The outcome of an interview depends on both the interviewer and the interviewee. If too many applicants perform pretty badly during interviews chaired by you then there may be an issue in your style of interview. The interview most times doesn't fully assess competency. I was interviewed by a top professor in a world-class university, the interview was great because the professor was quite friendly with vast experience in dealing with students from different backgrounds. After my resumption, the same interview was chaired by a postdoc in the faculty and she woefully failed the candidate. Most of the questions she asked the candidate I didn't know during my application because I am pretty new in the research field. I learned most of the basics she failed the candidate less than a month into the program. There are no jobs, my brother, HRs are demigods in Nigeria.

membranus:
The Interview

By Bayo Adeyinka

March 15, 2022

Each time I conduct interviews, I usually end up shaking my head and lamenting about the state of education in Nigeria. Our tertiary institutions are churning out graduates who are mainly unemployable. Earlier today, I interviewed almost 50 candidates and by the end of the whole session, the only conclusion I could arrive at was that we have a BIG problem.

In one particular instance, I was alarmed when I read the CV of a particular female graduate of one of the Universities in the South West. It was full of outlandish errors and so I asked her to spell a few words. She spelt the word 'redeemed' wrongly four times before she got it right the fifth time. On her CV, she described herself as one of the officials of the church fellowship when she was an undergraduate but she wrote the name of the church wrongly. She couldn't spell the word 'corper' despite trying more than five times. Yet, during her national service, she taught pupils at a school. I underlined about 10 grammatical errors on her CV and showed them to her. She couldn't even determine where to use apostrophe s.

A particular candidate couldn't speak a whole sentence without committing serious blunders. Even when I repeated those errors while thinking he would correct himself, he repeated the blunders again. Another candidate found it difficult explaining what he studied in school. Some have not developed themselves in any way since they graduated. I had to spend some time to talk to a lady who had her Ordinary National Diploma fifteen years ago but had not done anything to improve herself since then. When she mentioned the issue of paucity of funds, I pointed at her designer bag and her well braided hair as evidence that fund was not the problem.

I asked a female candidate what her aspirations were if money was not a restraining factor. Her answer left all of us on the interview panel with mouths wide open. "I want to live large and live big", she told us. One of the candidates told us he studied 'BSc Economics'. He made the mistake thrice until I corrected him that he studied Economics and not BSc Economics. A fellow was asked to introduce himself and he started with 'My names are...'. I asked him how many people he's introducing. Even when I tried to correct him, he insisted he was correct so I gave up on him.

On one occasion, I asked a female candidate what her husband does. She replied, 'I'm sorry but he's a driver'. I asked her why she was sorry about the legitimate job that her husband does. I told her that the job of her husband does not define who he is. His job is simply a job. I told her I also drove a cab before. I spent the longest time with her as I wanted her mind to be disinfected of the low self-esteem she seemed to carry. I played the video of Femi Ogedengbe, the Nollywood actor turned security guard in the United States and encouraged her to be proud of her husband. Interestingly, the husband is a graduate and I've asked her to give me her husband's CV. She almost broke down in tears when I told her I'd rather hire her husband than her. She knelt and apologized before she left my office.

A few guys had the labels of their suit on their sleeves- at least three of them that I recall. When I asked why the labels were not removed, they grinned sheepishly. One of them told me that is the current trend. When that same guy sat down, I observed that he wore ankle socks with a significant part of his legs showing bare skin. One candidate was particularly striking for his naivety. He came in shaking and stammered while introducing himself. He could barely string a sentence together. When I tried to make him comfortable by asking him to take a deep breath, he answered by saying, "I don't know why I'm like this today. This is actually my first interview". He just finished his national service and anxiety was written all over him.

I made two major observations during the interview session today:

1. Candidates who engaged in extracurricular activities while in school turned out better. There was a lady who was a member of SIFE- Students In Free Enterprise- while she was on campus and she was one of the bright spots. There was another fellow that represented his University at a competition outside Nigeria. He was also outstanding. Likewise, a lady who was Vice President of her Students Union while she was an undergraduate. She demonstrated so much confidence during the interview.

