So your potential new employer has invited you to a panel job interview and tells you that you will be meeting with seven department heads. Do you grasp your chest in fear or do you say to yourself, “cool”?

Panel interviews can be scary as you have to impress a room full of people rather than just one or two. The questions asked by a panel can be broader and more complex because they are coming from many different viewpoints. In fact some questions coming from the panel may contradict other questions.
How do you ace the panel interview?As with any interview, preparation is key. Do not be afraid to ask the HR representative or person organizing the interview for a list of who will you will be interviewing with and what their role with the organization is; also ask for an itinerary for the interview so you know what your time with them will look like and the company’s version of the job description. Be sure to have questions prepared so when it is your time to ask questions they are well thought out and organized. As with any interview, be sure to research the organization and learn as much as possible about what they do, what they contribute to the world and any pertinent information about where they are headed. Chances are that you will be brought to a conference room and when you are introduced to the panel; take the time to shake each and every person’s hand. As introductions are made try your best to remember everyone’s name so you can refer to them by name. You can even request for thier Business cards. This will give you their contact information allowing you to follow up and thank each person individually. You can also place the cards in front of you arranging them in the same pattern that the group is sitting in for easy reference.

Ask the panel starts asking their questions you will be inclined to make eye contact with the person who asked you the question you are answering, this is important. Equally important is scanning the room to make eye contact with everyone else. This will allow you to get a “read” on each of them as well as engaging them in your answer. Do not be afraid to take notes during your interview for any follow up questions you might want to ask.

As the interview comes to conclusion be sure to personally thank each participant, shaking their hand and reinforcing your interest in the position.

Bringing up salary, benefits during the interviewUnless you belong to a select group of people, you need a job in order to survive. Oprah Winfrey doesn't need to work another day in her life. The rest of us will have a hard time paying the electric bill without a job.
yet, when we're going through the song and dance of interviewing for a job, we pretend as if money isn't on the top of our list of priorities.

I hate to bust the bubble but it is and always will be. Job-search etiquette dictates waiting for the employer to bring up salary, benefits and vacation. Conventional wisdom says that if you bring it up, you appear more focused on the perks than on doing the job, which sends a bad sign to employers.

So you interview over the phone and in person, and after days or weeks of conversation about the job, you don't know how much it pays or if you would be able to occasionally leave early to pick up your son from school. These issues can be deal breakers for many job seekers, but they're taboo topics during the interview process.

If time is money, then both the hiring manager and the job seeker should be happy to get the basics out of the way before wasting time with interviews that might not matter if the salary is too low. We decided to find out if there is a way to bring up these touchy subjects in a more reasonable timeline.

Should you do it? Before job seekers can even ponder how to bring up these issues, the primary concern is whether or not they should even broach the subjects or if they are making a heinous misstep. For many employers, as long as your approach is reasonable and tactful, you don't need to worry.

It's definitely fine to ask about the salary, benefits and perks early in the process. Think of it this way: Sometimes recruiters will push candidates to give them a ballpark salary requirement and they'll say they can't proceed without knowing so everyone's on the same page. Shouldn't you also feel entitled to knowing information up front to not waste anyone's time? You're doing everyone, including yourself, by asking and getting an overall idea of the complete package.

You certainly can ruin your chances of being hired by asking the questions the wrong way, but the topics alone won't overshadow your CV and experience. You have every right to know what you will and won't get, so don't be afraid to ask before the end of the second interview," During the first interview, you'll want to get a general idea, ideally from the human resources department (assuming you were interviewed by HR), as these are more administrative questions.

Make this line of questioning one of your last orders of business, but not because it could harm your chances of getting hired. Instead playing the waiting game can help you receive a better salary offer.

Often there is room for negotiation on everything. The more valuable you are as a candidate, the more leverage you have. You are best served to determine how well suited you are for the job before you begin asking about perks.

How to do it. Now that you know that you can safely bring up sensitive topics during an interview on your own timeline, you need to know how to do it. After all, asked in the wrong way, any question can be damaging during a job interview. Here are five on how to raise the questions, get the information you need and stay on the interviewer's good side.

Be assertive but reasonable. Simply ask in an assertive way. You can couch it with a statement such as, 'I don't want to sound presumptuous as if I expect to already get this job, but I would like to know the salary range before proceeding.

Prove why it's in their interest, too [Recruiters] don't want to waste their time, so remind them of that fact. You may ask in this manner 'Mr. Recruiter, I know your time is valuable and that the last thing you'd want to do is waste your time on a candidate who wasn't a perfect fit. With that in mind -- and I acknowledge these questions are difficult to discuss upfront -- would it be okay if we discussed some uncomfortable questions today?'"

