Tuesday 22 February 2005

The Interviews

Yesterday, I conducted interviews for two positions for our new joint-venture project. The other interviewers on the panel were K-san and N-san, who are representatives of our JV partners. The real interview questions were actually asked by both gentlemen. I was there merely to assist them and sometimes become some sort of a translator when either they or the candidates couldn’t understand the conversation. So my questions to the interviewees were only mundane ones like asking them to explain their background and working experience.

K-san, the JV company’s CEO, asked most of the questions. Shortly into the interviews, I started to discern the type of questions that he asked all the candidates. Most were standard interview questions, like technical knowledge of the job, reasons for applying for the job, the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses, and so forth.

The positions we interviewed yesterday were Parts Manager and Secretary. The Parts Manager candidates managed to give some sort of answers on the technical questions, but not many were satisfactory. The candidates had a tendency to focus on only a particular area of the job instead of showing understanding of the entire job scope. And almost all prefer to talk about what they’re already doing in their existing job when asked of their opinion on how things should be done. In my view, the candidates should be willing to share what they really think instead of what their management ask them to do. Afterall, the objective of the interview is to select candidates, not their companies.

Some of the candidates for the Secretary’s post could not explain about their job responsibility beyond ‘the normal secretarial duties’. I think it’s safe not to assume that the interviewers already know about what you do and when asked about your job responsibilities, you should explain clearly. It shows your understanding of the job and your ability to communicate.

When asked about their strengths, most candidates for both positions stated that they were fast learners. However, when asked to elaborate further, many faltered. And then there’s the little things which I found a little bit ‘disturbing’. The first candidate was ushered into the room when the CEO and I were having a little conversation. He stood in front of us and started drinking from a cup that was reserved for another interviewer. I don’t know what the two -sans think about this, but to me it’s a no-no to drink in an interview before you’re invited to do so, and especially not from the interviewer’s cup! Then during the interview, he folded his arms across his chest and parked them on the table. I don’t know what he was trying to achieve, perhaps trying to show that he has great confidence?

As for another candidate, when asked about why he wanted to get into parts business without any prior experience or education in that field, he gave a vague answer that goes along the line of ‘I want to try to do parts operation’. The CEO asked again why, and he gave similar answers until the CEO finally gave up.

One candidate walked in with red eyes. I don’t think we made him wait that long, but then perhaps he didn’t get much sleep the previous night, I don’t know.

One candidate tried to talk with American accent, but didn’t quite manage to pull it off. She also shook her head left and right and shoulders up and down when she spoke. When asked whether she could draft letters in English, her answer was “Of course, we deal with Australian clients” while moving her shoulders. And then when asked whether she was willing to work part time, her answer was “Of course, if I get paid for it”. I don’t know what kind of image she was trying to portray, but all she ended up doing was to show that she has some attitude. After the interview, the CEO told me that he couldn’t understand her English. So much for trying a fake accent!

Some other candidates were shy. A girl giggled almost after every sentence she spoke. Another girl let her eyes roam all over the room while thinking of an answer to the interview questions. Yet another girl kept looking at me, as if asking me to help her answer the questions asked by the two Japanese. One candidate, when asked what her weaknesses were, said ‘no idea’, without any conviction.

One candidate put in his resume that he is ambitious. When asked about this, he could not explain what he meant or what his goals/ambitions are.

Two candidates asked the CEO, “are you Japanese?”

We also had some very good candidates. They showed good understanding of the job requirements, articulated themselves well and were tactful. When they didn’t know about certain things, they admitted truthfully that they didn’t know instead of falling into the trap of saying that they knew, but later on failed to elaborate further, as what happened with some other candidates.

All the candidates called for the interview have the qualification and the experience. What set some apart from the others are their attitude and how they express themselves. For an employer, they don’t just look for someone smart and capable, but they also what someone who is pleasant to work with and can get along with his/her team.

At the end of the day, my opinion of the candidates don’t matter because I didn’t evaluate them, but it was disappointing when some failed to even answer the basic questions.

3 comments:

aida said...

But as for me, when I spoke truthfully like "I do not know the answer", the interviewers didn't like my answer.

Maybe because of the part that I usually speak very frank in an interview.

Ummu Auni said...

thanks mak su for the tips. at least i can print this out and show it to my hubby, so that he knows what actually the interviewers want.

i've always answered with frank honesty - i don't know :)

p/s : have you tried on your modified template? mcm tgk tak berapa jadi jer

Yasmin's Mummy said...

aida: of course interviewers prefer that you have all the answers. But when you don't, it's better to be honest about it.
mardhiah12: belum try modify template lagi. tak sempat.