Even Good Candidates Have a Bad Interview

 

Tej kohli believes that going through a bad interview is like having the moment of self doubt. A friend of mine learned this lesson the hard way, during an interview that should have been a cakewalk. When he received the call for interview, he thought he was a die-cast for the job, who would fit just fine! With immense confidence, he took the interview in an easygoing manner. Without any preparation, he in his own mind, celebrated an offer he was certain would be made.

On the interview day, he got quite anxious. As his apprehension began to swallow him, he started his last minute preparations for the interview. By the time he arrived at the interview spot, he was distinctly nervous.

One lesson : Tej Kohli advises candidates to collect their thoughts before the interview and not on their way to one. Arriving to an interview bewildered leaves a negative impression on the recruiter and ruin your chances of cracking the interview and getting the offer.

The interviewer walked to the reception and introduced himself. She casually asked him if he had trouble finding the office. My friend, a candid talker that he is, confided that he is very bad at remembering the routes and since he was anxious he crossed the entrance a couple of times. The recruiter smiled politely and took him to the interview room. Realizing he messed up, he hesitantly followed her.

Another lesson : Tej Kohli says that whatever you say or do during an interview is scrutinized right from the moment you enter, to the moment you exit. There is nothing casual about the interview and even a careless faux pass is seldom excused. Hence, think before replying.

On entering the interview room, my friend was taken aback to see a panel of interviewers. He was only used to with the one on one type of interviews. At the very onset, he realized that it wasn't going to be easy.

Yet another lesson : We cannot predict what's going to happen at interview. Neither does one know the broad range of topics that will be covered and the format types that may be presented. That's why its important to familiarize yourself with all interview set ups says Tej Kohli.

Since he was not ready for that, he tripped over his replies. Instead of focusing on what was pertinent, he provided information on irrelevant issues. He began to ramble and looked unfitting for the job.

Realizing her poor performance, he began to lose patience and failed to maintain eye contact. He began to fidget and all the confidence he felt for the position magically evaporated. As he saw the blank faced panelists, he withdrew from the interview mentally and seemed disinterested.

One more lesson : "Its not uncommon for interviewers to come across nervous candidates. But they will rarely forgive you of you fail to show a sincere interest in the interview," says Tej Kohli. Hiring decisions are primarily based on whether interviewer feels a connection with the interviewee. If you fail to establish a bond instantly, you chances of getting through are grim.

 

Anyways, after the interview my friend realized the questions he had been asked where not hard. It was only his nervousness that clouded his ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

Some Laws of Life By Tej Kohli

Tej Kohli believes life is governed by certain laws, which we cannot break or escape. Here, Tej Kohli takes a humorous take on some the laws of life.

LAW OF QUEUE: If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

LAW OF TELEPHONE: When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

LAW OF MECHANICAL REPAIR : After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

LAW OF THE WORKSHOP: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

LAW OF THE ALIBI: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

BATH THEOREM: When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

LAW OF ENCOUNTERS: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

LAW OF THE RESULT: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will!

LAW OF BIO MECHANICS: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

THEATER RULE: People with the seats at the furthest from the aisle arrive last.

LAW OF COFFEE: As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Tej Kohli is a management expert with more than 10 years of experience. He is an entrepreneur with his several ventures spanning the globe. Tej Kohli is an expert blog writer and likes sharing his work with his readers. For more tips on interview success, HR management tips and more, keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

Hiring the best candidate, think again? by Tej Kohli

Tej Kohli is a management expert who writes useful articles on HR tips and policies.

One of the biggest mistakes that companies commit is hiring the 'best' candidate from their shortlist. As surprised as you may be, hiring the best candidate, the most qualified, the one with all the sought-for skills, the proven track record, the smartest and most outstanding candidate – almost always backfires.

You may say, wthat's the whole point of recruiting when don't hire the best. It is what the ultimate goal is. However, in their quest to find the best, some people hit the goldmine. But Tej Kohli likes best as much as the next candidate.

In a lot of companies hiring the best means hiring the smartest. Anyone who scores highest in their IQ test is ideal enough to be offered a position. For them , the best and the brightest denotes the same meaning. The outcomes of this policy include an alarming incidence of 'out' during the 'up or out' carrer cycle and a lot of senior executive time spent managing problematic prima donnas.

So, should they have hired the dopes?

Obviously no! But instead of recruiting the smartest, they should pick their candidates from a pool of the decidedly smart enough. While intelligence is important, companies should go for a candidate who fits the job perfectly. Settle for a candidate who have the competencies, preferences and capabilities the job demands, or at a level very close to what the job demands.

