We all like to feel welcome
when we are doing a job interview, right? Who disagree that a big smile on the
interviewer´s face, a friendly tone of voice and a nice behavior helps to make us
feel comfortable since the very begging? However, because the Recruiters are
humans, it does not always happen.
I have been in the candidate
position many times in my life, in different countries, having different
Recruiters in front of me, and I know exactly how it feels to be there. Even if
you are very good at what you do and you are an expert in interviews, there is
always a bit of stress involved in this process. You know that the other person
is evaluating you and needs to make a decision that will affect your life.
What you might not know yet is
that the interview process affects the Recruiter´s life too. Yes, you read it right:
the interview process also affects the person who is interviewing you.
Candidates normally don´t see
the interview situation from the Recruiter point of view, and that´s normal. The
candidate is already doing his part in keeping himself together and trying to
cause a positive impression, and that is
a lot! However, let me tell you one thing: the main goal the Recruiter have in
his job is to fill up an open position with the right person, in other words,
hire somebody for the job.
It doesn´t mean the Recruiter
should select the first candidate he sees (although sometimes it happens). But
believe me, the Recruiter wants to give you a job if possible, because that´s
his job, match the candidate with the position requirements, finish that, and
then go to another position, another candidate and start it all over again.
Doing interviews all daylong
can be tiring. Like in most of the jobs, Recruiters needs to try to keep the
same energy level, concentration, interest and professionally with the first
candidate early in the morning, and with the last one of the day.
The interviewer needs to be
friendly during the interview, even if he has a big headache or didn´t have
time to eat lunch because there was a delay in the previous interview. He should
treat you in a professional way even if he just left from a meeting with his
boss and the feedback he received was not good at all.
I guess I can imagine what you
are thinking right now: “Yes, I see that, it all sounds real and possible to
happen, but as a candidate, I don´t care. This is MY job interview, can´t this
Recruiter do at least MY interview in a nice way, and then release his stress in
some other candidate but me?”
Well… I wish I could say you
will never have to deal with a Recruiter with a long face, or not smiling at all
during the interview, or giving signs that he seems to be busy with something
else. However, that´s not the reality, sorry. There are bad Recruiters, that´s
a fact, and there are good and professional ones, but even those might have a
bad day… and you might be right in front of him in one of those days, to do
your interview!
There are no excuses for the
Recruiter´s inappropriate behavior, and this is not what I am trying to do here
at all. Respect the candidate´s time and availability to do the interview should
be the background for every single contact between candidate and Recruiter, it
doesn´t matter if the person is qualified for the position or not.
We can never guess the
sacrifices the candidate in front of us made to be there. Maybe the candidate
is taking a day off from work to be available for the interview. Maybe he paying
a cybercafé to have a good connection in case of a Skype interview. Maybe he
decided to buy a new suit to look good for the interview. Maybe he is coming
straight from a night shift without sleeping to do the interview. Maybe he was
not working, but he couldn´t sleep at all due to stress, thinking about the
interview. I have seen all those cases myself, and many others.
My point is: do not take it
personally if the Recruiter seems a bit impolite with you and does not treat
you the way you wish and deserve. This situation probably has nothing to do
with you personally, but with his “bad day”.
As I mentioned before, I know
it should not happen, but if it happens, it might increase your nerves during
your interview… So please, do yourself a favor and don´t assume the problem is
with you. Don´t take it personally.
We Recruiters are humans, just
like you. If we do not manage to deal with stress, bad days, work schedule and
pressure during your interview, I hope at least we will be able to manage that
later when making a fair decision about your process. In any case, you can´t
control the Recruiter´s behavior, so do your part, keep confident and let´s
hope you get a positive reply!
Do your best and go ahead!
As you know, English is not my
native language. I use it because I can reach more people and share my
experience with you. Feel free to visit my blog at julianarabbi.blogspot.com
and find more articles and videos.
Click here to watch the video on You Tube.
Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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