Arik Filstein

Arik Filstein, 22/05/2011

The global economic crisis has not spared the employment market, and has not hesitated to neglect candidates who’ve been discharged from their jobs despite many years of dedicated, invested work, and love for their organizations.

On the other hand, the “waiting rooms” of the job seekers, the same ones who’ve been let go from their jobs, have become more crowded, while the competition for nearly any job has become fiercer than ever, and the gap between the supply and demand has reached new peaks.
With these as the background facts, while the routine continues and forges ahead along with our personal current obligations, there’s a tendency to try deceptive methods in order to secure a job interview, impress the interviewer, and qualify for the final stage.
Do the ends justify the means? The answer is single-handedly, no!
Walking down the narrow path that divides the truth from falsehood can make the job interview an uncomfortable situation, accompanied by a sequence of illogical statements and declarations. In such a situation, it is likely that it won’t take too long before the interviewer brings the interview to a halt and writes a note to himself, on your resume, somewhere along the lines of: “this candidate has severe reliability issues”.

Is this the impression that you’d like to make? Of course, the answer is “no”!

Allow me to share with you, as someone who happens to have participated in hundreds of job interviews, that I’ve often heard candidates say things along the lines of: “I’m exactly what you need, I’m intelligent and calm, loyal and efficient, and know all of the players in your company’s field of business…and…sometimes I can be a little bit nervous…but that won’t interfere in my performance”. This is certainly a large variety of personal declarations and facts.
Once, I interviewed a candidate for a sales position who made sure to mention, more than once, that he personally knows the contact people of one of the company’s biggest clients. I then asked to tell me the names of the decision-makers that he knew, and what the nature of the relationship that he had with them was. The silence was unbearably loud, and I wasn’t surprised. The candidate was embarrassed, and I knew that his claims held no water.
Some approaches may disqualify potential job candidates.
The attempt to create a self image that does not accurately represent who you are can permanently disqualify you from any position at the organization. The company’s database will contain very specific details about you, including the reason your candidacy was disqualified. Therefore, if you try to apply for a job with the company in the future, it’s likely that your short lived “love affair” will be well documented.

The role of the recruiters is to be flooded with inauthentic statements in order to prevent unhealthy staff for the organization that they’re protecting at all costs. Remember, there is a big difference between how you perceive “rounding corners in an interview”, and how the interviewer perceives it.
Don’t misinterpret your inner sense during the interview, thinking that everything is going well and that the mask you’re wearing can work wonders as well as Jim Carey’s can – it doesn’t inform or teach you of very much, and usually the professionals’ opinion papers are internal, and you’ll never know of their existence.
In order to put the strategy that I’m espousing in the correct proportions, I should mention that there’s a certain degree of tolerance towards potential candidates, based on the clear knowledge there’s always a natural act/sale, based on the premise that the candidate is applying for the position, and wants to be accepted and begin working.
I, personally, love to see a candidate’s passion, even if there is an iota of rounded corners. At that moment, each candidate is his own salesman. However, be careful not to cross the red line. Once you’ve crossed it, the only question remaining is when the interviewer is going to end the interview.

It’s all subconscious

The financial pressure, and the familial pressure that accompanies it, sometimes produce irrational motivations, which we will call “survival actions”. “There’s nothing to lose, so it’s worth a shot”. The combination of the strong desire to get the job and the pressures mentioned above, put any inner-strength to act correctly and with healthy logic to the test.
A failed job interview or interviews doesn’t have any reflection on your potential. Even if months go by where it seems as though nothing is going as planned or expected, you should never lose hope, and, more importantly, you should never reject your own personality, and try to be anybody other than who you really are. There are times when certain candidates’ profiles are not suitable for different positions, and the subsequent rejection has nothing to do with a rejected personality, but rather has to do with the need for a very specific candidate. Therefore, it may be that you have to partake in a large number of job interviews before the real thing happens, but I’m sure and convinced that you’ll eventually reach your natural place, and until then, I’d strongly encourage you to continue to be interviewed naturally and honestly, and most importantly, not to lose hope.

Yours,

Arik