HOW TO PASS YOUR INTERVIEW You should be able to convince the interviewers that you really want the job. You need to

show confidence as you answer the questions. Be assertive and do not show to the

interview crew that you are not ready, or have any doubts about yourself.

Tell them that you are ready to start work immediately.

When do you follow up an interview? You can freely ask the interviewees when you

would probably get the response from them. But make sure you ask politely

SKILLS REQUIRED OF AN INTERVIEWEEa) Adequate interpersonal communication

b) Customer service

c) Education

d) Communication skills

e) Team work

When the interviewer asks you:”Do you have any questions you would like to ask the panelists?

You can ask questions about the job, Company and the department.

The questions which may be raised by the interviewee may include the following:

a) Are there any opportunities for further sponsorship for further studies?

b) Does the company have on job training for the staff?

c) How does the Company carry out the performance appraisal for the staff?

d) How does the Company motivate its staff?

e) What does the Company base on to promote its staff?

How to successfully prepare for an interview (Preparing for the first job interview)

Questions at the interview are normally picked from the data which you have provided. This

includes your application letter, your curriculum vitae, your certificates and any other relevant

papers. You may be asked where you went for your secondary education, your subject

combination etc. One of the topics can be picked and you would be asked what you understand

by certain words. “What do you understand by marketing mix?

QUESTIONS ASKED AT INTERVIEWS

a) Tell us about yourself

This is a difficult question. You need to be steady to answer such a question wisely. In answering

such a question, you are not expected to talk about your failures and weaknesses. No please.

Talk about your achievements, your experience in work, the projects you have handled and

your work experience. You are not expected to talk about your having children and your best

dish. This is a chance to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job. You could have a write up

about your past achievements and learnt it. Talk about your achievements in terms of

qualifications. As you present an answer to such a question, you should be thorough and ably

apply your presentation skills

b) What is your greatest weakness

This is not the time to talk about your greed for the Company money. Someone can carelessly

start talking about how he embezzled funds in the previous employment and was dismissed. Of

course not. Talk about any sickness, which you may have like an allergy, and the weakness of

getting disturbed when you fail to meet your target in time.

c) What are your greatest strengths?

The expected response is in terms of qualifications the candidate has, the acquired skills in time

management, communication skills, teamwork, project planning, etc. Again this is a chance for

the candidate to sell himself. You must find the particular skills, which you have and talk about

them. If you know that you are a poor time Manager, do not pretend to be what you are not.

Remember that you will be monitored to see if you have such skills and strengths

KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS

These questions vary from one candidate to another. This depends on the candidate’s area of

specialization in academics. For example a student who specialized in marketing in Bachelor of

Business Administration at the University would be asked questions relating to the marketing

mix elements which include the product, price, place and promotion. The student who has done

marketing should be able to convince the panelists by marketing a simple product like a pen or

rwenzori water. This means that the student acquired the knowledge in class, but can also apply

the knowledge in real life marketing. Below are sample questions on marketing and accounting

which are usually asked on the panels in Uganda.

d) What do you understand by the term promotion

The person who specialized in Marketing should have a good knowledge of the marketing mix

elements which include the product/service, price, place and promotion. This means that you can

be examined in this area to establish if you have knowledge of your area of specialization.

e) What is a suspense account? What is a balance sheet?

A student who specialized in Accounting at undergraduate should be able to know what a

suspense account is. A person who did a management course should have acquired on

effectiveness of communication. This means that you need to be ready with good knowledge of

your major and minor areas of specialization. The interviewer does this to establish whether you

are the owner of the papers or not.

f) How do you handle stress?

Stress refers to the inability to cope with the pressure of work. There are times when people work

under pressure and therefore it can lead to stressfulness.

Stress can be managed by good time management skills like adequate delegation of duties,

acquisitions of skills for the tasks, eating food for a balanced diet and having physical exercise.

The most important thing is to learn to say no, coz you cannot do everything at a ago, some of

the work has to be pushed to the following day.

g) How do you deal with difficult people?

Some people are difficult to work with. They have high expectations and want the work to be

done at their own pace, therefore making life difficult for others to cope. This means that one has

to learn to handle them carefully. There is need for patience, good time management skills

and to try to do the right thing at the right time.