If you recruit someone who is overly qualified for the position, you risk having a bored, unsatisfied and frustrated employee.

This usually happens when the “best” candidate is hired.

A part of the problem arises from the sharp focus in today’s recruiting approaches, on the candidate. Tej Kohli says I often hear, “This applicant has an excellent pedigree”; or “I really like him, he came across as very polished in the interview”, or “The awards and honors she has won are very impressive.”

There are some people who are great candidates and some who are terrific employees or excellent performers. The correlation between the two, sadly, isn’t great.

Remember, its the quality of work that matters, not the quality of candidacy. Also, what matters is not the absolute level of a competency or skill, but the right level and fit of that competency or skill for a particular job.

There are different kinds of jobs in the market. Apparently,. The competencies required by a sales rep are not the same as those required by a software engineer.

Tej Kohli says he knows many people, who are really good at their job but weren’t very good at other jobs.

So, Tej Kohli advices you to go after high performance and not high quality. Try to get the best-matched future employee for your job, not the best-credentialed ones. You will notice a difference where it stands in performance.

Attractive Women Can be Discriminated in Certain Jobs

Tej Kohli Tripod blog is a place where he discusses the recent trends in hiring and recruitment industry. In this article Tej Kohli throws light on the still prevalent gender bias in the corporate world, when it comes to male oriented jobs.

If you are an attractive female, be ready to face discrimination when applying for jobs generally recognized as 'masculine' or where the looks are not considered important. Some of the most common positions where such appearance-based discrimination is faced includes positions like manager R&D, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor. However, when attractive men applied for this position no such discrimination was seen.

According to a recent study, in the aforesaid professions being attractive was quite detrimental to the females, however, in other kind of jobs attractive women had an edge.

This however, is not the case with men which indicates there is still a gender bias in the corporate culture.

The research reviews various studies that ascertains that physically attractive people enjoy significant advantages like: 

• Better salaries
• Better performance evaluations
• Greater levels of college admissions
• More votes when running for public office
• More favorable trial outcomes

This study cited a survey of 202 hiring managers and 964 members of the public that concluded that looks are important in all aspects of the workplace, especially for women employees. Looks were the third important aspect of the nine 'character' attributes above education and sense of humor.

In the past a lot of studies have concluded that being attractive made applicants for most jobs seem more suitable no matter what their gender is. However, ladies experienced an edge over men when applying for feminine sex-typed jobs compared to less traditional roles.

In an experiment, a sample data was given 55 male and 55 female applicants according to their suitability for a various jobs. Appearance was considered unnecessary for jobs like director of security, hardware salesperson, prison guard and tow tuck driver. While attractive women were overlooked in this category, they had a weightage when it comes to jobs like receptionist or secretary.

Tej Kohli warns against letting stereotypes about looks and appearance to influence hiring decisions at the expense of the overall characteristics of the applicant.

Tej Kohli is an entrepreneur and philanthropist based in San Jose, Costa Rica. He's a management expert with more than 10 years of experience in launching various business ventures across the world. For more updates on the management , HR trends and interview tips, keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

What your Profession Says About You?

Find out what does your profession say about you at Tej Kohli blog.

1. MARKETING - You are ambitious yet stupid. You chose a marketing degree to avoid having to study in college, concentrating instead on drinking and socializing which is pretty much what your job responsibilities are now. Least compatible with Sales.

2. SALES - Laziest of all signs, often referred to as "marketing without a degree." You are also self-centered and paranoid. Unless someone calls you and begs you to take their money, you like to avoid contact with customers so you can "concentrate on the big picture." You seek admiration for your golf game throughout your life.

3. TECHNOLOGY - Unable to control anything in your personal life, you are instead content to completely control everything that happens at your workplace. Often even YOU don't understand what you are saying but who the hell can tell. It is written that Geeks shall inherit the Earth.

4. ENGINEERING - One of only two signs that actually studied in school. It is said that ninety percent of all Personal Ads are placed by engineers. You can be happy with yourself; your office is full of all the latest "ergo dynamic" gadgets. However, we all know what is really causing your "carpal tunnel syndrome."

5. ACCOUNTING - The only other sign that studied in school. You are mostly immune from office politics. You are the most feared person in the organization; combined with your extreme organizational traits, the majority of rumors concerning you say that you are completely insane.

6. HUMAN RESOURCES - Ironically, given your access to confidential information, you tend to be the biggest gossip within the organization. Possibly the only other person that does less work than marketing, you are unable to return any calls today because you have to get a haircut, have lunch AND then mail a letter.

Tej Kohli is an entrepreneur and management expert with his several ventures spanning the globe.