2. Candidates that went to private universities performed better generally. There must be something the private universities are getting right as their graduates communicated better. They demonstrated a far more superior level of intelligence. I was disappointed by the performance of most graduates of mainstream universities and polytechnics. One could almost guess whether a candidate attended a private university just by listening to them.

If you're preparing for an interview, it's in your best interest to do some research about the company you want to work with if you know the company. Google is your friend. Work on your communication skills. You should be able to talk about yourself very clearly and also describe what you have done before-if you're an experienced hire. Your body language is critical- no fidgeting and no show of anxiety. All of us have butterflies in our stomach when we face strange people on an interview panel but with a smile on your face, no one will ever know. A lady cracked her knuckles throughout the interview today. It's very irritating but also shows she was nervous. Your posture is important. Dont slouch on the chair. Sit straight with your back on the chair and your legs together.

Mind your language while being interviewed. It's better to be brief than to be unnecessarily verbose. By talking too much at times, you demonstrate that you know so little. Pronounce words well. It can take some practice but stand in front of a mirror and rehearse until you get better. Be ready to defend your certificate. Demonstrate that you actually earned your degree. Maintain eye contacts. That shows your level of confidence. Good grooming is key to your success. No matter the current fad, it's safer to be conservative in your dressing. Dark coloured suits are best for interviews. Stay with white or blue shirts for men. You can never go wrong with them. You must have a great sense of colour to want to try very bright colours. It's either it turns out so good or you turn out like a magician's apprentice. Ladies have the latitude to try out more colours but the simpler, the better. Pay attention to your hair and hand bag. Synchronize your colours properly. Avoid loud jewelleries. Look your best as the book is often judged by the cover during interviews. Your appearance is what we see first before we hear what you have to say.

We need to declare a state of emergency in our education sector and even start to teach intending graduates certain life skills. Nigerian graduates will not be able to compete with their African counterparts in a few years at this rate.

SOURCE

You are also jobless

This is a fabricated story just to trend

Shm.m

Nice tips

membranus:
The Interview

By Bayo Adeyinka

March 15, 2022

Each time I conduct interviews, I usually end up shaking my head and lamenting about the state of education in Nigeria. Our tertiary institutions are churning out graduates who are mainly unemployable. Earlier today, I interviewed almost 50 candidates and by the end of the whole session, the only conclusion I could arrive at was that we have a BIG problem.

In one particular instance, I was alarmed when I read the CV of a particular female graduate of one of the Universities in the South West. It was full of outlandish errors and so I asked her to spell a few words. She spelt the word 'redeemed' wrongly four times before she got it right the fifth time. On her CV, she described herself as one of the officials of the church fellowship when she was an undergraduate but she wrote the name of the church wrongly. She couldn't spell the word 'corper' despite trying more than five times. Yet, during her national service, she taught pupils at a school. I underlined about 10 grammatical errors on her CV and showed them to her. She couldn't even determine where to use apostrophe s.

A particular candidate couldn't speak a whole sentence without committing serious blunders. Even when I repeated those errors while thinking he would correct himself, he repeated the blunders again. Another candidate found it difficult explaining what he studied in school. Some have not developed themselves in any way since they graduated. I had to spend some time to talk to a lady who had her Ordinary National Diploma fifteen years ago but had not done anything to improve herself since then. When she mentioned the issue of paucity of funds, I pointed at her designer bag and her well braided hair as evidence that fund was not the problem.

I asked a female candidate what her aspirations were if money was not a restraining factor. Her answer left all of us on the interview panel with mouths wide open. "I want to live large and live big", she told us. One of the candidates told us he studied 'BSc Economics'. He made the mistake thrice until I corrected him that he studied Economics and not BSc Economics. A fellow was asked to introduce himself and he started with 'My names are...'. I asked him how many people he's introducing. Even when I tried to correct him, he insisted he was correct so I gave up on him.

