By Dhiya Damia Zuhairul
GOMBAK, 22 May 2021: Internship Communication Students had the opportunity to listen to useful tips on how to excel in job interviews from Mohd Shahrizad Yaacob, an IIUM graduate with 15 years of experience in human resources, who shared his knowledge and experience in a webinar recently.
Mohd Shahrizad Yaacob is now working as an HR Business Partner and had working experiences at HR in Banking, Shipping (GLC), Oil & Gas, Airlines, and healthcare or pharmaceutical industry.
The co-speaker for the webinar was Dr. Shakira Nasir and the session was moderated by Izatul Zulkafli, a Communication student.
Mohd Shahrizad Yaacob said that as interviewees, they must respect the time given for them to attend the interview. He strictly advised that coming late without a valid reason is prohibited as it will give a bad impression of the candidates.
It shows that the candidates are not eager enough to get the job that they want. He therefore urged the students to listen and understand the questions carefully. “If you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Mohd Shahrizad said.
He further said that most of the time the candidates were too afraid to say that they did not know how to answer and ended up turning the question given into an inappropriate joke.
He advised students to know the background of the company before attending the interview. He encouraged the candidates to do their own research on the selected company that they want to attend for the job interview.
This is crucial as it is part of the questions that could be asked by the interviewer. He also said that it is best to know who is the interviewer, whether he is someone from the human resources department, the manager, or the CEO itself.
Mohd Shahrizad further mentioned some of the don’ts that candidates must avoid during the interview session. Foe example, they are reminded not to fabricate their past experiences or background.
He said that the interviewer would know whether the candidates are telling the truth or lying about themselves.
He also mentioned that candidates should not oversell themselves in order to fit in the position that they want. The risk is that the candidates might not survive in the company if they cannot perform during the probation period.
“Don’t treat the interviewer as your enemy,” he further advised, meaning that “when the candidates talk to the interviewer, they must be honest and talk to them as if they were the interviewer’s friends to have a positive vibe during the interview.”
The webinar ended with a Q & A session where the students were given a platform to discuss their curiosity related to job interviews.***