Haha. Not many people is as professional. Usually, when I leave the interview room, I will offer to shake hand with the interviewer. Very often, they have a few seconds of blank mind, I guess. Like.. what is the hand for. Hahaha.

However, it makes a good impression if you manage to shake the interviewer's hand before the interview begins. Coz if you know the right way to shake hand (firm but not hard), it shows that you have quite a good confident level.

Funny that most Malaysian girls find it odd to shake a man's hand. What is wrong with that? They always just touch and that's it ... Come on la, the guy is not going to molest your hand unless he is a pervert.

Agree with JSM. Always do your homework before going for the interview and have a good idea on which position you are applying. Some people apply too many jobs that they forgot which position they have applied for. So when you are being called for interview, I personally believe it is alright to ask which position you have applied for.

Not sure if this will help but these things happened to me before :

I went for an interview at an established bank. Supposed to be admin that deals with overseas clients, so they need someone that can speak fluent english. Went for interview, everything went well. The interviewer was pretty impressed with me and assumed that I was a degree holder; which I am not. The moment I replied, "No, I am not a degree holder, sir", the interviewer was shocked. Hahaha.

The pay was RM 2,000 for that position (back in 2001). When he found out I was not a degree holder and merely have less than 1/2 year of working experience, he was dumbfolded for a while. Then he scratched his head and said that the most he can offer to me was RM 1,600 and said he will forward my resume to other departments that may want to take me in.

Personally, I was a bit upset coz I lost in terms of paper qualification. Since I had nothing to lose, I smiled and said "But I thought you are pretty impressed during the interview". He said "Yes, but the thing is, you do not have the paper qualification to justify the position and pay". Fine. I know that well but I told him this "Would you want a person that can get the job done or someone that has the paper qualification but could not perform? Think about it".

I thought I have just killed myself but to me since I have nothing to lose, might as well I speak up for myself. Surprisingly, I was being called by his superior (a lady) to attend a second interview. It clashed with my work and I called the gentleman that I could not make it. A week later, to my surprise, the first interviewer called and asked if I would like to join them and I asked "But I thought you told me that I was not qualified?". Guess what? He told me that I was more than qualified coz I was willing to speak up and his boss offered me the job without even a second interview at RM 2,000.

However, I did not leave coz was being promoted and offered a couple hundred of increment.

The lesson that I have learnt is, one should not be too inferior when you go for an interview. The interviewer is not going to eat you up. If you think you deserve the job, prove it to them. You have nothing to lose, the most is they will say "No". Good luck

This post has been edited by suanne: Jun 24 2005, 09:12 PM

Sometimes it is also being there at the right place and right time with the right skills

Agree with JSM. At least the interviewer commented that you can speak. Speaking too fast .. that person may not be able to listen to you properly.