Few months back, I started the ‘Candidate Tip Series’ on this blog with an intention to answer recruitment related questions from readers. The series was introduced in an attempt to avoid redundancy in replies. I tweet these tips on my twitter account too, and #candidatetip for the tips.
If you are a candidate, hope this helps. If not, you can help send this post to people searching for answers. I’ll continue to take questions and should you have one, you can send it to thehrstore@gmail.com
Looking for the earlier posts on candidate tips? You can read them here.
- Don't act surprised when you get a 'scheduled' call from an interviewer. You were asked for a good time to be reached. No?
- If you're sending your LinkedIn profile for a role, then take out your wedding picture on your profile! Doesn’t look professional.
- Please wait for the interviewer to finish the question. Else, u might miss out on answering the actual question in its entirety.
- It's critical for your new employer to know your start date. Don’t commit to a start date without thinking. Keep some buffer.
- Interview questions are NOT always about 'Yes/No'. Some are asked to understand your approach in getting to the solution.
- Use interviews to ask as many questions. Really. You don't get rejected for asking questions. If you do get rejected for that, you don’t want to work there.
- Show discretion when you want to disagree with an interviewer.
- It's ok to have an exploratory talk before you dive into interviews. But once you decide, stick to it. Reneges aren't liked!
- Ask for a 'job description' before you take up an interview. It'll give you some context to the role & future discussions.
- Keep in touch with your references. Sending them a mail one fine day doesn't work at all times. Result: Job offer's on hold!
- Don't be the one to end an interview. Let the interviewer end it. You can end it you aren't keen on the role. Saves time.
- Use the word 'expert' in your resume, with utmost discretion. Any 'expert' claim will get validated with more rigor.
- If you're talking to the hiring manager, ask for an email ID. Might be of help later (interview feedback, thank you note, etc)