On one occasion, I asked a female candidate what her husband does. She replied, 'I'm sorry but he's a driver'. I asked her why she was sorry about the legitimate job that her husband does. I told her that the job of her husband does not define who he is. His job is simply a job. I told her I also drove a cab before. I spent the longest time with her as I wanted her mind to be disinfected of the low self-esteem she seemed to carry. I played the video of Femi Ogedengbe, the Nollywood actor turned security guard in the United States and encouraged her to be proud of her husband. Interestingly, the husband is a graduate and I've asked her to give me her husband's CV. She almost broke down in tears when I told her I'd rather hire her husband than her. She knelt and apologized before she left my office.

A few guys had the labels of their suit on their sleeves- at least three of them that I recall. When I asked why the labels were not removed, they grinned sheepishly. One of them told me that is the current trend. When that same guy sat down, I observed that he wore ankle socks with a significant part of his legs showing bare skin. One candidate was particularly striking for his naivety. He came in shaking and stammered while introducing himself. He could barely string a sentence together. When I tried to make him comfortable by asking him to take a deep breath, he answered by saying, "I don't know why I'm like this today. This is actually my first interview". He just finished his national service and anxiety was written all over him.

I made two major observations during the interview session today:

1. Candidates who engaged in extracurricular activities while in school turned out better. There was a lady who was a member of SIFE- Students In Free Enterprise- while she was on campus and she was one of the bright spots. There was another fellow that represented his University at a competition outside Nigeria. He was also outstanding. Likewise, a lady who was Vice President of her Students Union while she was an undergraduate. She demonstrated so much confidence during the interview.

2. Candidates that went to private universities performed better generally. There must be something the private universities are getting right as their graduates communicated better. They demonstrated a far more superior level of intelligence. I was disappointed by the performance of most graduates of mainstream universities and polytechnics. One could almost guess whether a candidate attended a private university just by listening to them.

If you're preparing for an interview, it's in your best interest to do some research about the company you want to work with if you know the company. Google is your friend. Work on your communication skills. You should be able to talk about yourself very clearly and also describe what you have done before-if you're an experienced hire. Your body language is critical- no fidgeting and no show of anxiety. All of us have butterflies in our stomach when we face strange people on an interview panel but with a smile on your face, no one will ever know. A lady cracked her knuckles throughout the interview today. It's very irritating but also shows she was nervous. Your posture is important. Dont slouch on the chair. Sit straight with your back on the chair and your legs together.

Mind your language while being interviewed. It's better to be brief than to be unnecessarily verbose. By talking too much at times, you demonstrate that you know so little. Pronounce words well. It can take some practice but stand in front of a mirror and rehearse until you get better. Be ready to defend your certificate. Demonstrate that you actually earned your degree. Maintain eye contacts. That shows your level of confidence. Good grooming is key to your success. No matter the current fad, it's safer to be conservative in your dressing. Dark coloured suits are best for interviews. Stay with white or blue shirts for men. You can never go wrong with them. You must have a great sense of colour to want to try very bright colours. It's either it turns out so good or you turn out like a magician's apprentice. Ladies have the latitude to try out more colours but the simpler, the better. Pay attention to your hair and hand bag. Synchronize your colours properly. Avoid loud jewelleries. Look your best as the book is often judged by the cover during interviews. Your appearance is what we see first before we hear what you have to say.

We need to declare a state of emergency in our education sector and even start to teach intending graduates certain life skills. Nigerian graduates will not be able to compete with their African counterparts in a few years at this rate.

SOURCE

I'll love to come to your company as worker. I'm confident I'll ace the interview

CountVersailles:


As you have taken it upon yourself to correct others' English, I have also taken the time to point out a few of your own errors. Nevertheless, I should say that all you demonstrated here is traditional thinking. It's not that surprising. It appears interviews with you can only go one way. Any candidate taking a detour from the normal is quite likely to fail with you.