You want to know about this information so you don't waste your time, and they probably feel the same way, too.

Wait for the right moment. Job seekers should wait for a chance to ask their question rather than force it into the interview. When the interviewer asks if you have any questions at the end of the interview and you should consider taking this as a cue to ask the questions.

"You then say, 'Thank you for asking. There is one item I realized we didn't discuss. Always couch and sandwich difficult situations by saying something good and nice to start, hit them with the hard stuff, then end with something uplifting and positive."

Ultimately what matters is that you read the cues of the interviewer and ask what makes you feel comfortable and what suits the mood of the moment. As long as you're polite and ask your questions in a reasonable manner, you can walk out of the interview without any regrets. Please note that questions concerning salary and benefits should never be asked at the first interview unless the interviewer broaches the topic. The question should be left to the second interview.

By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA

Job seeker Aaron Ringera wants to sue because he was not invited for Supreme Court jobs interview.

The former Court of Appeal judge accused the Judicial Service Commission of condemning him unheard by its failure to short list him for the Supreme Court job interviews slated for next week. (READ: Top judges miss Supreme Court jobs)

“Please draw the attention of the commission to these grave and constitutional matters that may, at my option, be ventilated in another forum,” he says in a letter to JSC secretary Lydia Achode last Monday.

In response, the JSC said that Justice Ringera’s tenure at the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission ended in controversy raising doubts on his commitment to principles and values of the new Constitution.

“You also voluntarily retired from the Judiciary and have not given credible reason for wanting to be re-employed,” the commission said.

On Wednesday, JSC member Ahmednasir Abdullahi defended the commission’s decision:

“The position the judge applied for is not anybody’s birthright. The era of entitlement is over. Kenyans should outgrow the culture of entitlement and embrace a new culture of fair competition.”

He added: “There were many qualified Kenyans who applied for the five vacancies and the commission has written to Ringera on why he did not meet the cut.”

But Justice Ringera faulted the commission’s argument that his departure was controversial and questioned the rationale of short listing one of his deputies who resigned in similar circumstances.

He said he preferred to leave his options open with an understanding that the commissioners were able to make “good judgment” on the issues he had raised.

“If it is a matter of a nice retirement job, I’m comfortable,” he said.

Justice Ringera, who used to earn about Sh2.5 million a month as director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, was categorical that he was qualified for the Supreme Court job.

On his exit from the anti-graft commission in September 2009, he took home a package of nearly Sh25 million.

In addition, he is entitled to 24-hour state security at his home, a bodyguard, driver and an official vehicle fuelled and maintained by the government — all for 10 years from the date of his retirement.

He described the reasons for his rejection as “disingenuous.” “The commission has condemned me unheard and my right to natural justice has been violated,” he said.

He added: “An otherwise qualified candidate has been shut out of the interview process with the result that constitutional values for fair competition, equal opportunity and fair administrative action has been subverted.”

When the JSC announced names of those short-listed for interviews two weeks ago, Justice Ringera said he was shocked at the exclusion and thought that his application might have been “misplaced or found wanting”.

Emeka works for Nation Media Group.

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“What are your weaknesses” is one annoying interview question there is. I still do not understand why interviewers ask this question but what I know is that they are not really interested in knowing about your weaknesses but are keen on your progression and the tone of your voice and body language than on the actual content.

How you answer this question really matters. Present your weakness with reluctance or hesitance and you are likely to make a bad impression and magnify the importance of the weakness. It is therefore important, to show that you can cope with difficult questions.

The interviewer may wonder-if you have trouble coping with a question in an interview, how will you face difficulties and challenges at work? And that’s why interview questions are so rhetorical, to test your intelligence.

Weaknesses in an interview are not the bad habits you have like losing your temper every other minute, getting irritated by inquisitive clients and failing to meet deadlines. All these can be explained in a positive way. This question begs for a challenge you constantly face at work or in an assignment but the important part, and the one the interviewer is interested in is how you overcome this challenge.

Therefore, expose real weaknesses you have but be selective, and choose those that are less likely to affect your ability to succeed on the job. You may also wish to demonstrate how you are striving to improve those qualities. Here are some suitable answers that will get you called for the job;

In an interview for a Sales manager position the Interviewer asks Susan who has been in the same position but at a different company, “what are your weaknesses?”

