Expert: Sanjiv Desai Date: 5/7/2008 Subject: after job interview
Question During the interview, the interviewer(human resource) asked me why I left old
company.
I said 'I am looking for professional growth', it seems like good answer; then
he asked me how did the coworkers feel about me, I said 'we worked in
different field, I don't know how they felt about me'.
It seemed he did not like the answer, Then he asked the same question
again, I suddenly remained silent, all of bad memroy came to me...
I can't lie, but this happened again and again, that really bother me. If I
worked happily with exemployer, why should I look for job? The interviewer
know that? Why he test me? My past job must relate to future job? If I did not
get along with exemployer, I am not qualified for new job?
The second part of interview with manager, will asked about my job
performance, but the interviewer controled the whole meeting, he stopped
the meeting immediately, that I have no chance with the manager.
After interview, he gave me paper of company benefit, insurance, maybe?
Can I send follow-up(thank you) letter? ask for 2nd interview?
Answer Dear sC,
Thank you for your question.
Regarding the handling of these questions, I have some thoughts and insights for you:
1. When someone asks about the reason for leaving a previous employment, they usually are trying to find out if there was any problem or if you were asked to leave, or the company downsized etc etc. When you say that you left because you are looking for professional growth, you need to explain why you felt that you were not getting professional growth in your last company. You also need to explain what you mean by professional growth and why you think that this company where you are being interviewed can provide this growth to you.
2. When someone asks about your relationship with co-workers, they want to find out if you are a friendly person, cooperative, helpful etc etc. So your answer that you worked in different fields and therefore did not know what your co-workers felt about you did not give him the information that he was looking for. That is probably why he asked you again. You must answer these questions by trying to read between the lines and understanding the reason why each question is being asked. Only then will you be able to give good answers.
3. Coming to your point about why the HR interviewer is asking all sorts of questions and testing you - of course they will do that! How else will they get to know what kind of person you are? Companies do not hire just anybody - they look for people who will fit in well with their organizational culture. This can only be done by the HR department people and if they feel that you will not fit in then they will try and block your further entry into the company. Also, while your past job may not be related to your future job, your past behavior can be a pretty good predictor of future behavior - which is what the HR person would normally try and dig out by asking these kinds of questions.
So please ensure that you treat the HR interview with a great degree of respect and try and be as open, honest and frank about yourself, your personality, your nature etc etc so that they can make an informed decision on whether to take you forward to the next stage or not.
Finally, you can certainly send a follow up / thank you letter and maybe you can explain that you realise that you may have come across poorly in the first interview but that this was because you were not in the right frame of mind on that particular day due to some personal problem at home or something and request a second chance to interview with them. It may work or it may not, but it's worth a try.
I hope some of this helps you in future interview situations.
