Friday 2 May 2014

THE FUTURE OF WORK SERIES #1: 'HOW NOT TO MESS UP AN INTERVIEW IN 10 MINUTES

Good evening everybody!!



 It’s another beautiful gorgeous Friday in the beautiful city of Abuja and I and my interns are hard at work already. Now one of the goals we had this week was publishing and marketing posts by guest bloggers and we have our 1st one!! Hurrah! It comes from Obasa Olorunfemi aka Femi who is the co-founder of The Fleuri Academy; an on-line start-up designed to provide learning on the go using chat applications and live interactions and co-founder of restless Versatility - A social media and blogs management outfit.  Femi has a background in water resources management with professional certifications spanning Music, Safety, Environment and Project Management and has earned his battle scars and working experience in Environment assessment, Design and Recruitment. He will be writing an ongoing series on best practice recruitment tips which will include real life case studies and best practice responses to various situations job seekers face in Nigeria. Now on to the first article:
The Future of work
 #1: ‘How “NOT” to mess up an interview in the first 10 minutes’

Please tell me about yourself?
This is the first question usually asked at interviews. I believe it helps the recruiter analyze your fluency in English, your level of intelligence and most importantly to get you relaxed for the subsequent conversation.

In my short time with candidates, I have heard over a dozen infuriating, comical and often wrong answers to these questions. Let me share some of them:
Case #1
Q: Please tell me about yourself
A: My name is Tolu. I am the First son of my parents. I am humble, caring and kind. My favorite food is rice and beans. My favorite color is pink. I am born-again.
Case #2
Q: Please tell me about yourself
A: I am Jane. I am a Jobless girl from a family of five. I studied econs at gwagz.

 Please note that while I have left out parts of the responses, I have not edited either. I have also only illustrated with two so you do not think I am making an attempt at comedy. In the ever-growing distance in-between what the labor market wants and what our universities need, we will continue to have this challenge.

In my experience the correct answer to the above question includes a summary of your education and work history delivered in a precise and professional manner. The smart candidates find a way to include relevant character information not present in their CVs but key to their engagement. I’ll also advice less experienced job applicants to rather opt for a brief summary of educational, work history as well as skills sets when asked the question during an interview.


and there you have it folks. In interviews at some point you will be asked tell me about yourself. I've had people blush, start to cry, stammer, and begin to narrate their CV back to me, all in the name of telling me about themselves. This is wrong, wrong, wrong! Practice what you will say in accordance to the tips mentioned above and we look forward to you joining us for the next series article next week Monday:Deadliest responses to interview questions heard in 2014.”

That's all folks! if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them. Have a wonderful weekend