Susan knows that she is impulsive, sometimes even aggressive and a little hard on others. She is too self-critical and demanding- a tough and demanding Sales Manager. In response to the question, Susan chooses to disclose only some of these weaknesses – those that do not affect her likelihood of success in the job in this manner;”I am too self-critical and quite demanding at times” but I always make sure that my team understands the nature of the job and it’s demands so well such that even when asking for more sales and higher targets from them, they know it’s all about the job.” Susan’s response is sincere and direct, yet the qualities she chose to present do not affect her ability to perform and therefore they are unlikely to affect her chances of passing the interview – on the contrary.

The same interviewer asks Peter, who’s been in sales for a long time the same question and this is how Peter responds, “ I like working as an individual, I find team work time consuming and too restricting but I just have to work with it because the Sales field demands team work” Peter is as sincere as he can get but reading his answer again, one is left doubting if such a person can really perform and true that his field demands team work but his answer just ruins his chances of getting the job.

Write down at least three weaknesses you have when it comes to work, ones that you are comfortable explaining and ones that will not ruin your chances of passing an interview…and for a mention, avoid as much as possible the “I am a Perfectionist answer” It’s just and too common in interviews. If you must say it, make sure the perfect side really comes out professionally and then explain how that is a weakness and what you have done about it with a practical example.

Just stay relevant to that specific job. Here are more answers you may use;

“I have to work on having more patient and giving myself a break because I want everything done at once and again I realized that things do not just happen overnight so there’s need to make slow but sure moves”.

“My biggest weakness that people have taken note of is that I can be too overfriendly, e.g. a customer my feel too comfortable but then I always make sure it’s within business and that the deal is closed at the end” This answer is suitable for a customer service, sales and marketing interview, it shows your ability to build rapport with the client while still doing business.

All in all, it is important you remember that a weakness is a virtue in disguise. Someone who is “talkative” may be “good at negotiation”, someone who is “unfriendly” may have a “long concentration span.” Someone who has a “lack of eye for details” may have the ability to “strategically manage multiple projects – see the bigger picture”. Someone who is “routine averse” may be “creative” and so on

All the best as you prepare for future interviews! www.careerpointkenya.com

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It`s one of the most frequently asked questions in an interview: Tell me about yourself. Your response to this request will set the tone for the rest of the interview. For some, this is the most challenging question to answer, as they wonder what the interviewer really wants to know and what information they should include.

Eleanor dreaded this question. When it was the first one asked at her interview, she fumbled her way through a vague answer, not focusing on what she could bring to the job.

“I`m happily married and originally from Nakuru,” she began. “My husband was transferred here three months ago, and I`ve been getting us settled in our new home. I`m now ready to go back to work. I`ve worked in a variety of jobs, usually customer service-related. I`m looking for a company that offers growth opportunities.”

The interview went downhill after that. She had started with personal information and gave the interviewer reason to doubt whether she was an employee who would stay for very long.

* She`s married, and when her husband gets transferred that means she has to leave; she did it once and can do it again.

* She has some work experience with customers but didn`t emphasize what she did.

* She is looking to grow. What about the job she is applying for? Will she stay content for long?

The secret to successfully responding to this free-form request is to focus, script and practice. You cannot afford to wing this answer, as it will affect the rest of the interview. Begin to think about what you want the interviewer to know about you.

Focus

List five strengths you have that are pertinent to this job (experiences, traits, skills, etc.). What do you want the interviewer to know about you when you leave?

Eleanor is strong in communications and connecting with people. She has a strong background and proven success with customer relationships. Her real strength is her follow-through. She prides herself on her reputation for meeting deadlines.

Scripting

Prepare a script that includes the information you want to convey. Begin by talking about past experiences and proven success:

“I have been in the customer service industry for the past five years. My most recent experience has been handling incoming calls in the call centre industry. One reason I particularly enjoy this business, and the challenges that go along with it, is the opportunity to connect with people. In my last job, I formed some significant customer relationships resulting in a 30 percent increase in sales in a matter of months.”

Next, mention your strengths and abilities:

“My real strength is my attention to detail. I pride myself on my reputation for following through and meeting deadlines. When I commit to doing something, I make sure it gets done, and on time.”

Conclude with a statement about your current situation:

“What I am looking for now is a company that values customer relations, where I can join a strong team and have a positive impact on customer retention and sales.”

Practice

Practice with your script until you feel confident about what you want to emphasize in your statement. Your script should help you stay on track, but you shouldn`t memorize it — you don`t want to sound stiff and rehearsed. It should sound natural and conversational.

Even if you are not asked this type of question to begin the interview, this preparation will help you focus on what you have to offer. You will also find that you can use the information in this exercise to assist you in answering other questions. The more you can talk about your product — you — the better chance you will have at selling it.

We at Career Point wishes you success with the interviews this week.

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