Oxone:
Here's a thread worth bookmarking

Mine was a couple of months after service and that was my second interview. I was so jittery because i was desperate for the job.

The interview panel was made up of a number of my peers and there was a pretty lady in the group. Everything was going well until i was asked how much i would want as my take home pay. i gave the usual "pay me the standard rate" reply. I didn't want to commit to a particular figure because i didn't want to short change myself by mentioning a low figure as there seem more to the company than meet the eye.

The lady now asked if i would accept 15k as salary and i pointed out to her that a 15k salary was a joke in Abj in 2011 and wouldn't even meet my basic needs. she then told me that there are ladies who take home pay was 15k in Abj.

*At this point i should have politely stuck to my gun & kept my mouth shut but the next few minutes was like an out of body experience for me. my brain shut down and my mouth took over, i watched myself from afar blow my chances of getting a job with that firm with the things i said.*

I Agreed with her that some ladies taking home 15k a month but pointed out to her that ladies don't always spend their money & have other ways of getting money. The group became animated and wanted to know how. That's when i finished the job with a list that includes money from admirers, dates and all. I cringed with each word but couldn't stop myself. The look on their faces especially that of the lady's when i was done told me all i needed to know. I knew i wasn't going to be called back ever. There are just somethings you don't say. I guess that daily 5 mins of madness chose that moment to manifest in the worst possible way.

Till date, i still can't explain what happened or what took over me because I'm not usually a chauvinistic Prick. it was all so surreal

My God..... I feel you brother,I have had that sort of experience where my brain went on leave while my mouth ran wild.Almost like watching a video recording of yourself saying things you would never say to save your life.
That part about you cringing " with each word but couldn't stop myself" got me.
Sorry Bro.

liliangmail:
Very Interesting! *yea* av become part of me! . Another is *tongu lickin my lips b4 ansin any interview question

You be Inyanya?

Otuabaroku:

@garnetty, I think the best way to go about salary negotiation is to research how much your prospective employer pays people in the same level of the role you applied for and take it from there. Most times, opting for low salary makes you appear cheap and could cost you the job for employers looking for quality employee.

Problem is.....you ask your friends (if any) who work there or know anything about the remuneration rates but they never tell you and worse give evasive border ranges.The do not want you cluing into how much they earn.You do this with out the benefit of prior info in most cases.

victorVIC1:

hmmm...plz, any1 wit suggestions on how to overcome fear?

@Victor: to over cone fear in interview, always do the following;
1. See interview as a normal and usual chats you everyday.
2. Always take a deep breath before going in to the room when it's your turn. This will relieve you from being nervous.
3. Always to look straight into the eyes of the interviewer as you or he talk(s) let your eyes both lock. This will make you gain confidence and dominance over the speaker. In fact there are some shy speakers who may not be able to withstand your gaze. The moment you look straight into their eyes, they will loose coordination...and you are winning.

Try this tips always, they will surely help.
Good luck!

Nice thread.
As u prepare for interviews, try not to cram answers to likely interview questions.
The HR person cud notice or u cud miss a line & b thrown of balance as in my case.

During my interview at UBA, I was asked 'what can you do for us', of course I had a prepared answer in my head. Unfortunately I missed a line, I had to start afresh. it was really messy, started mixing words, I was incoherent. I made a fool of myself that day. How I managed to scale through to the next stage is still a miracle.

Then always prepare your mind for weird absurd questions. At times its ur confidence in answering the question that wd matter not the answer.

* I read earlier in the thread about red tie being offensive. Is that true? I think red is bold.

A very important thread. Thanks to you all.
My little contributions are learn to avoid chatting abbreviations in writting your CV and don't lie unecessarily about your experiences because you never can tell the knowledge limit of your interviewers!

i love this

nicey

Tnk God am here.

Otuabaroku:

@garnetty, I think the best way to go about salary negotiation is to research how much your prospective employer pays people in the same level of the role you applied for and take it from there. Most times, opting for low salary makes you appear cheap and could cost you the job for employers looking for quality employee.

