Jobless Corner

This week we shall cover five job interview questions that normally put the interviewee in a rut. We shall cover each topic per day.

We all know about the TV program, The Apprentice where candidates are constantly put through a grueling set of interviews that requires them to apply all the skills that they have learnt through life.

In a tough job interview even the smoothest candidate can come unstuck. The interview episode of The Apprentice showcases tactics to test the mettle of prospective employees. How to respond if you find yourself in a job interview from hell?

For many it’s the most nerve-wracking thing they ever undergo. An occasion characterised by sweat maps of Africa under the arms, flushed faces, racing hearts and feelings of mortal dread.

The job interview is a tough institution and these five bear traps that we are going to cover throughout this week (one per day) are among the most painful any candidate can face:

Trap No. 1: Getting Caught in a Lie

Ever since the ancient Lydians first minted coins and used them to pay shop staff, prospective employees have been embellishing their records in order to get themselves the job.

Bordan Tkachuk, chief executive of Sir Alan Sugar’s technology firm Viglen, and one of the interview rottweilers on The Apprentice, is not entirely sure this is a bad idea.

“To a large degree honesty is a good foundation and you are not going to go wrong. But it is a competitive situation - if you stretch the truth and it’s within reasonable boundaries it is a chance you take. But it is a chance that pays dividends.”

Of course, if you are found out, it can get very hairy. The Apprentice’s Lee was caught out by Tkachuk as his CV claimed a two-year stint at Thames Valley University when in fact he had dropped out after four months.

“I asked him several times about his academic qualifications and I gave him more than one opportunity to tell me whether he had in fact completed the course. I was trying to ascertain his integrity. The dates didn’t seem to stack up. I had a suspicion. I left the question, spoke to him again, he again confirmed. When I asked him a third time he broke down and said he hadn’t.”

The end result is the appearance that perhaps this is a person who cannot be trusted.

“The most important thing in an interview is to be authentic, to say the truth,” says Simon Mitchell, of leadership consultants DDI. “The worst thing you can have happen to you is to be asked a question where you have to cover up - that’s very stressful.”