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Interview with a Government
Recruiter - Page 3
Q. After many years of working in
government recruitment, is there anything that still shocks you?
A. I am still astounded when people don’t show up for their
interview. This happens really frequently, about one in 20
interviews would be my estimate. Some people call and withdraw their
application and some you never hear from … until they submit
their next application, which is quite amusing in itself.
Q.
Speaking of interviews, what is your biggest interview
“gripe”?
A. Applicants who interrupt the interviewer or start to answer the
interview question before the interviewer has finished
speaking.
I think it not only shows a lack of professionalism and interpersonal
skills, but I also feel for these applicants who are usually so nervous
that they are just not listening and thinking properly. In
most
cases they end up blowing the interview because they have not heard and
comprehended the question properly and given themselves the chance to
think of the most appropriate response.
Q. What
is the most frustrating thing about working with government selection
panels?
A. A lot of government panel members are so entrenched in processes and
used to being governed by guidelines that they take a very inflexible
approach to the task of recruitment. For example, panel
members
who insist that every applicant is asked exactly the same question and
mark them strictly against their responses to these
questions.
These panels start using interview questions as selection criteria in
their own right and forget that the purpose of the interview question
is to gather evidence to assess the applicant against the advertised
selection criteria. Smart applicants know how to overcome
this,
but most applicants don’t even know that it is happening.
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