Hey guys, I've seen quite a number of job interview experience threads in the annals of the Job Section of Nairaland and I thought to myself, "why not start a fresh one? A 2014 and beyond thread." With so many Job postings and shortlistings and invites here and there I think we will have quite a number of stories to share.

I will go first.

So I got a call to come for an interview at a major media firm on the Island in Lagos the next day. It was a surprise call because I had forwarded my unsolicited CV to them and forgotten about it. I travelled very early around 6am the next day from Ife in Osun state to V.I to meet the appointment which was scheduled for 11am. I got there in record time and was blown away by the cool AC and the elevator in the premises (forgive me, i'm a bit of a bush man). We were about 20 who were called for the job and most of the guys were wearing suit and tie while the ladies were looking really sophisticated. Na only me waka come o, with long sleeved shirt on jeans with sneakers. I didn't think I needed to wear a suit, no be media industry again? I sat down, and so the wait began. I spent the hours reading the John Grisham novel I brought along with me and ignoring the rumbling in my stomach. Soon it was my turn to enter the conference room. I was faced with a panel of 5 interviewers, all big shots and famous people in the industry. I had only just finished my last paper and hadn't even done my project defense, talkless of NYSC. I began to wonder what I was doing, and whether my coming here was a big big mistake. Still, composure is everything.

"What is your work experience?" I told them, even though they each had a copy of my CV in their hands.

"What are you bringing to the table?" My wealth of experience and my unique personality for the purpose of increasing 'our' fan base and listenership and maximizing efficiency and productivity (something along those lines).

"Have you ever worked at a radio station before?" Honestly, no. But I have an independent programme that has an enviable fan base. Perhaps, I could bring the programme and its fans on your platform when I start work here.

"And who said you are going to work here?" Don't mind me sir, I'm only speaking with faith. I always prefer to see the glass as half full than half empty.

Then I was asked to present a programme on the spot for five minutes which came pretty easily to me.

Followed by tests in diction and emphatic stress in the lines of:

ARE you a he-goat?

Are YOU a he-goat?

Are you A he-goat?

Are you a HE-GOAT?

That was the tricky part but I aced that followed by many other trick questions. Another thing I employed to my advantage was my use of humour. Somehow I always found a way to make my interviewers laugh or smile which endeared me to them. When I left the conference room, one of the interviewers, a big shot in the industry whom I had always admired passively, laughed and called me an opportunist, to which I just smiled and said:

"Don't mind me sir. It's the work of the devil."

Needless to say I got called for the second stage of the interview. This is where my story stops for now. Wouldn't want it to get too lengthy but would post the subsequent part of the story as the thread progresses.

It's 2014! Our year of triumph and endless successes and unbelievable breakthroughs. Kindly state your job interview experiences here so we can enjoy your story and share in your ups and downs, as it promises to be a highly enjoyable and rewarding learning experience for everybody, myself inclusive.

Oya!

Yeah 2014 my year of triumph.

I have done so many many interviews but the problem is I cannot really remember my experiences. Reason is I forget about tests or interviews the moment I leave the scene. I never dwell on it. Because you never really know what went wrong if you were not called back... I just move on. What I however do is that I try to figure out in my minds eye what went wrong and I try to work on it. I read interview tips, self-evaluate myself and hope for the best.

Read what's in my signature if you will find it useful.

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Almost 30page

Well I guess I should share mine. A friend asked me to send my CV to him so he can help me forward it to the HR, I did but did not think about it much. Then a few weeks later I got a mail asking me to come for an interview that same week,then was I still doing my youth service and the day of the interview is the same day I was to do my monthly clearance(that is monday). So I had to call and re-schedule for another week,only for me to get another mail to come for the interview the friday of the same week. Well I had to prepare since I had already concluded my clearance but one mistake I made was not acknowledging the interview mail I received*********On the day of the interview I entered the reception and I told the lady I met I was invited for an interview at so so and so time and she asked me to have my sit and wait. Few minutes later I was feeling cold cause of the air from the Ac,coupled with the fact that I was very nervous. Long story short I was called in and I met the HR lady and she asked me 'if whenever I receive a mail I don't acknowledge them?'.....well I can't remember what my reply was but I apologised and she asked me to sit and the interview began. To say the least I did not do that well atleast but I guess I impressed her enough to get invited for the second stage of the interview which comprised of the same lady and another man.****details later***But one thing I would emphasis on is prepare very well before going for any interview.

