow as each question is asked, where as in the less structured interview the applicant plays a lager role in determining the way in which the discussion will go.

FOUR INTERVIEW METHODS.

1. Non-directive Interview.
2. Depth Interview.
3. Patterned Interview.
4. Special Interview methods.

Non-directive Interview: In this method the interviewer carefully refrains from influencing the applicants remarks. You will be allowed the maximum amount of freedom in determining the course of the discussion. This is achieved by the interviewer asking broad and general questions such as "Tell me more about your experiences in your last job" and by permitting the applicant to talk freely with minimum interruption. Generally, the non-directive method is characterised by such interviewer behaviour such as; listening carefully, not arguing, using question sparingly and not interrupting or changing the subject abruptly or suddenly.

Depth Interview: The depth interview goes a step beyond the non-directive interview by providing additional structure in the form of questions that cover different areas of your life that are related to the job. You will be expected to answer each question in depth enough so as to permit the interviewer to obtain sufficient information to make an evaluation. Example of such question:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What would you tell me about your work history;how you got the jobs, the kind of work you did and your reason for leaving.