Updated: 26 January 2022

Seeing that there aren't any threads here that are dedicated to helping forumers prepare for an interview, I guess I should start the ball rolling.

Content
Preparing for an Interview
1) Copies of your resume
2) Copies of your degree, certificates, transcripts, reports, thesis
3) Original documents
4) Passport sized photo & Copies of your MyKad
5) Pen and notebook
6) Bag
What to wear:
What to prepare:
What to do while waiting:
What to do during the interview:
What to do: post interview:
Mistakes Made During the Interview:


Preparing for an Interview

When you receive that call:

So you just got a call from a company requesting you for an interview, what do you say then? Well here are a few tips you can use to help you. Firstly you can ask for the name of the person who called you. Then find out the time and date and place. Next you can ask who your interviewer will be and will it be a single one to one interview or will there be a group of people interviewing you. Next you can also find out more about the interviewing process.

In case you can't remember what position you applied for (you've just graduated and sent out like 50 applications), you can always ask more about the position you are going to be interviewing for. Sometimes the interview may not be for the position you are applying for. For example you might expect a different type of working environment when applying for a job called "Management Trainee" which in reality could be almost anything. It is good to find out beforehand so that you can properly prepare.

So here is a list of questions you should ask:
- Time and date of interview
- Location, if unsure ask for a map
- Name of interviewer (so that you can search them up on LinkedIn to learn more about them)
- Group or single individual
- More details about position you are interviewing for
- How is the interview process like? IQ Test?
- How many rounds of interviews required?
- If you are currently working and you would need time to obtain leave, tell the person that you may require a re-schedule.

What to bring:

1) Copies of your resume
Bring a few, because sometimes there might be more than one person interviewing you and you could distribute a copy of your resume to them right before the interview session. I have personally seen three interviewers sharing a copy of my resume and then trying to pass it around to another interviewer.

For more information on resume writing, click on this link.

2) Copies of your degree, certificates, transcripts, reports, thesis
Bring copies of your degree, certificates and academic transcripts. I would advice that you make a few copies of them and staple them together. Then it would be easy to give it to HR rather than you trying to sort it out in front of them.

Another option is to bring a copy of your thesis or report from your university days. Most employers may not be bothered with it but you never know. The best I have seen was someone who bound her report nicely with hard leather covers and had gold coloured letterings printed on it. It looked really professional.

If you are in the media and art line then a portfolio of your work would be more suitable. Maybe even video presentations.

3) Original documents
Do not forget to bring all original documents to allow the HR recruiter to verify the authenticity of your copies. Keep them in a clear folder for easy viewing. Try not to jumble them up together and put them in the same order as the copies you passed to HR. It shows a few organizational skills you might have and exhibit a little professionalism.

4) Passport-sized photo & Copies of your MyKad
Prepare a couple of passport size photos. You will most probably need to give the HR recruiter for your application. Since the proliferation of digital cameras it is quite easy to get passport-sized photos so please bring a few just in case. Sometimes they might require two. One for application and one for a company badge if you are selected.

Don't forget to prepare a few copies of your Photostatted MyKad in case the company requires it.

5) Pen and notebook
You would need a pen to fill out the application forms and also a notebook to take simple details or do simple calculations if you were asked IQ questions. Bring a couple of pens in case one runs out of ink.

6) Bag
With all the items mentioned above, you definitely need a bag to carry your stuff around especially if you do not have your own means of transportation. Believe it, it's not easy juggling 3 folders while being cramped up in the LRT at 7.30 am in the morning. Bring along a smart looking bag, nothing too fancy and nothing too rugged and out of place. It depends on the environment of the company you are applying to.

What to wear:

For an interview, an ironed out shirt and tie together with slacks and formal work shoes should do. If you are very particular, make sure that your belt matches your shoe colours. Refrain from wearing bright colour socks. Oversized clothes are not preferred especially pants. It's good to bring a comb to the interview because you never know when a strong gust of wind might just mess up your hair on the way to the interview. Also, try not to wear a jacket or coat as it may be too formal here in Malaysia. If you are attending one overseas, then it might be necessary.

