My First Interview

I remember my first REAL interview like it was yesterday. Luckily i was interviewed by someone i worked with for 3 months before they made a decision to interview me for a permanent role. It wasn't easy, even though i worked with my then boss for those months as a temp. I was ready. Now, picture this, i studied at this company for 3 years, i was part of the "SRC" at some point in my life during my years there, i worked in their call Centre for 2 years prior to my interview, i was part of the residence committee for 2 of my years there. Now, talk about an over achiever who knew "EVERYTHING ABOUT THE COMPANY."

This did not stop me from doing my research though about the company. I spent the whole weekend reading about the company, just to make sure that if they asked me anything about what the company stands for, then i am able to sound like i know more than they know. To cut the long story short, they did not even ask me a single question about the company, NOT One. I was not frustrated though as i knew i was prepared. The one question that caught me of-guard was from the HR manager when he asked me, "Are you a foreigner, or do you consider yourself a foreigner?" Like, what the hell? Who asks such a question? How dare he? What is he trying to prove? Needless to say even with that strange question, i got the Job.

The Moral of the Story

Preparation/ Research

Do your research. Your first, second or however many interviews you do will always be a test of why you want that role or even that company. For example, as a recruiter, if i ask you why you want to come and work for Investec, i EXPECT the candidate to show that at least they know what the company does. Here is one of the answers i get from those candidates that never did their research, "All i know is that Investec is a Bank." That's it, nothing more, nothing less. Now, even though one could argue that Investec is a Bank, it still does not show that the person knows more about the organisation. So, do your research and remember, even if no one asks what you know about the Organisation, you have nothing to lose.

The Nerves

It is only normal that one one shakes in their boots. You know when someone asks, "Can i offer you anything to drink?" Well, you better take that bottle of water. Sipping water in between your question and answer sessions goes a long way in helping calm you down. 5 minutes before the interview, please go to the bathroom and do your "whoooosahs" in the bathroom. You do not want someone firing questions at you and all you can think about is that bathroom break.

Curve Ball Questions

"Are you a foreigner, or do you consider yourself to be a foreigner?" Or "How many coins does it take to reach the top of a 50 storey building?" These are questions do not always have the right or wrong answer. In most cases, the interviewer is trying to understand your thinking process, or rather, they are hoping you will show them how you got to the answer. This is the same as that Maths test in high school where you know the answer and out of 10 marks, you only get 1 mark because you did not show how you got to the answer. Think about this the same way, every answer is marked out of 10, so how are you going to get all the 10 marks?

Tell us about YOURSELF

Spending 20 minutes talking about the fact that you were born in some rural village of Xoxo will not get you your 10 points. Infact, we start negative marking after 5 minutes. Don't be that PERSON. Its a timed interview and in most cases, we should have covered all we need to know about you by the time we reach the 40 minutes mark. And remember, the best Interviews are conversational. Try by all means to have a conversation with your interviewer.

Do you have any Questions for US

Remember that research i spoke about? Well, this is where it really helps. Its is easier to ask questions about the culture if you know something about the organisation. I was so prepared in my first interview that i had tonnes of questions lined up for my then Manager. I would however caution that one does not ask questions for the sake of asking. This can be the downfall of even the most well prepared.

To be Continued...