@Otuabaroku, it was really a bad experience for me. I have not fully recovered from the shock. The difference between what I was asking for and what the company was offering was just 1m. I was on a verge of landing this job when it was taken away from me. Fair enough, the salary that was offered was far better than my present remuneration but because the job responsibilities are somewhat enormous I.e. combining two other secondary roles in addition to my primary role , and I needed to get a fair deal hence my insistence on a improved remuneration. I needed that job so badly to move away from my present job but it suddenly eluded me. God's time is the best sha.

victorVIC1:

hmmm...plz, any1 wit suggestions on how to overcome fear?

I would say its preparation... when you do your home work you stand a great chance of easing through any job interview. Bear in mind, being nervous is natural just dont let that get into you.
Ive been called up to come pick up an employment letter in a coy i have only 30% of what the job requires. The HR man just said he loves my boldness; not that i'm that bold anyways. I later dropped the job when i got a better offer elsewhere which i once talked about on this platform.
Additionally, during my NYSC period i could remember downloading a truck load of interview FAQs which i read like a daily devotion, to get me ready for interviews... thankfully, i started working a month after youth service after turning down a list of coys due to them bringing to the table salary i felt weren't good enough.

PS: Just keep building and improving yourself, there is no limit to what you can attain.

EmmyDe25:

I would say its preparation... when you do your home work you stand a great chance of easing through any job interview. Bear in mind, being nervous is natural just dont let that get into you.
Ive been called up to come pick up an employment letter in a coy i have only 30% of what the job requires. The HR man just said he loves my boldness; not that i'm that bold anyways. I later dropped the job when i got a better offer elsewhere which i once talked about on this platform.
Additionally, during my NYSC period i could remember downloading a truck load of interview FAQs which i read like a daily devotion, to get me ready for interviews... thankfully, i started working a month after youth service after turning down a list of coys due to them bringing to the table salary i felt weren't good enough.

PS: Just keep building and improving yourself, there is no limit to what you can attain.

pls can you post links

your success at the interview begins fom the day you submitted your cv. always check the job requirements and prepare your cv to meet the requirements as stated. it is best to prepare a new cv for every new application and make sure you can defend everything in it. dont make it to impress the panel, rather defend its content to convince them...........i'll be back

Make sure your perfume/cologne is mild.Wearing it heavy might nauseate d interviewer or annoy him/her outright.

For the guys,if any man on the interview panel offers you a hand shake,make sure u leave an impression by making it firm;shake like a man.Y'all knw how we do it

Avoid shirt colours dat show pespiration.A lot of HR pple knw wen pple aren't comfortable so wearing for e.g a blue shirt will only send a wrong signal cos sweat is gonna be super visible.

Don't grab a seat if u r nt told to sit.

Wen u walk in,don't close the door while facing d HR pple.Enter,turn back,close d door properly and move forward,greet them and wait for "u can av your seat"

Hi guys!tanx for all these!pls nd pls,can some one ans dis question. Prove t us dt u r nt difficult t get along with?

I RESEARCHED AND FOUND THAT THE COMPANY STARTS THEIR GRADUATE TRAINEES WITH N50,000.
INTERVIEWER:HOW MUCH DO WE PAY YOU?
ME: NOT MUCH, ANTTHING BETWEEN 50,000 AND 70,000 WILL BE OKAY FOR A START
INTERVIEWER; YOU CALL THAT NOT MUCH? HOW MUCH DO DIRECTORS IN THE CIVIL SERVICE EARN? WE WILL ACCOMMODATE AND FEED YOU. WHAT
IF WE PAY YOU 20,000
ME: TO BE HONEST WITH YOU SIR, TWENTY THOUSAND IS SMALL
INTERVIEWER: IF YOU WERE TO START WORK, WHEN WILL YOU BE AVAILABLE TO START?
ME: IMMEDIATELY, SIR
(THERE WAS LAUGHTER IN THE ROOM).........*and God gave it to me!

[color=#000099][/color]THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!


TRULY, YOU DID NOT ANSWER ALL THE QUESIONS ASKED YOU.

THIS QUESTION WILL ALWAYS COME " DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION FOR US?

DONT SAY NO! BE SMART, RECALL ANY QUESTION THEY ASKED YOU THAT YOU COULD NOT ANSWER PROPERLY. ASK THEM THAT QUESTION!
IT SHOWS THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO LEARN!


I'LL BE BACK!

nice

hmmm.just in time.the contributors have been of great help.thanks

hmmmmm thanks brov.....well said. but, twas a financial consultancy outfit and am a fresh graduate as well.