Here are some tips I've taken from another thread:


Since I am a guy I would need some feedback in regards to women's clothes worn during the interview. I know for sure that smart looking work attire such as a business suit is well suited especially pants and a jacket. You should refrain from wearing those super short mini-skirts. You never know if the interviewer might be a guy or a girl

Ladies, remember not too much make-up. You are not auditioning for a play at the local kabuki theatre.



For Both Men and Women

Don't wear too much perfume or cologne or it might end up distracting the interviewers. Also, don't put on hand cream that is very oily before shaking their hands as well. Make sure that you wash your hands before attending the interview. Imagine that you are the interviewer, you shake the interviewee's hands and your hands get oily. The only thing I will be doing throughout the interview would be thinking that I should wash my hands or not touch anything such as my tie or shirt or blouse or dress.

Video Interviews:

You can always check with the recruiter or HR prior to the video interview to see what is the normal dress code to wear during an interview. In the past year, I have been wearing Polo Shirts and T-Shirts whilst I was working from home and I could see some candidates that I have interviewed wearing a full suit. Then again, when I attended interviews myself, I made sure to wear a long-sleeved shirt and sometimes a tie as well, depending on the role that I am interviewing for. There is no hard and fast rule for this, when in doubt, just be yourself and dress how you would normally dress for an in-person interview.


What to prepare:

Read up about the company before attending the interview. Find out as much as you can about it, its current financial situation, locations around the world, work culture, company aims and objectives, the company vision, values and more. A good way is to ask people who are currently working in them or another alternative is to use Google. Most companies might have a company website that provides all of that which is good. Try learning and remembering about the company's history, it helps to impress your interviewer that you took the time to learn about the company. Sometimes you can check the company's latest press release and bring it up as a conversation piece with the interviewer.

Usually, if you are applying for a technical position, then prepare yourself by reading up some of your past lecture notes and try to recall what you have learned in university. Of course, that would be almost impossible to remember everything so just study the ones that are related to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a position that is related to marketing, then reading up on your marketing notes would be the first priority.

Even if you are applying for a position that is not related to your field of study, there are plenty of libraries out there as well as the internet to learn as much as you can. It's better to be prepared than not to be at all. A good example would be engineering students who are applying for a management trainee position at a bank. You definitely didn't learn any banking skills during the lecture so do your research!

Most interviews would require you to give them a brief explanation about your past experiences in extracurricular activities and this is a great opportunity for you to shine with your previous involvement. Some of the very standard questions would be, "Explain a situation where you were in a tight spot" or "Explain a situation where you showed leadership skills". The answers to these questions should always be ready in your mind and giving out a detailed account of your experiences, it would greatly help you to show your leadership skills as well as give a good impression to the interview as you had prepared for this interview.

A good way to answer these types of questions is to first slowly map out the entire situation first and then identifying key incidences such as when you stood up and led the team in certain situations or when you took charge of part of the project or even contributed ideas of change.

Some interviewers would just ask the question and then let you answer them but I had experienced some who kept asking in detail about the situation. For example, I mentioned that I called a certain someone to discuss the project. The interviewer then asked me, "How was the guy's reaction when you called him?", "Did you think that he had confidence in your judgment?" and "How long did the conversation last?". It was that detailed. So don't try and bullshit your way through it.

Be honest and always tell the truth, interviewers will know when you are trying to bullshit your way into the job. It is ok if your situation is not as spectacular as how you would imagine it would be, sometimes it is just about how you present yourself or how well you can communicate it to your interviewer is what counts.

Lastly, find out simple things like who is your interviewer, what position does he/she holds, how many interviewers will there be, how many stages would you have to go through in order to obtain the position and ask. Do not be afraid to ask.

Researching Interview Styles

Also, do you know that you can find people explaining out how some companies run their interviews? Whilst it is always different between interviewers, it would be good for you to learn about them.
- Interviewing with McKinsey, Management Consulting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGzYzq3Wsos...insey%26Company
- Interviewing with PwC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxhpjBT_ymo...nnel=CareerVidz
- Preparing for your interview with Google - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIMR82oO2Dc...=GoogleStudents
- Interview with Maybank - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmQz_Xaudos&ab_channel=srbmy

Again, it isn't or necessarily 100% accurate but it gives you a bit of a flavour of their styles

Researching Interview Questions

Here is Glassdoor's Interview Cheat Sheet:
https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/common-interview-questions/



Video Interviews - Technical Preparation

Video interviews are the norm these days, so practice as much as you can speaking in front of a camera and remember although you might be looking at the monitor, once in a while remember to look into the webcam to get a bit of eye contact. It is also good especially in situations where I was using an external monitor and the DSLR was used as a webcam, I told the interviewer upfront that I was using a monitor and hence you would see me not looking at the camera.

