The Recruitment Process Aint for Sissies

I’ve been a bit quiet lately, which doesn’t bode well for my blogging aspirations. BUT, I have an excuse! – a good one too. I’ve been job hunting.

Now, anyone who has been through the recruitment process will know what a daunting procedure it can be. You search through reams of jobs you can’t do, just to find the handful of jobs that you qualify for. You send out your CV. This is followed by any of the following – silence, email exchanges, assessment tasks, interviews, second interviews, negotiations and hopefully a suitable job. Times are tough in South Africa and you know you’ve got more than healthy amount of competition to deal with too.

A Good Dose of Curiosity

Of course, what many fail to realise when job hunting is that you should be sussing out a company as much as they are interrogating you. The said company is where you will spend 8 hours (or more) of your day. Apparently there are 249 working days a year in South Africa. Let’s do the math:

249 * 8 = 1192 hours

That’s a lot of time! So, to prevent the onset of madness, it goes without saying that you should at least be vaguely comfortable and happy with your working situation. Amidst the nerves and heart palpitations that are part and parcel of interviews, you need to be able to gather yourself enough to ask good, insightful questions. AND, take a good look around. What does the office look like? Do the people seem content with their working situation? Can you visualize yourself sitting there for 1192 hours of the year? If these thoughts cause the onset of even more heart palpitations, then perhaps there is no point in pursuing the job any further.

Who’s Bluffing?

What I find most challenging about the recruitment process is the ensuing negotiations that take place when a company is interested in you. Nowadays, it is standard practice for a company to ask you what your salary requirements are before you are even invited for an interview. I understand why businesses ask; because they don’t want to waste time interviewing you just to find out that they can’t afford you – but still, it really sucks that you could be shooting yourself in the foot before you’ve even had a chance to reconsider your expectations based on other factors.

Yes, you’ll want to earn a decent wage for the 1192 hours a year you’ll work, but other factors still play a part. Personally, my working environment and the people I will work with have become determining factors as to whether I’m even interested in a job.

But, what I’m trying to get to is the crucial part of the interview phase – money. Don’t you just love how they save that for last? By this stage they’ve drawn the process out so long and reminded you just how many other applicants they are considering. In other words, don’t be too fussy now. There’s a line of people waiting to snap up this position.

Image via Graela

Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be flexible with finances, but it is good to go into the recruitment process knowing what your absolute cut off is. My experience has been that companies play their cards very tight to their chest - and you should do the same. Don’t be too forthcoming. Think about things carefully before you talk. Listen, wait and then talk.

When I think back to my first job interview, I want to laugh every time. They asked me where I saw myself in 5 years; I said England. They asked me what career I wanted to pursue; I said I didn’t know – maybe teaching!? And no, I wasn’t interviewing for a teaching post in England, I was interviewing for a copywriting job in Cape Town. Thankfully, they saw past my faux pas and were gracious enough to give me the job anyway. It was my ‘foot in the door’ so to speak and I will always be grateful for it.

One thing I can say is – interviews (whether you’re offered the job or not/whether you want the job or not) are good practice. But, they aint for sissies. So, wear your bravest face and put yourself out there. And above all, pray!  

P.S. I got the job J