Job interviews often test your patience more than they test your industry knowhow. Ever been to a job interview, which didn't involve at least 20 minutes of mindless
waiting?
Maybe it is God's way of making sure that you appreciate all the good things in life, like a new exciting career, a huge increment and what not, but we don't want to get into all that. What we are suggesting is that, if you are going to have to wait anyway, why not make the waiting worth your while. This is how you do it:
Do some research
When you are told to wait by the
receptionist, don't just staidly go and pick up a newspaper. Look around, observe things. Check out how the receptionist is talking to her colleagues. Is he or she rude, flippant?
Is he or she trying to push their work onto others? The tendency to push work on to others comes from the top, so if a receptionist is doing it, you know where it originates from.
Is the
Reception area tidy, well kept? You will learn a lot more about a company and its work culture through its reception area than what HR prefers to tell you.
Check out if the reception has a drinking water facility or toilets for people who visit. This shows that company likes to take care of its customers.
Keep your ears open
Check out the
gossip or idle chatting going on. A peon's complaints about the general manager are often true. Although you shouldn't keep much store by the kind of complaints or gossip you hear in passing, it will give you an idea of the politics, good or bad, in that organisation.
Prepare yourself
Take a deep breath. If you are not into snooping, try to concentrate on the grilling you are going to be subjected to.
So tell me about yourself? Why do you want to leave your present position? Where do you see yourself five years hence? The HR breed, unimaginative that they are, will never move beyond those jaldi five questions.
So why not use your waiting period to think of some
positive and smart answers to those questions? Being prepared will quieten those nerves and really make a good impression.
Think of listing all the successful projects you have worked on, your positive qualities. Build some confidence.
Chat with other visitors waiting with you
Who knows you just might run into an ex-employee whose dues have not been paid or has been unjustly sacked? Or a creditor whose bills haven't been paid on time?
Or someone who is applying to the same position as you are and who is demanding a higher or lower salary than you are?
Or a personal friend of the managing director who can put in a good word for you? Or an acquaintance from some other company, which is also looking for people? Networking pays, in some way or the other.