Make sure that your internet connection is stable, don't worry, most interviewers won't penalise you for having a shitty connection. But remember, when you do set up your space to take the interview call, make sure that there are no echoes and there is enough lighting. Usually placing yourself close to the window does help with the lighting.

Here are some great tips online in order to up your game, it doesn't have to cost a lot especially when it comes to lighting (I use a cheap RM20 right light I purchased).
https://time.com/5861183/video-calling-tips/

Audio is important as well, remember that you are going to be speaking in an interview and not acting. So it is of great importance that your voice is clear. Use a headset or a pair of earphones with a mic (like the ones that come with your phone). These do a much better job than some built-in mics.

What to do while waiting:

Arriving around 15minutes earlier should be enough time for you to settle down and relax a little. Some HR recruiters will then ask you to fill out some application forms or even provide you with some questionnaires or tests. Another time the interviewer might be late because he/she could be caught up with some important work.

How you spend your time right now is crucial before the interview. The first thing you can do right now is to calm your mind and relax. A calm mind allows you for quick thinking and answering. Another thing is to be as observant as you can. Look around to see if there are any company posters or posters that try to encourage people. These posters, believe it or not, can help give you that extra edge in the interview.

For example, I sit in the HR waiting room waiting for my interviewer to arrive. I see posters such as "Company Motto: To strive for excellence" or "There is no I in Team" or even the company vision or tag-lines such as "Excellence, Performance, Efficiency" and more. Instead of just looking at them, I can use them in my interview. I could tell my interviewer that I work hard and strive to excel in anything I undertake. Also, I could say that teamwork is extremely important and that it brings out high performance and efficiency.

Another thing you can do is try to evaluate the working environment and observe as much as you can. Another example is that I noticed one company was using VoIP phones and I started a conversation with the interviewer about that after the interview session and we had a few good laughs and thoughts regarding the technology and all.

While waiting for the interviewer to arrive or if you are waiting in the hall or at the reception, take this time to go to the toilet to relieve yourself as well as check your outward appearance. You can also practice your smile while checking your teeth to see if there are any unwanted stains or food leftovers lingering about those gaps. Take a breath check as well, it is good to have some gum or mint candy handy, especially before interviews.

This is also a good time for you to turn off your mobile phone.

What to do during the interview:

During the interview, you should always remember to shake your interviewer's hand when entering and always have a smile on your face. Creating a pleasant outlook for you is important. If there is more than one interviewer, take the time to shake hands with each of them and introduce yourself to them. Always give a firm handshake as it shows that you are confident and secure. A weak handshake can be misconstrued as someone who lacks confidence in themselves or is indecisive. Then again, don't break their hands while shaking it.

Do not sit down until the interviewers tell you so or ask them politely whether if you could take a seat. Most probably the interviewers will ask you to have a seat upon entering the room.

Always keep eye contact, sit up straight and be attentive. Eye contact is very important and for those of you who cannot talk to a person and look them straight in the eye, you better start practising. Make eye contact, not stares.

It is also important to switch between the interviewers (>1 interviewers) so that none will feel offended. When making eye contact, try to focus on one eye, switching between eyes of that same person gives a nervous impression. If you are the type that is afraid to look someone in the eyes, you can always look at the areas near the eyes, such as the nose. Practice with friends before the interview.

On the handshaking part, give a firm and powerful grip. However, on some occasions, initiating a handshake with a future employer might be bad by giving an aggressive impression.



When answering questions, answer in a clear and easily understandable manner. Try not to beat around the bush, get to the point straight. For example, you can take about 2-3 minutes describing a certain scenario, once explaining the key points you can always ask, "would you like to hear more?" or "Did I give you enough detail?". Good interview sessions are all about giving and taking. It's never easy to just constantly talk about yourself all the time while the interviewer is busy doing something else. Asking questions will draw the interviewer out to speak a little which is good.