Try to be friendly to win them over to your side.

You need to identify the job that has been advertised, the qualifications and other requirements

for the job. This is important coz some of the questions will come from the job descriptions in

the advert. Remember as you prepare for the interview that even a small mistake can cost you the

job. Therefore prepare for skill and abilities interview questions.

h) How do you explain gaps in your work history?

At times some people have gaps in the work history coz of going for further studies. It may be

due to resignation of a previous job if the work conditions were not conducive, like working in

shifts or working in a heavily polluted environment. It is necessary to give the facts surrounding

the gaps sine this can always be proved behind your back. Do not mention your past work

experience if it can bring you problems.

i) How do you explain low grades in your performance?

From your academic transcript, you may have got low grades in some courses. You may be

required to explain such grades to the panel.

So how do you respond to such? You need to be frank in what could have led to the low grades.

For example, you may have been sick during the time of examinations and that led to reduction

in your cumulative grade point average. Some people perform poorly because of disturbance

caused by death of close friends or relatives, sickness of close relatives or some other personal

problem. You should be clear in your explanations.

j) How do you explain termination of your previous job?

People’s terminations are as a result of a number of reasons. In some cases, it may not really be

your fault and some workers are cut-off when the Organization is in slump. In other cases, one’s

service may be terminated when you are badly behaved. In such a case, it would be better not to

mention your previous employment when you know that such will bring you problems and

doubts in your possible employers.

k) Keeping your present employer from being contacted

It is common for some employees to insist on your stay in the Organization and therefore, when

you mention your intentions to leave work with another Organization, they may try to frustrate

your efforts. In that case, you should not give the contacts of your current employer. You should

use other contacts and people who support your cause for reference on the curriculum vitae.

However, if the present employer supports your plans of getting a better job, then you can go

ahead to give his telephone number and the email address.

l) How to address a question on reduction in salary from your current job to

that you are applying for.

There is need to be certain about the salary on offer. If this is less than what you are getting in

your job, you must be determined to accept it or you should not take up the job. The salary may

be lower but there may be job security and other better job opportunities.

Job security should be a determining factor if your current job is not secure.

m) A question on salary and conditions of work, How much money should we

pay you per month

This is a common but a very tricky question. It is meant to find out your expectations of the job.

If you ask for very many million, this may be an indicator of a person who is greedy for money.

For example you may do some research about the salaries paid to the secretaries’ in Kampala

city council as a half a million. This means that when you are asked about the salary you expect

when you are employed as a secretary then your answer can be at least 550,000 shillings and not

5000,000. The interviewee should endeavor to find out how much the others at the same level in

the Organization are paid. You should do research on the Organization and find out about the

conditions of work. This will help you to determine whether you still have interest to work in the

Organization.

HINTS ON INTERVIEWS Closing the interview

The best thing to close the interview is to thank the interviewers for their time, and assure them

that you will patiently wait for their response. Mention when you are available to start work. This

means that you are concluding your discussion in a mature way.

Writing a thank you letter

The offer of the job means that you were the successful candidate. When you are offered the job,

you do not just dance and stop at that. You should write to the Organization a thank you letter.

Inform the Human Resource office that you have accepted the job offer and indicate when you

are ready to embark on the work.

This will confirm to the Human Resource Office that you are ready for work and you are actually

taking on the job.

How to turn down a job offer

It is not a must that you must take up the job even when you pass the interview. The job may

offer some conditions which are not suitable to you. In such a case you need to politely inform

the Organization that you are not able to take up the job. Give the reasons. This will help you to

keep in good books with the Organization. This means that in case of any other opportunity for

another job, you can still try your chance. For example the job may not be offering some

opportunities for further studies and training. If you are a person who wants to have career

development, then you should not take up the job but explain to the Organization why you have

not taken up the job.

Must you answer all questions to pass an interview?

What do you say when you don’t know the answer? You are not expected to know all answers

to questions asked at an interview. It is only God who knows everything. This means it is not a

crime to fail to answer a question. However your target should be to try to answer all the

questions. Say something even when you do not know the answer. For example you can say you

do not know the answer to the question or you have forgotten the answer. Please say something

and do not just keep quiet.

