Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Do you have any further questions for me?


“Do you have any further questions for me?” 


There is a big chance you will hear the same thing from a Recruiter in your next job interview. I bet you have already heard it before, but it could come up again another time.


If you know already that you might face this question in an interview, there are no excuses to be surprised about it anymore. There is no apology to do not know what to reply when the time arrives. Certainly I can´t predict that you will for sure be asked a similar question, but in any case, why not taking advantage of the situation and think about it before your interview starts?



I personally ask this question in almost 100% of my interviews. I worked with other Recruiters that didn´t find this question that relevant, but I notice that most of the interviewers will consider giving you, candidate, the chance to come up with some questions, most likely at the last part of the interview.



You could wait for the Recruiter to ask you directly “Do you have any further questions for me?” (or the same question, but using different words) , or you can also create this situation, if it does not happen. How can you do that? Well, when you notice that the interview is coming to the very end, inquire politely if you can ask a couple of questions about the company and the job, in order to clarify details that you consider important.



Pay attention to it: a “couple” of questions; three or four maximum. Don´t go for ten questions at this part of the interview. I had candidates who asked me so many things when I guided the conversation to final questions that we spent almost as long as the whole interview duration clarifying his “further questions”. Two or three things to ask should be enough in this case.



I like to think about the interview process as a two-way street. The Recruiter will be evaluating you as a candidate, your skills, your profile and other aspects that he needs to check. You, as a candidate, should not lose the chance to also get to know better the company you are applying for, and make your decision about if it is what you are looking for or not. The interview should be a mutual discover.



If you ask further questions that show you did some research about the company, that you thought deeply about the job description or that you know well about the industry, you should be safer. Maybe those questions will not impress the Recruiter for some reason, but you won´t give a dummy image either. Be careful with the silly questions that you could ask, because those questions will definitely make you look bad and maybe loose the job.



We Recruiters want to see that you care about the job you are applying. Every interviewer will love to see that this is not “just one more job” for you. One way to show that is to spend some time getting ready for the interview and doing some research about the company you want to be part. If you don´t know a single information about the business, and you ask obvious or inappropriate questions, the Recruiter can start having doubts about your commitment and interest for the job. It happened to me more than once: I changed my mind about making a job offer to a candidate after hearing his extra questions.



If you get the chance to ask further questions to the Recruiter, take it as a gift. You have the power to improve the image you showed the Recruiter until that point. You can shine skills that you didn´t have the chance to demonstrate before. You can clarify aspects that are important for you about the job. So use this chance to promote your professional image as a candidate and increase the chances of getting the job.



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.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Skype interview, Video interview and video presentation: which are the differences?

Most of people have done at least one job interview in their lives. Some have done thousands of interviews in the last years. If you ask your friends, they might associate the situation “job interview” with something like “two people talking, one in front of the other, one is taking notes, etc”.


However, things are changing fast in the Human Resources area, and technology is playing a big role in the recruitment field nowadays.


Companies’ wants to optimize their employee´s time, save money and reach candidates from all over the world. You might need your smartphone or your computer ready when you start your next recruitment process.


If you are still not familiar with other kinds of interview, or even if you are, but you are not very comfortable with that yet, the following information might help you.


I personally prefer to do a face-to-face interview, and have the candidate in person in front of me when I do an interview. But I know that, in a Recruiter´s daily schedule, that is not always possible. The more dynamic and international you go in the company and position you are applying for, the most likely you are to have to use technology even to start the recruitment process and send your CV.

I have selected thousands of candidates for entry-level positions, staff level and Managers, and most of them, at some point, were submit to an interview with the Recruiter or his future Manager, and this interview was not in person.


Telephone interviews are frequently used, but normally for a quick first screening of the candidate, to confirm the key aspects of the CV and check if the candidate is ready to go to the next step – which could be another interview.


I do not take the relevance of a phone interview, because if you fail, you won´t go ahead in the process. Still, at some point, you will have to show yourself more, literally “show your face” to the Recruiter, and there are different ways to do that.


Skype interview, Video interview and Video presentation: do you understand the differences between them? Do you know how to prepare yourself for each of those situations? Let´s review case by case shortly.