It's good to ask questions, ask about the company, ask about the interviewer and how his view of the company is, ask about the job position, ask about the work environment, just ask. It shows that you are very curious about the company and that you have the initiative to ask questions. Most employers would prefer employees that ask a lot of questions and are not the type that just sits down quietly being dumb.

When taking the time to think about an answer, try not to just keep quiet and still. Instead, portray an appearance that shows you are thinking and trying to remember. Observe how your interviewer carries himself/herself and try to pick up a few good points from it.

Think of the interview as if it were your first date. Sometimes it is human nature to defend ourselves and during interviews, when bombarded with "killer" questions, we might come up and be all defensive about ourselves which could cost you the job itself. On your first date, you would never want to offend your date, would you? Instead, you are trying to sell yourself, about how good you can be in a relationship. This works the same for an interview.

Remember, be natural. When you perform unnaturally, it gives the interviewer a feeling that you're nervous and not confident.

In the case where you have more than one interviewer, make sure you direct your comments to all of them. You never know who's the one who actually makes the hiring decision. So treat them all as equally important even though they may be the ones sitting quietly but observing you. There are instances where technical people will always ask the questions while HR might just sit quietly behind observing you.

Do not be a know-it-all during the interview. Learn when to quit bragging or talking too much. Take time to listen to the interview/s as well. If your skills are really good, what you share (those with true and proper substance) will be able to help you do the job in impressing the interviewer.

What to do: post interview:
After some comments by people and my friend who works in the HR line, it is good to leave a thank you message either by email or maybe a simple message to your interviewer. Its the same as a smile, a simple gesture could really make someone's day and wouldn't you want your interviewer to be happy when evaluating your application?

Mistakes Made During the Interview:
1. This happened during my interview with a semiconductor company based outside of KL. They asked if I applied to other companies based in KL and they asked if I were offered a job in KL would I take it. Being my first interview and being naive and honest, I said yes. Thanks to that I didn't get the job.

2. Some interviews are in a few stages, 2-3 interviews. I didn't really give a good answer during my first interview but although I managed to get a second one, I answered the 2nd interviewer differently to the same generic question (Why this particular company?). I didn't get the job and I have a big feeling its due to the fact that my answers were not consistent.

Here is an interesting quote I saw online as well and thought that I would share it here.


Some sample questions which you can ask the interviewer:








Article Contributors:
- DeathWing
- hans.excel
- SincerePrayer
- =--ChoonG->>
- samurai1337
- spanker
- yingchai
- ycinator

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changelog:
- After 14 years I am back with some changes in the new times - video interviews
- Added in new details for what you need to do in an interview (24/07/07)
- Added in new section for what do to when you receive the call for an interview (09/06/06)
- Added in more info for the "What to wear:" section (15/05/06)
- Added in more info for the "What to do during the interview:" section (27/02/06)
- Added in more info for the "What to do while waiting:" section (24/01/06)
- Added in more info for the "What to do during the interview:" section (24/01/06)
- Changed the grammatical errors made previously (24/01/06)
- Added in a new section, "Mistakes Made during the Interview:" (19/01/06)
- Added in a little more information on most sections.
- Added in more info for the "What to prepare:" section (30/12/05)
- Added in more info for the "What to do during the interview:" section (30/12/05)
- Added in more info for the "What to do during the interview:" section (29/12/05)
- Thread started (28/12/05)

This post has been edited by Mavik: Jan 26 2022, 09:59 AM

Nice piece of writing dude.

Thread is pinned, because Geminist and I don't want to merge with the existing interview thread, and let this good bunch of info get lost in it.

Nice infos. Thanks dude.
Something to add.

On the eye contact thingy, make eye contacts not stares. It is also important to switch between the interviewers (>1 interviewers) so that none will feel offended. When making eye contact, try to focus on one eye, switching between eyes of that same person gives a nervous impression.

On the hand shaking part, gives firm and powerful grip. However on some occasions, initiating a hand shake with a future employer might be bad by giving an aggressive impression.

good write up!!!

can we have a demo? kekeke

Mavik, you're seems very experienced in all these.

Are you from HR department?

Stitchy� w/o stitches

Thanks a lot LaR_c and Geminist Really appreciate all this. With all the news about unemployment here in Malaysia, I do hope that this article will help people be prepared for interviews and help them to get the jobs that they so desire.