learnt

Aptitude test is part of interview process. I've had my fair share of experiences with aptitude test. I guess what is being talked about here is oral interview. Hmmm. After series of regret mail from aptitude tests, I managed to scale through the test conducted by one of the big 4 audit firms. I was very happy and overjoyed like I just won a million dollar. Waited for 4 months before I was called for interview/AC. The interview day came and hopes were high. As I wore my suit, I dey see myself as one of the big 4 guys. Quickly, I dashed out of my friend's house and boarded a bus going down to island because the interview was scheduled for 12. The joy of attending interview filled my heart(as per my first time now), I was not even nervous or fidgety. This euphoria made me to miss the way to the venue(just dey waka about one area for VI). I got to the interview venue late amidst sweat and dirty shoes. One beautiful lady directed me to where my fellow interviewees were. On getting there they were all like 'good afternoon'. I responded, as per OAU "aro" boy, I asked them if they were all for the interview of which they responded in the affirmative. Na so I just say "follow me". Oh menh con see as dem respond shaperly .I withdrew and they all laughed. I really got them and it sent a relief of tension into the air. The interview proper. I was interviewed by a four man panel. The interview was going well until one devil asked about my project. Project! I exclaimed. He said yes, na so I just burst into laughter. One lady asked what's funny. "Nothing", I said. I discussed the project ( by lying in some areas though). This devil just caught me red handed in my regression analysis and how those variables fits into the regression. I just dey say "ahm ahm ahm" they caught me( I didn't read it).I never knew the motherf**ker studied econs. Na so the dream of joining that big four end o. Got the regret mail on my way home. Moral. Read your project before any interview.

pls mods let this thread reach front page! We're enjoying it! Btw I gat to learn one or two things..twill be helpful.

obinoscopy, adewasco2k, 1forall or whoever is the current job section mod pls do the needful.

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Sweet

The above posts have been very informative.

whats the answer to the 'are you a he-goat' question?

never gone for any JI yet, I hope I don't HAVe to go for more than 1.... FP things never gone for any JI yet, I hope I don't HAVe to go for more than 1.... FP things

I have never and will never work for any man. Thus, i have never been interviewed. Am an ALREADY MADE man.

9c tred.

Okay, let me write about the time when I was interviewed for my Industrial Training attachment. After I was done with HR I was assigned to the systems manager who was an Indian to be interviewed. After the initial small talk and getting to know me, he asked me to sit down. Knowing I studied Mathematics he asked me what area I was good at, I replied 'calculus' and he browsed a tough calculus question and asked me to solve. To be frank I was scared and felt like arguing that the question he asked me to solve was so advanced beyond Bsc scope, but improvised by filling two sheets with 'correct nonsense' hoping that he wouldn't detect it. Hopefully I was congratulated and giving the job. I wonder what would have happened if I decided to count the ceilings then.

@op..what is the answer to "are you a He -goat question!
Well for me,I attended 4interviews in diff.companies before I finally got employed!all I do is,go to the interview venue a lil late so as to write my name in btw number 5-10,and I will make sure I ask the first 5interviewee sum of the questions,and I am good to go!

Golden Dr.:
I am a lucky guy. Luck however, is a function of your ability to convert chances. After sending all the CV’s both hard, soft and semi soft copies; After networking with people you don’t like; After making unsolicited visitations at your rich uncle’s place every week; what do you do when God opens a way…? I shall focus my story along the lines of grabbing opportunities for keeps. My colleagues have done enough justice to scouting and cv submission...
You must understand that not everyone that applies for a job gets invited for a test or interview. Getting an invitation is an opportunity to prove yourself and the only thing you need to succeed is PREPARATION. Because of the huge population of undergraduates, most aptitude tests are not designed to test you but fail you. The first aptitude test I wrote was PWC’s. The test was not very hard but I failed it. After that test, I knew I had to read. I borrowed GMAT and any material I could lay my hands on and devoured them (If I had read in school the way I read GMAT, I for come out with first class). When I wrote the second test, it was straight success!
Preparation point 1: Read! Don’t just read GMAT, read everything; even abnormal books cos sometimes, you will find abnormal tests. Most times when I’m free, I take up my past textbooks and read them. One day, it paid off handsomely. It was a second stage interview and I was badly dressed as usual, ugly shoe, awkward shirt and worse of all, no Jacket. I was the only one without a jacket. The interview drill was for you to walk into the room, pick a piece of paper from a basket and talk about whatever you find on that paper for 2 mins after thinking about it for a minute. The interviewers were stern looking men who would not utter a word even if you were saying rubbish. They would just tell you ‘thank you’ at the end of your presentation. When it got to my turn, I picked and saw “performance”. I tried to think but nothing came in, so I stopped thinking and started talking. At the tail end of my presentation, I remembered one of Peter Drucker’s quote in one of our text books and quoted it. By the time I was through, one of them looked at me and asked – which school did you graduate from? I knew then that I had represented you guys well and that even the witches in my village would be proud of me! Like you rightly guessed, I passed with flying colours (yellow, green and blue).
Preparation point 2: Become your CV. I shared my first interview experience here sometime ago and told you guys how I was battered by the interviewer. Interestingly, I passed the interview. But I knew that I had a long way to go if I was to succeed at other interviews. I knew that the interview seminars were not enough. Funnily, all the questions came from my CV. The man looked at my CV and said, “so you are team player?” I smiled and said yes, but when he asked a question and I answered, he told me that I was not a team player. I was angry and argued with him. I later got to understand him thanks to Ephraim. Make sure that you can defend your CV. This is very important. Don’t just put big words and powerful skills that you cannot defend. If you don’t know the meaning of anything on your CV, go and learn it now or remove it! In one of my interviews, I was told to describe how to put a table in a word document because I wrote on my CV that I could use Microsoft word and Excel.
Another catch here is to create a story line. Defend all your skills and abilities with past stories, even if they are lies. Just ensure that the stories link together and you don’t get caught lying. Most graduate trainee interviews would be focused on your aptitude and skills cos you are not expected to have experience. They would love it if you can defend your skills. If you claim to have leadership skills, tell them a story of a time when you were the class rep, choir master, youth coordinator etc and exhibited such skills. If you claim to be able to work in teams, tell them of a time when you contributed actively to a team. In one of my interviews, I carried some of my amateur artworks to prove my love for art. The interviewers marvelled and their love for me grew. To prove my leadership skills and ability to work in teams, I told them of the times when I led troublesome assignment groups in school and was able to coordinate uncooperative team members to beat assignment submission deadline. There are no irrelevant experiences as far as they can prove your point. Not all my stories were true but they all linked perfectly! My interviewers were just nodding their heads. I knew I had passed. If your hobbies are playing football, please go there with a ball and jog a little (I am serious!).