There might be slightly variations from company to company about the following Recruitment tools, but in any case, you will be able to get a general idea about it with the information here. Your spotlight in any interview is being present in the moment and show the best version of you as a candidate. Nothing else should be distracting you from that.


If you already know what to expect when you are invited for one of those kinds of interview, your stress level will be lower and you will be able to focus only on what is relevant.


Video presentation:


You receive an invitation to record a video about yourself and send the final version to the Recruiter. Most likely, this video will have to be upload on the company´s webpage, so follow the instructions you will receive in each case.


Typically,  the company suggest some topics that the candidate could speak about – for example: “Introduce yourself, tell us about a moment that you exceed the guest´s expectation with your service; tell us about a difficult situation at work and how did you solve it”. Try to speak about the subject recommended by the Company, but also fell free to add any other relevant information you consider. Show your unique skills as a candidate. This is your chance to exceed the Recruiter´s expectations about this video.


Although many people feel totally paralyzed in front of a video camera, and can be nervous only by thinking about it, the good aspect about the video presentation is that you can record it more than once if you need. You can practice what you want to say, write down a script and record the video as many times as you want, until you are satisfied enough with the version you want to send.


If you try to be perfect, you will never get things done, so rehearse a few times, but do it at some point.


Please be careful with the size of the video, because as a rule, there will be the maximum size mentioned somewhere in the instructions. If your video is bigger than the limit the web accepts, you won´t be able to upload it.


Video interview:


You receive a link and the instructions, and once you click on the link, a specific question will show up on your screen. You are supposed to answer that question in a period, and most likely, there will be a watch or a live counter showing you the time passing.


You could have for example 2 minutes to answer each question. Once the time for the first question is over, the next question will pop up on your screen, and you should answer now the new question, considering the time limit. Interview follows this dynamic until all the questions are “asked” by the computer and you record your reply.


In some companies, you have a “practice time” before your reply starts to be recorded. It means you have some extra time (like 30 seconds, for example) to think about the answer you want to give to that question and to organize your ideas, before the official recording starts.


You can do a quick rehearsal of what you want to say, and once the practice time is over, the precise time for recording the reply will start automatically. It is helpful to have a “practice time”, but you might not have this option in all the cases.


Skype interview:


It is very similar to the Video Interview, but in this case, you have a person on the other side of the screen at the same time that you are online. This person will talk to you, you won´t deal with a video nor a text in which you have to read the questions.


There is no “practice time” on Skype interviews. Once the Recruiter online asks you a question, you should start to answer immediately.


Commonly the candidate cannot choose the interview method that the company will use to evaluate him. At some point of the recruitment process, you should be informed about how the interview will be conducted, and that´s it.


Because things work like that, try to be familiar with those three methods and do not be afraid of the web cam.


You can record some silly videos of yourself at home, watch then and record again, just to be more comfortable speaking to a machine. You can also exercise speaking in front a webcam recording a video about any topic you like and fell confident about it, as a training (for example, speak for 2 minutes about your hobbies or your morning routine). A part from that, think about the time and money you are saving by not going in person to the interview place.


We are facing modern times, and we all need to adjust to them…


For any of the Recruitment tools mentioned before, you will need a good internet connection; a web cam; a microphone; enough light (so the video recorded will show your face in a clear and visible way, not a dark and unclear face) and headphones with microphone. Headphones are not mandatory, but if you decide not to use then, at least make sure there is enough silence in the room, so the sound of your voice can be record in a clear way and you can hear the Recruiter or the computer´s instructions.


You should read carefully the instructions sent by the Recruiter or by the company, to see if there is any specific requirement for computer programs that you need to install on your computer before the interview or video recording starts. The technical requirements will be on the instructions, and normally the demand is easy to fulfil.


In case you have doubts or problems, try to contact the company before the interview time to clarify things in advance. If you get all dressed and ready for the interview, and for some reason the program does not open, you will for sure be nervous, so try to avoid that.


As in any job interview, please watch your appearance and try to avoid external noises and interruptions during the process. Also, it´s always good to keep a glass of water close, a pen and a paper (in case you need to write down something) and a copy of your CV, just in case.


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.