Haha no, I if your birthdate is 1983, then I am only a year older than you. Been only working for over a year now. I just wanted to share the experiences I went through when I was attending interviews. Its never easy especially once you graduate and then come out fresh. Recently I just went for an interview and I gained a lot of experience from that. Will be starting my new job soon



Thanks for the contribution. I will most definitely add that in as well.

Sure thing, how would you like the demo to be? I wouldn't mind help you all.

This post has been edited by Mavik: Dec 29 2005, 08:45 AM

By the way, another good way of making eye contact is to look at the interviewers nose. If you are the scared type, it is good to try it during an interview

Thread cleaned ... Please refrain from casual chats here in this topic as LaR_c and I hopes that this thread will help out more people searching for jobs ... Thank you

This post has been edited by Geminist: Dec 29 2005, 09:31 PM

Sorry about that

Just updated the article. Added in more information.

Hi,


I would like to add-on to the missing part of this article. The missing part is "post interview".

It would be nice to send some follow up email to them and show your appreciations. This will let the interviewer refresh and reinforce the impression on you. Just a short and simple email will do the trick.

You are not encouraged to write 5000 words of email.


Happy 2006

Thanks SincerePrayer,

I've added in your part into the article. Besides email, are there any ways anyone can suggest? An SMS maybe or a voice message?

^How am I supposed to get the contact of the interviews; i.e. email address, handphone number and etc.?

Stitchy� w/o stitches

Usually you can ask the HR recruiter for your interviewer contacts.

Oh oh Mavik... I would like to add one more thing that might be needed in an interview... A photostate copy of IC...

Usually, most of the interviews do not require them. But for bigger companies, sometimes, they will ask for it... So just stack it up together with the photostated certificates... Even if they do not ask for it, it shows you care and honest to get the job... Just some impression thingy

im so nervous right now..
i'm going to a interview this wed,
actually is today( now), the employer juz call me and ask can i go right away? and i say no. cz i din prepare anything of them. maybe it wil left bad impreesion to them?
err...
so want i gonna do for my 1st ever interview?
im juz finished my spm,
how if im bad in english?
im scare that i cant answer the qz well wif my pooor english...

Well, another important thing is being natural.
I'll just make appropriate preparation and answer whatever I know during the interview.

When you perform unnaturally, it gives the interviewer a feeling that you're nervous and not confident.

This post has been edited by samurai1337: Jan 10 2006, 10:33 PM

i failed my interview today..
they wanna hire a permanent worker but im finding a temporary job...
it's bad....

people should post mistakes that they made during interviews instead of what they should do/say for an interview. It's a whole lot more productive and less speculative.

wht's the diff between *walk in interview* and interview?

can someone explain to me ..

Thanks

@ DaMan

Walk-in-interviews are interviews that are organised at a place, say in a hotel, where the company will set up interview rooms or even halls to interview any interested candidates on the spot. Usually, the company will advertise their interview sessions in newspaper, jobstreet, job agency or any other advertising methods to inform all qualified and interested candidates the venue, time and date. Thus, they will interview any walk-in candidates on the spot. You can see the company Flextronics usually has walk-in-interview sessions advertised in The Star newspaper.

On the other hand, interview simply means a private interview session agreed by both parties (interviewer and interviewee) to meet up and carry out the interview session. It is not something like a walk-in-interview. It is a session that is agreed by both parties the date, time and venue. Example, Company X calls you up for an interview in their office.

This post has been edited by =--ChoonG->>: Jan 15 2006, 02:59 AM

There is a job fair in my college this Wed. We were asked to prepare CV, but since I'm not certain what jobs are available in the job fair, how do I write the cover letter? Is it just send in resume will do?

I will receive my degree cert in May 2006. Therefore I have only dip cert, course completion letter and some yada yada certs. Should I attach them with my resume?

How many copies of CV should I prepare?...We were told there will be 20+ companies take part.

Normally you can get a list of the companies which will be participating in the job fair from the college admins (this works for me ...)

You could attach your results slip for your degree course ... However, for my CV, I'll just specify the grade of my current degree ...

If you could get hold of the companies which will be participating, then you will know how many copies of CVs you will be needing ... If not, try and make it like 10 copies or so as I believe it'll be impossible for you to submit all of your CVs ...