I love this

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After writing d test, I was called for their interview. The 1st stage of their interview has to do with ur knowledge of them. Some company judge ur interest in dem based on the amount of what u knw about dem, n trust me, I had done my research very well and I was just tearing 4 d interviewer credits to their website and my friend dat worked with dem too. I advice u not only read what's on der website, try and ask 4rm someone in d company, if u don't av any, ask d receptionist on d day of ur interview or any of der staff u see.
I got invited 4 d 2nd stage, d technical stage. This tests knowledge of my course of study. Omo na here I know say tension catch me as I just went dumb as dem dey ask me simple questions wey I sabi on a good day. Na God wey just wan save me dat day make d interviewer ask me 4 my specialisation. Na wen dey ask me question der I shine small. Trust me, I didn't believe I was going to be contacted again but I guess Dats d place of prayer and trusting in God.
The final stage was managerial chat. As d name implies, you 'chat' with their manager. This stage no get head or tail. I no even know wetin dem dey test, , mayb na confidence oo cos d questions no get bearing. To d point he even asked me d club I supported . As mother luck will av it, d man sef na ARSENAL fan. . But I noticed he was always writing down something whenever he asks any question. I sha thank God sha say @ d end, God answered my prayer

Cool info!

My last interview was based on my CV,we were 5 in number,I wasn't nervous because I was frustrated looking for a job to find none,so why should I be nervous during an interview?,I did as if it was "life and death",the details we had from the interviewer(HR) is that we made it,but he's waiting for authority to call us back from HQs,its up to 3 weeks now,but I'm still waiting,so folks,if you really need a job,you should be bold and not nervous.

fernandoc: Okay, let me write about the time when I was interviewed for my Industrial Training attachment. After I was done with HR I was assigned to the systems manager who was an Indian to be interviewed. After the initial small talk and getting to know me, he asked me to sit down. Knowing I studied Mathematics he asked me what area I was good at, I replied 'calculus' and he browsed a tough calculus question and asked me to solve. To be frank I was scared and felt like arguing that the question he asked me to solve was so advanced beyond Bsc scope, but improvised by filling two sheets with 'correct nonsense' hoping that he wouldn't detect it. Hopefully I was congratulated and giving the job. I wonder what would have happened if I decided to count the ceilings then.

correct nonsense u mean?chaiiiiiiii na ya god save u.writtn rubish is beta dan counting the ceiling wen in an interview

i remember going for an interview in a popular company (don't wanna mention the name here) A panel of 4 interviewers made up of 3 men and a middle aged woman. Everything seem to be going on well until i was asked to name the deputy Governor of Yobe State.

I just laughed and said i didn't know it.

And in my mind i was like if you wanna offer me this job please do and if u won't just bleeep the hell off but don't go about asking questions even you the 'asker' do not know!


Looking back in retrospect, I thank God that those experiences made me the better person that I am today!

#Following#

sunsky29: correct nonsense u mean?chaiiiiiiii na ya god save u.writtn rubish is beta dan counting the ceiling wen in an interview

My brother don't write rubbish in an interview. I was just smart enough to know that he was testing my confidence and that he would actually have at least an Msc in Mathematics to discern if I was wrong. Some people call it common sense.