7. MANAGEMENT/MIDDLE MANAGEMENT - Catty, cut-throat, yet completely spineless, you are destined to remain at your current job for the rest of your life. Unable to make a single decision you tend to measure your worth by the number of meetings you can schedule for yourself. Best suited to marry other "Middle Managers" as everyone in you social circle is a "Middle Manager."

8. SENIOR MANAGEMENT - (See above - Same sign, different title)

9. CUSTOMER SERVICE - Bright, cheery, positive, you are a fifty-cent cab ride from taking your own life. As children very few of you asked your parents for a little cubicle for your room and a headset so you could pretend to play "Customer Service." Continually passed over for promotions, your best bet is to sleep with your manager.

10. CONSULTANT - Lacking any specific knowledge, you use acronyms to avoid revealing your utter lack of experience. You have convinced yourself that your "skills" are in demand and that you could get a higher paying job with any other organization in a heartbeat. You will spend an eternity contemplating these career opportunities without ever taking direct action.

11. RECRUITER, "HEADHUNTER" - As a "person" that profits from the success of others, you are disdained by most people who actually work for a living. Paid on commission and susceptible to alcoholism, your ulcers and frequent heart attacks correspond directly with fluctuations in the stock market.

12. PARTNER, PRESIDENT, CEO - You are brilliant or lucky. Your inability to figure out complex systems such as the fax machine suggest the latter.

13. GOVERNMENT WORKER - Paid to take days off. Government workers are genius inventors, like the invention of new Holidays. They usually suffer from deep depression or anxiety and usually commit serious crimes while on the job... Thus the term "GO POSTAL"

To read more funny articles by Tej Kohli, keep reading the Tej Kohli blog.

Tej Kohli on How HR Policies Change

Tej Kohli shares a joke on changed Hr policies in an organization. Tej Kohli blog is a place where you will find all information pertaining to your career success including informative articles, tutorials and jokes. 

Today, Tej Kohli shares a hilarious joke on casual fridays.

HR department issues a memo to employees on Day 1.

 

Week 1 - Memo No. 1

 

Effective this week, the company is adopting Fridays as Casual Day. Employees are free to dress in the casual attire of their choice.

 

Week 3 - Memo No. 2

 

Spandex and leather micro-miniskirts are not appropriate attire for Casual Day. Neither are string ties, rodeo belt buckles or moccasins.

 

Week 6 - Memo No. 3

 

Casual Day refers to dress only, not attitude. When planning Friday's wardrobe, remember image is a key to our success.

 

Week 8 - Memo No. 4

 

A seminar on how to dress for Casual Day will be held at 4 p.m. Friday in the cafeteria. A fashion show will follow. Attendance is mandatory.

 

Week 9 - Memo No. 5

 

As an outgrowth of Friday's seminar, a 14-member Casual Day Task Force has been appointed to prepare guidelines for proper casual-day dress.

 

Week 14 - Memo No. 6

 

The Casual Day Task Force has now completed a 30-page manual entitled "Relaxing Dress Without Relaxing Company Standards." A copy has been distributed to every employee. Please review the chapter "You Are What You Wear" and consult the "home casual" versus "business casual" checklist before leaving for work each Friday. If you have doubts about the appropriateness of an item of clothing, contact your CDTF representative before 7 a.m. on Friday.

 

Week 18 - Memo No. 7

 

Our Employee Assistant Plan (EAP) has now been expanded to provide support for psychological counseling for employees who may be having difficulty adjusting to Casual Day.

 

Week 20 - Memo No. 8

 

Due to budget cuts in the HR Department we are no longer able to effectively support or manage Casual Day. Casual Day will be discontinued, effective immediately.

For more jokes and fun reads, keep checking back the Tej Kohli blog.

Interview Self Evaluation Tips by Tej Kohli
Tej Kohli gives some job interview self evaluation tips to its readers.

Think about an important interview you have had. Tej Kohli says by evaluating your performance in an interview will help you to prepare better for a future one:

 

1. List 3 things which made the interview a success.

 

2. a) List 3 things about the interview that you would change

 

   b) For each of these three items, explain what you are going to do to improve for your next interview.

 

3. Were some of the interviewer’s questions difficult to answer? What were they? How would you respond if asked again?

 

4. What skills/qualities was the employer looking for? How could you better present these skills next time?

 

5. What further information do you need in order to determine if you would accept an offer?

6. What do you like/dislike about this company? (Consider a graph or other way to rate and compare the companies with which you have interviewed).

Tej Kohli is an entrepreneur himself who has taken over thousands of interviews until now. All the information enclosed in this blog is thus, credible and tested. For more such informative articles by Tej Kohli, keep reading this blog.