Well, the main thing is to try and ask for more information regarding the job fair now as after having more information, you'll know what to do

Thanks for the input. Results not out yet . I think I will ask this favor from admin tomorrow

Erm..what about cover letter?

I'm not sure about the cover letter part as I never really got any replies from handing in CV in job fair ... (And from my experience, non of them asked me for a cover letter) ...

Personally, I believe cover letter should be more specific and directed to a specific company instead of a general one ...

About the results I was saying, you're in your final year right now, am I right? You can always keep a few copies of your previous year results in case someone asked for it ...

there are many books out there that teach you how to write a good cover letter. the best thing for you is to have at least 6 to 7 books and just copy and paste the sentences in the examples that suits you. remember, it is the personality that counts, so don't worry about copying other people's words to express yourself

You are totally right about that.

I added in the new section to the article already

remember to do smile training. stand in front of a mirror and smile until it is perfected!!

juz wanna add on a little bit...

before interview, go to the toilet...
look at the mirror and take a deep breath...
smile at the mirror to see whether there is any food stucked in between your teeth after taking your meals...the first impression is really important

when you enter the interview room, u will notice there will be several interviewer sitting there...
introduce yourself to them one by one...make sure you shakehands to each of them..."hi, i am bla bla bla"...then, proceed to the next interviewer...this is just to make them to remember you more...

after that, don't just simply sit on the chair until they told you to do so...
if they still didn't say anything, ask them nicely..."may i have a seat please?"

just from my past experience...

Thanks yingchai, I've added in your recommendations already

Nowdaays is it a good idea to cross out the copies? If so, how should one do it without "spoiling" the copy?

Sorry, cross out? What do you mean by crossing out the copy? Do you mean actually literally crossing it with a pen?

just cross at the top right corner. write "for application only" across it. actually, it should be done for any type of application. credit card, bonus link etc. not good to let people take copy of your mycard

I was told we should cross it, similar to how we cross cheques to prevent the Mykad copy being used for fraud/id theft. Thing is, i've never seen one of these crossed copies so i'm not sure how to do it properly.

should cross out both front and back too.

Just using a ball-point pen is sufficient?

yeap, the best is black ball pen.

Got it. Thx to all who replied

It must be crossed out now to prevent from illegal usage.

Stitchy� w/o stitches

talking bout mycard copy, has anyone noticed that there's a "salinan" word everytime you copy the back portion of the mycard.

Copy? Photostat you meant?

Stitchy�

Crossing it out will not prevent illegal use. A little white-out/photocopy or scan/photoshopping can remove your cross out in minute.

how is ur feeling when ur invited to an interview ?

i've just been to one interview today and it suckz .... i talked damn shaky and keep say wrong word ....
anyway this is my 1st interview

need to hear u guy opinion whether is it normal or not haha

Moderator: Thread merged with existing pinned thread "Interview".

This post has been edited by LaR_c: Feb 9 2006, 02:59 AM

I guess it is normal to be nervous for 1st few interviews. After that, you'll be fine. As for me, I'll get nervous when they bombard me with tons of technical questions.

This post has been edited by goliath: Feb 8 2006, 09:52 PM

Haha .. dont need to be nervous, as the interviewers are just a normal human beings.. Stay calm and answer their questions will do.

Been there, done that. Self confidence is the key

Yaya, but, if u oledi face serial of interview, tats will be a piece of cake meh. One more thing for sure, if u oledi normalized urself wit public speaking, well, tat wouldnt be a matter.

Some may be nice and some may be nasty, whatever the case is, remain composed, don't talk your way out aka bullshit unless you have strong justifications for backing up your answers or ideas. All these come with practice and anticipating for possible questions during the session.

Nervous is for sure. It's a matter on how you could control and overcome your nervousness during the session. Be confident on yourself and what you speak out ...

Stitchy�

This post has been edited by David83: Feb 8 2006, 11:42 PM

lol .. that time i damn shaky on my word and talk until he also blur @.@
then he ask me dun be nervous , and he re-ask me the question haha
then after that he say finish liao he will contact me later

i will only be nervous when the interviewer ask me something that i dunno..

The questions that you don't know the answer will lead you to chaos.

