I was fortunate enough to be asked by one of my ICT colleagues to be part of a school activity. The aim of the activity was to give the students a feel of what it’s like to be interviewed for a job. During the activity, I realized that there were still a lot of things that the kids needed to learn.
Here are some points:
- Dress well
- It’s not enough to just put on a pair of slacks and a button-down polo shirt. Do not forget to iron your clothes. And for the love of chocolates, choose a color that is not irritating to the eyes.
- Smile
- It helps relax our jaws. If you don’t smile, you’d seem arrogant (or maybe you are?).
- Research
- Make sure that you know something about the company that you wish to be a part of. Do not answer “Because you’re hiring” when asked “Why choose our company”. It’s an application suicide.
- Know yourself
- Basic questions like “Why should we hire you”, “What are your strengths”, and etc are not as basic as you think. Don’t stick to answers such as “Because I am hard-working”. Sweetheart, you can say anything you want but how can you convince the interviewer that you’re telling the truth? You convince them by telling a short story. Or let’s call it an “example”. Anyone can say that they are hard-working, that they have initiative, and etc but it won’t be enough.
- It’s NOT an interview
- It’s a conversation. Think of it that way. It will help you relax. And trust me, you need to relax. Make your interviewer laugh or smile. Let them relax as well. It’s not easy interviewing people. It’s exhausting. So it’s a breath of fresh air when we interview someone who is pleasant to talk with. Notice the word that I used? I used “with”. It’s a two-way conversation.
- Email address
- If you’ve been using cutiepie@xxxxxx.com for the past 4 years, continue doing so. But when you apply for a job, make a new one. Use your name. It’s not cute anymore when you’re already applying for a job. I would suggest this format: firstnamelastname@emailprovider.com or you may use firstname.lastname@emailprovider.com (if the <.> is allowed). If it’s already taken, then put numbers at the end. You can use your year of birth or your birthday. But don’t use 666 or 69. You get my drift (I hope).
***I still have tons to share but I think this will do for now. I will update this as soon as I can fix my thoughts.***
Happy job hunting!
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