What NOT To Ask Or Say In A Job Interview

Job search ethics and protocols are important. The more you know about them, the more prepared are you in handling a job interview. A big part of them has to do with what NOT to ask or say in an interview.

Below are the top 10 common gaffes made and they do not resonate well with the interviewers.

1. What kind of business does your company is involved in?

By asking this question, you are telling the interviewer how unprepared and how uninterested you are in the job. No excuse for not knowing when you can easily google any information now.

2. How much can you pay me?

A valid question and at some point of time, this subject need to be settled. However, it is a mistake if you chose to ask this question right at the beginning of an interview. Some even asked before the interviewer has a chance to pose his/her first question – “Before we begin, how much can you pay for this job? Honestly, I don’t wish to waste anyone’s time if you can’t offer what I’m expecting.”

3. What kind of benefits does the company provides?

Again, it’s a question that you have every right to know the answer but it should not be raised right at the beginning of the interview. Keep the question until the end of the interview or if there is more than one interview, it should be raised only at the second interview or until the interviewer make the first move in discussing the subject.

4. I really needed a job now. Please hire me. I can do anything.

You may be desperate but there is no need to beg. Stay professional by putting your best self forward. Remember employers do not hire out of sympathy.

5. Is this a stressful job?

Why are you asking this question? Is it because your intention of getting another job is to get into a comfortable 9-5 job with no overtime? Even if that is your purpose of changing jobs, you can bet no employer may be that keen to hire someone that put in the time and take the paycheck at the end of the month without much contribution. "Good candidates" are those that enjoy challenges, excited about growth, take on extra responsibilities and willing to walk the extra mile.

6. Avoid slangs and Manglish [For Malaysians]

Slangs usually used by graduates that had just returned from their overseas study. Perhaps with the intention of making an impression, you try to please the interviewer with your American or Australian slang. Do not do that because slangs denote disrespect to your listeners that are trying to figure out what you are saying. And avoid Manglish that ends with lah, nah or mixed with other local dialects. Remember you are not having a conversation with friends and do not think by being casual in your language, you are projecting yourself as friendly. Speak proper English with the right use of grammar.

7. Avoid debate on sensitive issues related to politics and religion

Be clear of your objective. This is a job interview and not a platform to influence and convert the interviewer to your views and beliefs, even when the interviewer get distracted and started the subject first. Stay focused.

8. Do not bad-mouth your previous employer

Criticizing your ex-employers in any way let the interviewers realize you may do the same to them should you be hired and left the company one day. Whatever fall out you may have in the past with your ex-bosses is best left in the past. Make your statements short and try to stay as objective as possible. Do not let bitterness get the better of you.

9. Stay away from sharing personal stuff

One of the common questions asked by interviewer is, “Tell me about yourself”. Don’t tell your life story. Stick to your professional self as much as possible although you can touch a bit on your school life or outside interest but they should be kept at a minimum unless the interviewer probe further. Any other personal issue related to your recent divorce or in-laws should not be brought up at all.

10. One or two word answer

There will be times whereby one word answer is the only way of answering but if throughout the whole interview process, the replies from you are either one word or short answers, you are in trouble. You have just succeeded in getting into the nerves of interviewer and managed to convey one clear message – lack of interest.

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Can Your Boss Call Or Message You When You Are On Holiday?

“I know you are on vacation, but can I get hold of you if I need to check on something?” 

Sounds familiar?

Many years ago when I first started working, hand phones are a rarity. They belong only to a privileged few. So if I’m on holiday, I’m on... holiday, literally. No phone calls, no messages. The office can get burnt down for all I care and I won’t be penalized if I got to know it only after my holiday. 

Those days are gone. And I kinda miss it, darn!

With the advancement of technology, the gain is connectivity, the loss is privacy. 

Most of us would agree it can be annoying when your boss called while you are in the middle of sipping your freshly squeezed orange juice on the beach. It’s anti-climax because you want your mind to be transported to another world without your boss stalking you. 

So, is it legal for your boss to even call you?

Let’s be clear about one thing. The Labour Laws do not provide a clause to ban employers from calling their staff during their holiday. At the same time, it does not say you have to answer all calls from your boss regardless whether you are on holiday or not.

So, it’s up to you to work things out. Logically if you are a responsible staff, you want to stay responsible regardless whether you are on vacation or not. Hence, you might want to pick up the call. 

But honestly, everyone wants to have a peaceful holiday, a getaway from everything familiar even for just a couple of days. So, how best to approach this?