Stitchy�

It's normal when you are fresh and young and have no insight in the working world. Sometimes we feel intimidated by them because of their forceful tone and seniority, especially when we are still relatively junior.

But after spending some time in the working world, seeing all the faults that can happen in a company and attended some interviews, I now see the interviewer with different eyes. I have met with interviewers that gave wrong statement about certain technical theories and their arguments to counter yours are sometimes rediculous. The fact is they are still managers and can make a dead argument become alive, and we dare not to stand up to them.

And this depicts how powerful a manager's argument is.



In recent years, Scott Adams's Dilbert has replace Calvin and Hobbes as my personal favourite comics as it reflects modern corporate culture with cold humour.

But no offense to any managers around, as my current boss is really sharp and capable. Even my small items overlooked by myself can't escape her eyes.

during my first few interviews, i stumbled on these kind of questions as well. more often they asked beyond my understanding on certain matters and i simply do not have the required knowledge to answer. so i babbled thru those questions and most of the time.

but now, i believe that if u do not know, just indicate so. the harm by saying 'do not know' is lesser than pretending to know. do remember tho, then, maybe at the end of the interview, take the liberty to reiterate that question back to the interviewer to get his response. do not afraid to ask. there is nothing to lose, but you'll gain a valuable knowledge from the interviewers (it's free some more!)

try to treat each interview as a ground to gain more xp and knowledge rather than merely being interrogated.

Just my two cents, if you went for an interview and didn't get the job (no response), I believe you might want to inquire why you didn't get the job, stating reasons being self-improvement, and open to constructive critism. I believe that might shed new light on your weaknesses, as well as show that you are willing to self-improve.

agreed!

but some interviewers really dont care to feedback. reluctant to share. some even talk kok, telling general reasons why you (or the general population) failed to get that job. some really do care enuf to inform you. those are marvellous feedbacks!

but u may ask subtlely at the end of the 1st interview on how well u fare during the interview. tread carefully tho. if the interviewers do not wish to elaborate, stop there.

how is ur interview normally be wor ?
when i interview that time , there are 5 on 1 .
i mean 5 person interview me alone >__<
all staring me at once lol

Did you interview for a porn actor or something?

Kiddin, what interview was that about? I have never come across that personally before...

I have been through interviews where there were 2,3 or 4 interviewers. There was at least 1 HR person who usually doesn't talk much except asking a few basic questions. Usually for positions that require technical knowledge, there will be a few that ask different sort of technical questions.

I remember once I got bombarded by engineering technical questions for 3 straight hours with 3 interviewsers. Man was I totally tired from answering all the questions. In the end I said that I didn't want to work there because its too far (near Malacca) haha

Its good to ask for feedback especially after every interview. It shows that you might want to learn where your mistakes are and that you are open for criticism. This trait is quite sought after especially in consultancy firms where they like the candidates to ask a lot of questions and always ask for feedback.

LOL I remember my last interview I went, I asked super a lot of question and ended up spending 30minutes interviewing my interviewer instead

If you are curious, I got the job

good for u! that's y i believe interview is two-ways communication.

hahaha. i remembered an interview that i had long time ago for the job of programmer. the managress assigned two of her senior staff to interview me. the interview was quick. my q&a session was fun as we talked on gaming on comp n/w after workhour, our hobbies, talk kok and gossips on programming stuff.

btw, i decided not to take up that position afterall.

for those multiple interviewers situation, make sure you direct your comments to all of them. You never know who's the one who actually makes the hiring decision. So treat them all as equally important.

by the way, did anyone mentioned that u should go to the loo at least twice to make sure u r properly eased b4 an interview? sometimes an interview can take such a long time, and u r nervous as well. that only means = tahan till u can lo.

can also take the chance at the loo to straighten up the tie or tidy the hair in front of the mirror.

hey guyz,

I have a question regarding bout jobstreet. Do you guyz authenticate urself by sendindg them your photocopy IC?

the company I applied didnt view my cv at all since the last job I submitted in Jan...

y ar??

yes, you need to authenticate your resume with Jobstreet first. if not, it would not be made available for the employers to view. as for the resume you submitted, usually there are more than 300 applications for a single job. it would take an effort to view them all. what you can do now is just wait. somethings, after 3 months, the position is still vacant and they will view your resume by then.

