Have you ever wondered what the real purpose was for an interview? Why do they ask you all those questions?

Employers basically want to know 3 main things:

- Can you do the job? Do you have the knowledge and skills needed to do the work?

- Will you do the job? Will you do what is asked of you, when it's asked.

Are your responses tailored to provide the information they need?

- How well will you fit in with the culture of the organization.

Hello Dianne and all,

The G A P between CAN and WILL can be too wide to bridge sometimes so job seqrchers and career changers would do well to think about this for themselves clearly. What a really nice question and topic this is!

For instance, I can use a processor, I can type, I can make tea, I can lay a brick wall, I can change a plug ...

BUT do I want to do those things in my new job and then

Will I do them?

These are my decisions to take in a way so that I do not mislead myself or my prospective company but not knowing or thinking about the differences between these CAN DO... WANT TO ... and WILL DO.

Many a slip twixt the cup and the lip! This was a lesson I learnt from a very smart Client for whom I recruited staff (in the cosmetics industry by the by)

It was a precious lesson and I was able to pass on the wisdom to many a candidate who may have made the mistake of putting an irrelevent skill on a CV knowing they did not or no longer wanted to use it and many a Client who then said things like I see you CAN blah blah blah - do you still WANT to do that and WILL you do it in your new job?

Good for internal promotion and movement of staff questioning too.

The cost to the individual of taking the wrong job with the wrong expectations and of Companies making the wrong hire is enormous and the economy and family life most often just cannot afford the consequent fallout.

Cheers now

Excellent...excellent point Lestie - thank you for sharing. I think most people don't think about whether or not they are willing - sure they can, but when it comes down to it, they are not willing to.

I just finished interviewing a candidate for an administrative position who told me that he was trying to get away from administrative type work. huh??? He applied for the position out of the necessity for a job, not because he actually wanted to do the work.

Hi there, and there is the pity of it, as he would not make the best hire and so may lose out on the opportunity of it all even if he were the best candidate!

Now if he was just not aware of his seeming paradox, then no, I wouldn't take his application further, but if he were being honest, then I might.

I might explore the future of the job, see how I might employ his skills and offer him a chance of moving into or away from the administration bits as far as possible, but actually it would please me to employ him for his integrity alone.

As Nordstrum is famous for saying "We do not train our people to be nice, we just hire nice people."

Cheers and it is a pleasure to read your info and posts and articles, tickles my career youth again and all and all Dianne - thanks!

Thank you so much for your kind words Lestie. I enjoy your insightful comments and enjoy our conversations!

I would agree, it's refreshing to see honesty from candidates at times. I would worry that he would get into the job and really dislike it before he had the opportunity to move up in the organization if he proved to be a good employee. Then again, with the right manager, he might feel a sense of renewal and very well.

It's sad the job market has reduced so many into staying in jobs they hate, or accept positions they would never have applied for if there was an option. Sad...

Hi there,

So right, it is a sad situation and in my experience it is generally the Company hiring that comes first - so what is best for them right now is what action they will take, regardless of what may be best for the worker.

Another aspect of the broader picture from a recruiter's point of view is also that "an applicant makes themselves placeable" more often than not. So self training, uplifting skills, updating skills, joining clubs and societies and actively partaking in events all go towards that indefinable difference between being an ordinary and 'another' application to being THE one who gets given the job opportunity. Such a difficult road ...

Cheers

Hello Dianne,

You are right... the interview is mostly to assess whether the job-seeker is good assistant material. Many insecure bosses would not want to hire somebody who might be a threat to him in future, therefore, not going overboard about his competence or excellence might sometimes work in favour of the job-seeker - I think...

You're so right Molly, that does happen with insecure managers.

Personally, I think it's best to find someone who can replace you so you can move up. It's called succession planning...LOL...

Hi Guys,

And it is a smart boss who employs equal or better/stronger/faster. Just think of it. The better/stronger/faster 'junior' can only make the boss and the department etc. look good in the mid-to-long-term and the boss can only reap the benefits of a good sensible hiring.

There is so much to say on this topic and not enough time to say it all.

But again, theory and practice have that gap that is difficult to bridge and it is a brave and confident manager who will employ his/her equal etc. I did it once and I/we won, and I did not do it once and I lost big time.

Cheers

Before going on an interview, it is important to prepare yourself mentally and physically. You need to know what employers seek in employees.Employers want employees to be punctual because you are not wasting their time which is money.Employers want employees to be punctual because you are not wasting their time which is money.Sometimes, deadlines are last minute projects or tasks. It is essential to be able to handle pressure. Employers do not want to see employees fall under pressure.