A suggestion would be to tell your boss that you are on vacation whereby your access to phone calls and messages would be limited. Hopefully, he will get the “real” message. So if you decide not to answer the call or read the message even though the phone was all the while right beside you, you are not going to be held responsible for being irresponsible. 

Yet…it’s still annoying to know there is an unanswered call or unread message. It’s a bother, to say the least. And yes, your holiday is in essence interrupted.

Well, looks like the only way to have a “no interruption” holiday is DO NOT bring your hand phone along. 

But seriously in this time in this century, that’s almost unthinkable.

Google Did Not Get Their Pay Strategy Right

Moving to staunch the defection of staff to competitors, Google Inc. is giving a 10 percent raise to all of its 23,000 employees…

Chief Executive Eric Schmidt disclosed the raise in an email to employees, saying the company wants to lift morale. "We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work," Schmidt wrote. "We want to continue to attract the best people to Google."

To read more….

At first glance, this seems to be good news to all Google staff. Applause to the management for their generosity, for showing appreciation to their staff and for taking an important step to prevent exodus of staff to other rival companies (rumor has it that many are joining Facebook).

But a closer look reveals something else – if the 10% raise is to apply to all staff regardless of their performance, this strategy might breed more harm than good.

To Abby who has been worried about not meeting her yearly KPI, this news naturally come as a reprieve, perhaps too good to be true. So, it’s okay not to meet my KPI after all? Yippie...back to my Farmville...

To David who has been working hard throughout the past year exceeding his yearly KPI, this news is an insult to him. Ya mean, all my late nights amount to nothing? I certainly deserve a higher raise than that tiny 10%?

You see the problem. A good HR practitioner will point out right away that this pay strategy is a lousy one. The right message is not being sent out.

Watch out, Google. You better get this sorted out fast. Otherwise, without having to put up a fight, Facebook will be winning all the talent over in no time.

How to attract and retain talent?

The #1 Reason People Leave Their Jobs

"Why are you looking out?" - one of the most common questions asked in a job interview setting.

Guess what is the most common reply?

I don't feel appreciated.

The need to be appreciated is a strong emotional need. But the problem with many employers or managers today is this: "If they are doing what they are paid to do, why should they expect any word of appreciation?"

I read a very interesting story about the Korean War in which this war produced the worst Prisoner of War (POW) stories of any war in U.S. history. The death rate of American POWs was alarmingly high, depression rates were high, and suicides were high. But the war camp conditions were not cruel and physical torture was minor. What's wrong? Dr. William E. Mayer did a study and discovered why. The prisoners were dying because they simply lost the will to live. The North Koreans had discovered the ultimate weapon of war: withholding all emotional support from others. No word of encouragement was ever spoken. Not only did the prisoners stop caring for one another, they stopped to even care for themselves. How sad.

We thrive on compliments, whether we are leaders or subordinates. "I've told him in the past that he's good in his event management. Do I have to affirm him every time he did a good job?" Well, the answer is yes. Just because you praised someone in the past doesn't mean they're motivated for life. People need to know they are valued right now.

Words of affirmation is very powerful. It encourages the recipients to repeat the same behavior in the future. It was said, "Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul." Besides, you don't lose anything by encouraging others. Instead, it makes you feel good too. "Those who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" - a proverb saying.

If only employers and managers would leverage on this tool and apply them more frequently at the work place, there will not be so many unhappy people leaving their jobs today.

Some tips on giving affirmation or compliments:

Be sincere
Be specific
Be personal
Make them public, if possible

Further reading:
10 Things The Best Bosses Have In Common

Top 10 Work Stressors

Why do you plan to leave your job?

The working hours are very long..

I bet if you are an interviewer, this is one of the common replies you would have heard many times before. This is also a sign that the person is undergoing a lot of stress and when the person has reached the stage of putting himself right in front of you, it’s just short of telling you he had enough and it’s time to move on.

Some time ago, writer David R. Butcher, from a study of more than 3,000 people, reports the top 10 work stresses:

1. Workload

2. Feeling undervalued

3. Deadlines

4. Type of work people have to do

5. Having to take on other people’s work

6. Lack of job satisfaction

7. Lack of control over the working day

8. Having to work long hours

9. Frustration with the working environment

10. Targets

Are you facing any of the above right now?

If yes, it’s not a good idea to let that stress prolong for we all know what stress can do to our health – it hurts us physically and mentally. Therefore, it’s important to recognize it as a work stress and the next step is to see whether there is anything you can do to prevent it from getting worse. If the nature of it is going to be temporary, i..e, heavy workload due to some extra projects that came on board and they will be over soon, then the best way is to learn to manage your stress.

Otherwise, the best way out to save your health or overall well-being is probably a change of working environment.