If they are just authenticated my CV, would my previous applications make available to the employers?

YES. dun worry. i dun think u need to worry ur applications will be struck off once u had authenticated.

it's more on ur qualification that prompted their decision to ignore ur applications. so, dun worry. still cheerful!

hahaa, thanksss

cheers. going to jobstreet and jobsdb is like shooting in the dark, hopefully will kena soon enuf. till then g'luck and cheers!

do remember to enjoy life at the moment. once u into workforce, u'll beg to go back to school..

*****

This post has been edited by rubetrio: Dec 28 2008, 11:21 PM

maybe you can ask the CEO what is the direction of the company? what are their short term, medium term and long term plan.

ask what his roles are in the company. how he intend to move the company and what are his immediate plans?

You can always ask the CEO what can a new joiner to the company can do to help better improve the company in achieving it's goals and how you can help the company move forward.

Yes! I got the job. Thank you hans.excel, one.good.guy and Mavik. I did ask about the long term, short term goals, the direction of the company, how actually the company makes money from and more. It made me have a clearer understanding on the company. It lasted 1 hour, longer than my 1st interview. Finally I got it!

congratulations!

cheers dude! glad it work out well for u.

They always asked your previous job salary and i feel its a confidential thing and have nothing to do with them . Some is hiring base on previous job salary but i believe if they want the person more than that , they shouldnt be worrying about the previous job salary.

How to answer them back politely or else they think we keep a tight secret. in our resume, should we leave it blank on the previous job salary ? I only wrote the expected salary.

Guys,
Is it ok for me to ask "How is my interview performance?" during the Q&A session?

Well, IMHO, even tough you ask, they may choose to answer that. I asked before and they said "Wait for result".

Usually I always like to have feedback after every interview, most of them gave positive comments. I don't why you shouldn't ask the interview how did you do. Maybe you could state "off the record" or you would like some feedback.

if u r reluctant, then ask on what basis they need to know ur salary. if u r not convinced by their answer, then u may decline to answer. do add that u r doing that for, let say, to safeguard ur current/previous company confidentiality?

cheers!

There is a chance that they might just want to gauge the amount of pay you were receiving in your previous job and your expected salary. If the increase is a lot then they will definitely be suspicious.

There are incidences where I have encountered that when they asked for my previous salary they wanted to see how much of an increase would be necessary to hire me.

normally, an increase of around 20% is acceptable.

If you want to be sneaky, you can always lie. Your potential employer can't demand your salary slip or payment records. They can only ask you nicely.

You could be earning like 3k, told them you earn 3.5k and demand 4k. However, if the employer was only prepared to give 3.5k, you might actually not get the RM 500 increase because you wanted a 1k increase and you will be back at square 1.

Alternatively, you could just tell them you are getting 3k but you want 4k. Most likely you will not get the 4k offer. If they offered you 3.5k, you would most proabaly take it. Unless you are brave enough to say no, you won't take it and they are desperate enough in getting you at all cost.

I think 20% is a reasonable standard. Anything less than that is generally not a very good idea. So 20% X change job 5 times = at least double your current pay.

I guess when negotiating for salary, it all really boils down to your own qualifications that the company is willing to pay extra for. If you know the position is a very open type where the company has had hundreds of applicants applying for, it is not very wise as most companies would not offer you higher if another person is willing to accept lower.

hmm. this salary issue really cracked my up. seems no definite answer. i think it's like mavik says, u gotta understand the position u r in to determine if it's appropriate for u to answer or not.

if u asked for a large increment, just be prepared to justify ur case. cheers!

salary issue is always tough. candidate wants the highest in the range but the employer look for candidates that can accept lowest in the range. sigh...

and that's the reason why they want to know previous salary as they are not willing to compensate skills and knowledge fairly. they rather benchmark to previous salary in order to justify increment.

so, good luck with the salary-related questions!

hmm, im thinking of applying for a job in malaysia, is it really uncommon to wear a suit for the interview here?

Usually a formal suite with a tie but without a blazer is sufficient.

depends on what type of work, and the position level

Do u guys think tat like going interview for graphic designer or multimedia developer this few position need to wear formal??

It's better to do so. First impression is important.

yeah, better be
esp if its a big company

but a tie is not compulsary here
suit is a big no