As COVID-19 continues to overload hospitals and take more and more lives, the idea of switching careers for people around the world becomes as relevant as ever. At the same time, in the state of pandemic there are a few additional details every candidate should take into account in order to not only get the job, but to get it in the right place.
Predict Tricky Questions from Your Resume
Although, in most cases job interviews are built on a certain level of mutual respect and last in a positive and friendly manner, you have to always keep in mind that one of the main tasks of HR is to find your weak spot and hit it, by putting you into awkward and uncomfortable positions. The best way to deflect these attempts and to ricochet them is to prepare yourself for the questions they may ask you.
Even if you have a perfect resume, it may still contain the information that will cause HR to ask you something cunning and slightly provocative.
If your resume says that you worked for 1 month as graphic designer, chances are you will receive a question that sounds similar to this: “was it too difficult for you that you had such a short time of experience?” And in that case, you can be ready to reply with the following sentence: “It wasn’t difficult to work, but it was easy to leave, since at some point my employer became passive-aggressive.”
Wear Pants if They Conduct You the Interview Online
There are three main reasons why people prefer to make professional video-calls in undies.
- It is fun
- It is comfortable
- It may lower the level of stress
Although the third benefit is a strong argument in support of “undies tactic”, it loses the battle in the fight with “full dress code” mode.
If at some point they do get to see you in undies they will laugh and they won’t take you seriously afterwards. And even if they act cool it will most likely force them to part ways with you.
On the other hand, if they see that you are wearing smart pants – they will like you for being a complete professional. And if you do note this detail about yourself when they ask you about the way you process your tasks and do it the right way – they will also appreciate your sense of humor.
And if they do try to test you by asking you to get up – do not do it, as it will show that you are easily manipulated. Instead say “perhaps I will refrain, since showing off my clothes was not in professional skills of my resume if you read it carefully.” That will deliver them the message that you are a respectable and quick witted professional.
Do Not Show Up to Offline Interview Without Mask
That way you risk to automatically worsen their positive impression of you before you even get to the interview. Whether you believe in coronavirus or not, in this period of time the World Health Organization insists on strengthening precautions by wearing masks and social distancing in order to not infect others.
The quarantine rules implied on everyone. So, if you start off by showing that you break the most relevant and basic rule of safety – you will be classified as an unprofessional and irresponsible worker. Since that gesture will demonstrate that you do not take health issues seriously and risk to decrease the level of common productivity. And nobody wants to deal with someone who can hurt their business, especially at these challenging times.
Ask their views on Pandemic
The best way to ask this relevant question is by showing that you not only care about your personal health, but that you also want to know how businesswise they run their company. But the trick is also about not sounding as an arrogant workless candidate who makes the assumption that his potential business partners are injudicious. So, the right version to formulate this question will sound somewhat like this.
“During these challenging times various businesses look at COVID-19 situation differently. How does your company look at pandemic? Do you consider it a global disaster, or do you think that there’s actually not really much to be afraid of?”
That crucial question will give you a number of useful benefits:
- It will inform you about conditions of your potentially new workplace;
- It will show them that you care about your personal health;
- It will show them that you are professional who thinks of the business health of the company before joining it;
- It will remind them that not only they are auditioning you, but that you are also auditioning them.
Do Not Have Business if They Think That Pandemic is a Lie
That means that they may not only allow themselves to cause health oversights but may also allow themselves to poorly take care of the other aspects of their business, due to the lack of their scientific mindset. Rules are implied on everyone. And for any company to think that you can get away with it and manage to succeed in the business is unapologetically unwise and naïve.
About the Author: Zack Hargrove is a remote editor. Programming help provided by his colleagues is useful for anyone who struggles at computer classes. His other teammates are willing to provide you professional assistance in case you are about to search for “write my paper” for any other discipline. You can find him on twitter @zackhargrovejr.