Good

womenareapess:
don't worry, those dull students and graduates you keep mentioning, will join a bandit kidnapp you, rape your sorry yansh and still request for ransom from your family

Ever wonder the increase rate of bandit and criminal,is because of stupid people like you

You are showcasing your ignorance in this forum. Mr. man, go back to school.

OVB123:
You are showcasing your ignorance in this forum. Mr. man, go back to school.

showcase finish you there

Your parent shouldn't have fvcked themselve to give birth to this imbec1le

If poverty dey disturb you come make I give you and your family job Mr ediot

wpadmin:


It was reduced because students were not meeting up.

If JAMB maintained 200 and above, some schools will not get a single candidate.

JAMB sacrificed quality for quantity.

If the secondary schools were doing a good job, students won't find it hard to get good grades in JAMB.

And you will see them bragging they are in school. With low mark. Na wa. During my own time. Even if you score 199.9. You are not qualify for admission o.

FuckDModz:
Fix public primary and Secondary schools and 80% of our problems will disappear.

Some high school graduates can't properly read and write, there's little to nothing a public uni can do for them.

A dumbo* in high school will remain a dumbo in the Uni and after Uni.

*book smart kinda dummy.

this is so apt

I do emphasise on it, claiming that university or polytechnic education do not bring out the best in a student. Your primary and secondary school education is the key determinant. Once you're smart and intelligent in high school then your university is a walk over. Particularly, public university. There's nothing so special in there.

eeetuk:
"On one occasion, I asked a female candidate what her husband does."

Dear Bayo Adeyinkia,
You over stepped your bound by asking the interviewee a real personal question. That to me is condescending question on your part. An interview is built to assess whether a candidate for the job has necessary skills to do the job. Instead of you to ask questions to assess her skills , you went into her private life. That to me is wrong.

So, the personal question you asked the interviewee above makes her uncomfortable and forgetful about her preparations for the interview. i understand the job market in Nigeria is tight, but you really put that young lady through hell.

In my view, you as an interviewer is the problem and not the interviewee. Were you trying to date the young lady by asking her the above question? Please next time, stop making an interviewee to feel very uncomfortable. If you don't want to hire someone, leave him or her alone. Okay?

@membranus That's what most interviewers do, they have this boss feeling, that makes them see interviewers as poor and inferior beings. Imagine checking someone's stockings, complaining about the label on people's suit. You interviewed 50 people, then WHAT? Out of the 50 people pick the ones you feel can do your work, and move on. Not, all this supper story, judging people by their spoken English. Who you be

B3sty:
Heat Is just too much Here in Abuja...
Too long, can't read that now, Pls if you're with me on this, raise your Hands!

Learn to read important write up and not only Buhari and Tinubu's stories.

CountVersailles:


As you have taken it upon yourself to correct others' English, I have also taken the time to point out a few of your own errors. Nevertheless, I should say that all you demonstrated here is traditional thinking. It's not that surprising. It appears interviews with you can only go one way. Any candidate taking a detour from the normal is quite likely to fail with you.

I just love the way you put him in his place. Its almost as if he has his mind preconditioned to look for faults during interviews and not the strengths of the potential candidate. He also forgot that he is human after all and also full of mistakes.

English has been claimed to be our mother to gue or language but how many can really speak proper n correct English?? There is a mistake people make which is thinking that your being able to speak English fluently is a sign of intelligence. This isn't true., English is a means of communication just like Hausa, ibi or Yoruba. People going for job interviews should be tested in their specific fields n wen they fail u know they r dull. Mind u some people thrive in theories while some are practical oriented. I know it is important to be able to communicate in or so called mother tongue because in your everyday communication (verbal speech, letters emails, text etc) you have to be able to pass on Ur messages n points correctly to the point of little or no error. At the end of the day I advocate for our schools to teach students in their native languages or even pidgin because that is what they revert to and think with after all the English the school teaches. As an example sometimes I ask people to tell me the following words in their native language; upload, download, internet. But till date I have not found anyone that has been able to tell me