interviewers with such a serious composure intimidated candidates while derailing them from providing the expected answers ." One of the interviewer ' s tasks is to make a candidate feel at ease in preparing to answer questions .
Before I would forget , I told my friends : " Asking personal questions can make candidates uncomfortable especially when the questions are not relevant to the position being applied for ." A job interview session was not the best forum for asking an interviewee personal questions .
As we ordered another round of our favorite drinks , Angela said : " Unless the interviewers had a good reason , it was not appropriate to ask a question on a controversial issue whose answer would later on haunt the candidate . For instance , whether or not a candidate supported capital sentence for offenders who were found guilty of murder ." Questions whose answers would provide a candidate ' s personal view on a contentious matter may not be crucial for assessing the suitability of a candidate for particular positions .
Role Of Interviewees
Shifting the discussion to the role of interviewees , I said : " Some interviewees showcased their great knowledge and skills in judicial matters . Others went overboard to provide unnecessary information which was not relevant to the questions asked ."
Candidates increase their chances of scoring high interview marks by not digressing from the questions asked . It is impressive for a candidate to show their wealth of knowledge , but it would work against him or her if it is not related to the asked question . The same would apply to a candidate who blows his or her trumpet on working experiences which are not relevant to the role of the position in question .
Daudi supported my view by saying : " For the Chief Justice position , interviewers expected candidates to demonstrate possession of competency in leadership and management ." The focus was not on the ability to represent clients in court or having published legalistic technical papers in renowned international journals .
Angela added : " It is a pity in the corporate world to pluck an employee from a supervisory position and offer them a CEO ' s job . Such a promotion would
There was unintentional leakage of interview questions . Interviewers asked the same questions to all candidates . I think this interviewing approach disadvantaged the first three candidates . Assuming that the yet to be interviewed candidates were watching the interviews , they out-rightly obtained a leakage of the questions .
cause untold managerial tribulations ." To graduate into the position of CEO , potential managers require progressive experience in leadership and management at senior level .
After some reflection as the others were sipping their drinks , I said : " A candidate who did not have an answer to a question made matters worse by loudly guessing one . Such a candidate was not aware that his or her body language betrayed them ." When a candidate does not have a ready answer , it is advisable that he or she avoids giving a long winded explanation that amounts to nothing .
Angela added : " A candidate who was not thoroughly prepared for an interview is likely to fumble about searching for answers which they do not possess ." Candidates need to leave no stone unturned in the quest for preparing for a job interview .
Sharing stories of candidates in other interviews , Daudi faulted those who loudly repeated the interviewer ' s question before answering it . This paraphrasing of the interviewer ' s question is not necessary . It is a waste of time that would be best spent by the interviewee in formulating an appropriate response to the fielded question . He added : " Some candidates go ahead repeating the question as if they are posing it to the interviewer . A good candidate should focus on answering the asked question ."
Looking at time on her smartphone , Angela said : " Time is rushing but I want to comment on candidates who waste time writing out the asked questions . Time spent on this exercise would be better used in jotting down the key words to be used in answering the questions ." Candidates who jot down a lot of notes also miss out on making eye contact with the interviewer . Eye contact is useful in facilitating the interactions between the interviewee and the interviewer .
Daudi readily added : " A candidate needs to maintain eye contact with the interviewer instead of wondering their eyes over all the interview panel members ." Looking at other members is a distraction from the candidate ' s focus on responding to the asked question .
Before closing the interview session , the person chairing normally asks the candidate in case he or she has any question for the panel . Although this is a polite way of informing the candidate that the interview is over , some candidates go on to usurp the role of an interviewer . They ask the panel irrelevant questions such as : How have I performed compared to others ?
Uncalled for questions at this stage would leave the interviewers with a poor impression of the candidate . It could even jeopardize an interviewee ' s chances of getting the job . At this stage , informed candidates do not ask any questions except thanking the panel .
Closing the discussion , I said : " Candidates may leave the interview session feeling that they performed well or poorly but the final decision is left to the panel which evaluates many factors before picking on the best candidate ."
As clouds were blackening and rains approaching from the Ngong Hills , we hurriedly left the meeting venue .
Samson Osero is an Independent Human Resource Development Consultant and Author of the book ‘ Transition Into Retirement ’. You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : Samsonosero @ gmail . com .