ASK HR: I should be excited about this interview but I am not...
Focus on how you will impress the interviewers and get considered for the position. PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH
What you need to know:
- The fact that a few employees in this company may be guilty of embezzlement does not mean that the entire company is corrupt, or that it condones such behaviour.
- Take a leap of faith therefore, ignore the scandal in the media, and aim to impress the interview panel.
- Worth noting is that you have the probation period, should you get the job, within which you can decide whether you want to work for this company or not.
I got an email a few days ago requesting me to attend an interview. I should be excited because I have been job-hunting for the past five months, but to be frank, I am not. This company was recently in the news, but not for good reasons – some of their directors have been implicated in an embezzlement scandal. I need a job, but I wouldn’t want a tainted CV.
What do you advice?
Your focus should be on how you will impress the interviewers and get considered for the position, not on the bad press in the media. The fact that a few employees in this company may be guilty of embezzlement does not mean that the entire company is corrupt, or that it condones such behaviour.
Getting shortlisted for the interview is a strong indication that you have what it takes for the role in terms of qualifications, so your effort and focus should be on how best to convince the recruiter that you are the most suitable candidate for the job.
You can only do this by getting to understand the mandate of the role that you have applied for as well as what competitive advantage you have over other candidates. You also have to assess your own skill sets and pinpoint how they match the requirements for the job.
During the interview, ensure that you emphasise how your experience and personal values will leverage into the company’s expectations to distinguish you from the other candidates.
It also helps to find out if this is a new position, and if not, what happened to the previous holder of the job. Such information can give lots of insight regarding the company you might work for in future.
We are often advised to focus on what is in our circle of influence, not what is in our circle of concern. Endeavour to focus on the areas of your life you have control over. True, there are some that are important and affect our lives, however, if we have no control over them, expending energy on them will only cause endless frustration, so the best thing to do would be to focus on areas that we can actually change.
Take a leap of faith therefore, ignore the scandal in the media, and aim to impress the interview panel. Worth noting is that you have the probation period, should you get the job, within which you can decide whether you want to work for this company or not.