Tej Kohli on How do People Get Jobs?
Topic: Interview Tips
Tej Kohli is back with some more useful tips for job seekers. If you're looking for a job, but don't know how to get one, you've come to the right place. Tej Kohli says there are six ways to get a job. These are:

1.Internal promotion
2.Applying for an advertised job
3.Word of mouth
4.Nepotism (a form of word of mouth, with a familial twist)
5.Going through an agency or using head hunters
6.Identifying an organization you want to work with, a career you want to pursue or a dream job you'd like to have and being pro-active about getting through the door.

All these ways are legitimate and valid. If your brother-in-law's second cousin knows the head of HR at a company you really want to work for, go for it! Likewise, if you want to go to consultants and try your luck that way, you may consider that too!

The sixth way of job hunting is perhaps the one that most people don't really consider taking since its takes a lot of courage to pursue something different. But Tej Kohli believes that following your heart is one of the best ways to get a job.

To learn more about interview skills and tips keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

"We are Hiring" A Joke by Tej Kohli

Tej Kohli shares a nice joke...

A business was looking for office help. They put a sign in the window, stating the following:

We are Hiring!
"The incumbent must be able to type, have computer skills, and be
bilingual. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer."

A dog trotted up to the window, saw the sign and went inside. He looked at the receptionist and wagged his tail, then walked over to the sign, looked at it and whined a bit.
Getting the idea, the receptionist got the office manager. The office manager looked at the dog and was surprised, to say the least. However, the dog looked determined, so he led him into the office. Inside, the dog jumped up on a chair and stared at the manager. The manager said "I can't hire you. The sign says you have to be able to type."

The dog jumped down, went to the typewriter and proceeded to type out a perfect letter. He took out the page and trotted over to the manager and gave it to him, then jumped back up on the chair. The manager was stunned, but then told the dog, "The sign also says you have to be good with a computer."

The dog jumped down again and went to the computer. The dog proceeded to enter and execute a perfect spreadsheet that worked flawlessly the first time.

By this time, the manager was totally dumb-founded! He looked at the dog and said, "I realize that you are a very intelligent dog and have some interesting abilities. However, I still can't give you the job."

The dog jumped down and went over to a copy of the sign and put his paw on the sentence about being an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The manager said "Yes, but the sign also says that you have to be bilingual." The dog looked at that manager calmly and said, "Meow."

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Tej Kohli's 7 Interview Questions That Makes Interviewers Flinch!
Mood:  cool
Topic: Interview Tips

Tej Kohli brings you the 7 interview questions that makes interviewers cringe and probably want to show you that exit door! Read on...

You're going for a job interview and you've probably prepared your answers to a variety of questions you think interviewer might ask, which is of course good! But have you spent equal time or even half of it considering the questions you want to ask your prospective employer? What you ask your interviewer reflects your interest in the job besides your work ethics. So, if you want to keep your interviewer from cringing, and possibly raising a question on your suitability for the job, try avoiding these seven fateful questions:

1. What does your company do?

While there is no doubt that interview is a two way communication process where both parties can know one another. Yet how can you establish that you are the “right” person for the job, when you don't even know about the nature of work of the company. Before going for an interview, make sure that you have some background about the company in question. Researching about the company is your homework, so don't waste interviewer's time by having him repeat what you could have learned from the company's website.

2. How much does the job pay?

Although this may be an answer you'd kill for, seeking this information at this stage can make you look like jumping the gun. This question not only sends a wrong message but also leaves a bad first impression on your potential employer. Its better to do some research and see what other similar jobs are fetching in the market. Or you could also leave this question to surface at the later stages in the interview process.

3. What are the working hours?

In today's competitive world, no company wants an employee that's a clock watcher. Asking this question may raise a question on your work ethic. Again, you may save this question to be asked in the later stages of job interview process.

4. How many sick leaves do I get?

Asking this question in your first interview will force your prospective employer to doubt your motivation or maybe your health. You'd be better off looking this up in the employee handbook later.

5. How much time do I get off?

Just like question 3 and 4, this question can make the interviewer wonder whether the applicant is more interested in escaping the work than contributing to it.

6. If I'm hired, when can I start applying for other internal openings?

What crosses the interviewer's mind up on hearing this question? Definitely not something good. This question leaves an impression that you're not interested in the job being offered, instead you just want an entry into the company. Of course, everyone has higher aspirations than the position he is applying for, but keep in mind that the company is looking for the ideal candidate for the present role, not the future.

7. Do you make background checks?

Why on earth would anybody on earth ask this question unless he or she has something to hide. But if you do, the interviewer would definitely show you the exit door.

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