salary/interview issues? TIPS

Originally Posted by Unregistered

A qn, if im going down to sign contract, can i dun wear formal and just smart casual?

If it's just signing of offer letter, there is actually no need to wear formal as you'll not be meeting anyone except the HR officer to sign the letter. The entire process will take no longer than 15 minutes.

hey guys, will it be wrong to 'over-sell' yourself during interview, not that i dun believe in my abilities though.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hey guys, will it be wrong to 'over-sell' yourself during interview, not that i dun believe in my abilities though.

depends on the type of jobs and the type of interviewer you're facing. some prefer humble interviewees. while some prefer ones with confident. but there is a fine line being confident and being cocky. it really dpends i guess.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

depends on the type of jobs and the type of interviewer you're facing. some prefer humble interviewees. while some prefer ones with confident. but there is a fine line being confident and being cocky. it really dpends i guess.

yup, i kinda guess depends on interviewer too, cos halfway thru my interview (many applicants for the position) i realised the interviewer (shld be my hiring boss) is the serious, no-nonsense and quiet type, whereas i was very enthusiastic and talk quite abit to him. i thought 'give it all out and sell myself' cos 1 chance only. but didnt have a 'good feeling' after the interview and couldnt tell his expression too.

[henrymartin88]

When you’re asked about salary early in the process, recognize it as a screening tool to either bring you in for an interview or eliminate you from consideration. For this reason, do not include your salary requirements in a cover letter.

Hi guys, I have an interview with a small shipping firm real soon.

I have two qns:
1) I believe this role require good excel skills, and my excel level is rather basic (normal formulas, basic pivot and vLookup knowledge). I was wondering when i am being ask for my strength, can i say something like i'm quite IT saavy and i picked up new software fairly fast. Because my previous job require me to design marketing material using Adobe suite of software which i got zero knowledge initially. But it took me a short while to get the basic function down and design quite a fair bit of material. In a way, i want to show the interviewer that i pick it up fairly quickly. And I'm sure with MS excel, with the right guidance i will be able to master it. And can i show the interviewers the marketing materials i created previously using my phone?

2) If the interviewer has an accent that is fairly hard to understand, how do you go about to say "can I beg your pardon?" nicely?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi guys, I have an interview with a small shipping firm real soon.

I have two qns:
1) I believe this role require good excel skills, and my excel level is rather basic (normal formulas, basic pivot and vLookup knowledge). I was wondering when i am being ask for my strength, can i say something like i'm quite IT saavy and i picked up new software fairly fast. Because my previous job require me to design marketing material using Adobe suite of software which i got zero knowledge initially. But it took me a short while to get the basic function down and design quite a fair bit of material. In a way, i want to show the interviewer that i pick it up fairly quickly. And I'm sure with MS excel, with the right guidance i will be able to master it. And can i show the interviewers the marketing materials i created previously using my phone?

2) If the interviewer has an accent that is fairly hard to understand, how do you go about to say "can I beg your pardon?" nicely?

Perfect thread, as I have questions as well.

For you case:
1) Yes, you can link it to your strengths but to show the actual design then I'm not too sure about, lets leave it to the experts here to answer this part of the question.

2) What I usually does is, say something nicely, like "sorry, do you mind repeat the last questions?" or "I didn't catch the last part of the question that was put forward". Somehow show the interviewer that his accent is not the problem, but problem lies with you. Also cannot overdo it as interviewer may perceived you as not interested in the role because you always miss out of questions. May the experts here share more tips!


For my questions:
If I got an interview through a recruiter, and if I manages to clear the interview. Which party will I be signing the contract with? Company HR or recruiter? This is a perm position. IF sign with company HR directly, then how do the recruiter earn? Also the recruiter told me explicitly not to talk about salary during the interview, as they will handle it on my behalf.

I've heard horror stories about recruiter drawing 100-200($) from a person monthly salary till the contract ends. This is something that bothers me.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

yup, i kinda guess depends on interviewer too, cos halfway thru my interview (many applicants for the position) i realised the interviewer (shld be my hiring boss) is the serious, no-nonsense and quiet type, whereas i was very enthusiastic and talk quite abit to him. i thought 'give it all out and sell myself' cos 1 chance only. but didnt have a 'good feeling' after the interview and couldnt tell his expression too.

Same situation.

Some interviewers I meet seem to prefer the by the book, standard type of answers but others prefer you 'be yourself'...it's like lottery trying to decide which approach to take.

When I see interviewers' expressions change during the interview to frowning or looking unsure my morale also drop and it goes downhill.

Hi,
Can someone suggest how to answer these questions:

1. Who else are you interviewing with? Do you have any offers?

2. Will you current employer make you a counteroffer?

3. How much cut will you be willing to take in order to work here?

Recruiters earn by getting paid a fee by the employer - if you get employed as a perm, i believe the recruiter gets paid a variable amt depending on ur annual pay (ballpark 10% or maybe more). Of course this fee is not taken out from your salary.

Obviously for you and the employer it will be mutually beneficial if the recruiter can be flicked off. But i'm sure there's some sort of binding agreement of some sort such that the recruiter will get paid.

As for contracts, recruiters get a fee (5-15%) based on your monthly pay.

This business is very lucrative as you can see; but it's really dirty work at times (social engineering, "spoofing" job sites with fake positions to get more resumes) and quite a dog-eat-dog world. Imagine ancient slave traders selling buying POWs and selling them to, whoever. Capitalism at it's finest.

i once made a joke that placement recruiters (those dealing with contracts) are like human traffickers... Got a laugh (and some acknowledgement) from a senior recruiter.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Perfect thread, as I have questions as well.

For you case:
1) Yes, you can link it to your strengths but to show the actual design then I'm not too sure about, lets leave it to the experts here to answer this part of the question.

2) What I usually does is, say something nicely, like "sorry, do you mind repeat the last questions?" or "I didn't catch the last part of the question that was put forward". Somehow show the interviewer that his accent is not the problem, but problem lies with you. Also cannot overdo it as interviewer may perceived you as not interested in the role because you always miss out of questions. May the experts here share more tips!


For my questions:
If I got an interview through a recruiter, and if I manages to clear the interview. Which party will I be signing the contract with? Company HR or recruiter? This is a perm position. IF sign with company HR directly, then how do the recruiter earn? Also the recruiter told me explicitly not to talk about salary during the interview, as they will handle it on my behalf.

I've heard horror stories about recruiter drawing 100-200($) from a person monthly salary till the contract ends. This is something that bothers me.