And in case of questions which test the knowledge in the area of specialization, you should

prepare and master them like you do when preparing for an examination. Note that you may fail

to answer the questions because of fear and panic. This means that you should get rid of fear and

have some self confidence.

You should bear in mind that questions at interviews are determined by what is in your

submissions (CV, application letter etc)

You only need to be comfortable and feel confident as you appear before the panelists. Control

your nerves and give natural unrehearsed answers. This will give you a confirmation that the

interview is after all not a complex and impossible experience. It can be done successfully. This

means that you get the confidence which you need to appear before the panel. You should review

hundreds of skills and abilities questions. There are some questions which will help you to think

deeply about your life and your future. Example you may be asked about your long term goals,

your future plans and strategies.

EXPAINED BELOW Where do you see yourself in five years to come?

This is the interviewer trying to see how you make long range plans and if you have goals that

are agreeable with the Organizations goals. One way to answer this question is to look back on

your accomplishments to date:” I started out in my profession as a junior clerk while I completed

my college studies during the evenings.

Once I had my degree, I applied for a transfer to a more advanced position, citing my on-the-job

training. This has been my pattern for my career with my past two employers. I learn quickly on

the job and am willing to take classes and workshops to augment my experience. I do not think

in terms of titles… I think more in terms of how can I solve this problem? Since this has been my

career style to bate, I do not imagine it to change. In five years, I feel I will have continued to

learn, to grow into a position of more responsibility and will have made a significant contribution

to the Organization.

What are your short term and long term goals?

No one can make goals for you. It comes down to where you are in your professional life and

what you want to do. Most people have 5-6 careers in their working lifetime some with two

careers going at the same time (like us)

The best advice is to be certain to relate your answers to the Organization that the interviews

you. Do not make a point of having goals that cannot be realized there (I want to work in paris

when the job you have applied for is in Uganda”. This would communicate to the panel that you

cannot stay with the Organization for a long time. You will soon run away from the Organization

when you are recruited. If you do research into the Organization, and into what you truly want to

do in the future, you will be able to come up with reasonable responses. No one is going to come

back to you in five years and chastise you for not meeting these goals. For example, a teaching

assistant may have a goal of getting a masters and a PhD in 6 years. This may not be realized

within the short time and you can still work towards achieving it in the later years. You will not

be held to them. It is only an interview and they are interested in how you see yourself in the

future-five years.

THE JOB INTERVIEW PROCESS

INTRODUCTIONThe candidate should do thorough preparations before appearing before the panel, should have

adequate knowledge on how to present himself from the time of entry into the interview room,

how he should conduct himself when answering the questions and how to end the interview.

Details given below:

A. Preparation- Learn as much about the Company as you can before your interview. Find

out what they do, what they make, and what kind of services they provide and determine

if your skills can fit what they do. Determine what you can offer the Company. Arrange

and confirm the time for your interview.

Make sure you arrive early. Don,t be late. Ask for directions when you confirm your

appointment, if needed. Make a list of what questions you may want to ask them. More

importantly, make a list of those questions you anticipate they might ask you and decide

how you will answer these questions. You then are prepared hoe to answer them.

B. Introduction- Make sure your initial non-verbal contact is positive. Smile when you first

see the person interviewing you. Have a firm handshake and establish good eye contact

when talking. You be the one to start off the conversation. Go prepared with your list of

specific questions to ask them about the job and the Company. Don’t forget to bring the

questions with you.

C. Presentation- When asked questions always listen to their questions carefully? If you

don’t understand any question, ask them to clarify the question. If do not know the

answer to the Question be honest and say so but do offer to get back to them with the

answer later and do get back to them.

D. Obtain information for yourself- Remember, this job interview is for your benefit also.

Ask questions about the actual job requirements, benefits and type of work that you will

be expected to do. Determine if the job will fit in with your education background and

career goals.(Have you written down your career goals) Be prepared to take notes during

the interview. This shows you came prepared. Write down all the names of the people

you meet and their position.

Be active in the interview process. Don’t just sit there and not ask any questions.

A. The final stage- Write down all the reasons for the Company to hire you. Ask if your

background matches what the Company is looking for. Ask if they are interviewing other

people for the same position and when can you expect a decision.