The rule of the day relates to how people talk about you after you’ve left an interview whether with a recruiter or with a hiring manager.
The question is what have you done or said during the interview that they could talk about and is the talk good or bad? What sort of impression did you leave them with?
In my experience as a recruiter, there are a few questions that tend to get discussed after someone has left an interview:
How well do they communicate? In other words, how well do you speak? How well do you comprehend questions that are asked of you and how well do you deliver your answers? This can be a contentious issue when it comes to people whose first language isn’t English (for those of us who live in English-speaking countries) because some people will discriminate against people with accents. Having said that, if your English isn’t very good, it will probably cost you in some interviews when the job requires (or when the company demands) a strong communicator.
How well do they present? Do you “look” professional and like someone that the company would want to put in front of customers or do you not portray the image that the company and job requires? Presentation skills and how a person presents themselves – their dress, their mannerisms, their professionalism – are always being critiqued during the interview process.
How do they compare with other people being considered for the job? In other words, how do you compare with your competition, with the other people who are being considered for the same job? They’ll probably compare how you stack up against the other candidates in terms of how about much money you’re looking for, where you live (ie. is your commute to the job longer/shorter than other people. If you live far away it can be a negative), why you’re looking for a new job, when you can start a new job, and things of that nature.
Given what I’ve mentioned above, what sort of impression do you give to people when you attend an interview?
