Interviews – Where’s the justice?

Like everyone, I have been to interviews where everything I said seemed to please the interview panel. I left the exhausting process feeling convinced that I had got the job. The much-awaited phone call confirming my appointment, however, never came. Indeed, days passed before someone put me out of my misery telling me that the job, my job, had been given to someone else. And worse, you discover that the “winner” is that colourless, characterless, limp person who you sat next to at some point, quite certain that they didn’t stand a chance. How could they possibly choose him or her rather than me?

Well, let me tell you my theory although this is, of course, an entirely personal view.

Being selected for interview is hard work involving application forms and letters, references and a lot of time and effort. Interviews, however, are all about luck. Schools and candidates are rather like gloves and hands; the hand fitting snugly into the glove is entirely a matter of chance because it’s very likely that final interviews will be given to several perfectly good ‘hands’.  There is no science to interview questions, no better performance; it’s all about whether it’s your lucky day! 

So, good luck with that job application. The quality of your CV will help you to win an interview but, from then onwards, it’s all about luck!

Mike Abraham, Recruitment Director at TES Prime