27naira:



Whoever interviewed you was out of ideas.
Red has never been and will never be an offensive color for a tie. That opinion is subjective.
I will assume you are a fresh graduate with little or no experience, that may likely be the reason why the interviewer had no productive subject matter to discuss.
By the way, in the States, democratic congressmen prefer red tie

I have been to a couple of interviews where expat candidates showed up on jeans and t-shirts, and was only present NOT for the interview par se but to negotiate their wages. lol

Silicon valley tech firms don't give a hoot if you show up shorts and flip flops as far as you have what they need.

Things you need to know when going for an interview:

1. have a grasp of the corporate policies of the company you're gunning for. If it is a financial firm, go corporate, preferably not a shiny tie like pink or yellow! and also, get a hair cut and a manicure. Those frauds are particular about appearance.

2. For oil and gas, those assholes are bossy and snobbish. Be patient. Most likely, they will not ask you anything out of the ordinary if you are a fresh recruit, we most likely will ask you about your degrees and academic related questions. A question that i found candidates have not answered appropriately is "what do you want to be"? its vague and tricky right? the truth is that your approach to the question will show us your line of thought! For experienced hands, we are only interested in your career history and why you left your last employers. Some O/G people are professional ashawo, jumping from one company to the other without loyalty to anyone . Nobody wants to mobilize you handsomely today and you will quit the next day. mbanu!

If there are other applicants to be interviewed, make sure u dont go in first. This is because d panel will drill u properly and ur little mistakes will count. Be in d middle cos by then they must have seen worse pple than u and u wud appear d best man for d job. Also they wud b gettin tired by then and wont b mean... ;DIf there are other applicants to be interviewed, make sure u dont go in first. This is because d panel will drill u properly and ur little mistakes will count. Be in d middle cos by then they must have seen worse pple than u and u wud appear d best man for d job. Also they wud b gettin tired by then and wont b mean...

Don't ever ague with your interviewer even if you know he/she is wrong. rather use words like "in my own opinion", "i believe that" etc.

pelumiakinboye:
Never answere a question with "I don't know" or the word "No Idea"

what do you expect me to say about this question......
The interviewer asked me who was the first IG of police and i dont know it. though i lost that my dream job coz i put 24 of April as my date of birth on my CV while i put 11 of April on birth certificate. The interviewer was like, see mumu

OnyeEgo1:
A wise man wud carry his notepad and write out sometin, bin writing 4rm page 0

what about those of us that learn faster and better using our memory? We are not wise? *lmao*

Olutola88:
what about those of us that learn faster and better using our memory? We are not wise? *lmao*

even in window 8, information are being stored after processing much a human wu av 101 tins on his/her mind at any given tym.

OnyeEgo1:


even in window 8, information are being stored after processing much a human wu av 101 tins on his/her mind at any given tym.

Even @ dat, it's not everything you need to write down. For me, I don't need to write down something like this. I just have the ideology that we should learn to develop our memory by learning to challenge our memory with the practice of not writing some things down(especially straightforward instructions like these).

It's my own strategy though and has been working for me since secondary school. Nevertheless, it does mean it will work for you.

Conclusion: Not writing something down doesn't mean we are not wise *lol*. In most cases we have more retention on that subject than those that have written for Africa

EmmyDe25:

I would say its preparation... when you do your home work you stand a great chance of easing through any job interview. Bear in mind, being nervous is natural just dont let that get into you.
Ive been called up to come pick up an employment letter in a coy i have only 30% of what the job requires. The HR man just said he loves my boldness; not that i'm that bold anyways. I later dropped the job when i got a better offer elsewhere which i once talked about on this platform.
Additionally, during my NYSC period i could remember downloading a truck load of interview FAQs which i read like a daily devotion, to get me ready for interviews... thankfully, i started working a month after youth service after turning down a list of coys due to them bringing to the table salary i felt weren't good enough.

PS: Just keep building and improving yourself, there is no limit to what you can attain.

Pls sir, what method of job application were you using to get called up for interviews. So far I have a low application to interview rate. I believe I have the requisite qualifications, degree and certifications but it seems I haven't just gotten something right.
Please I would appreciate ur contribution and advise.