How to Handle Tough Questions During a Job Interview
By Marion Marking

Marion Marking is editor in chief at China Business – Philippines, a monthly magazine available at National Bookstore, Powerbooks, Fully Booked, Bibliarch, leading newsstands nationwide, online via http://ChinaBusinessPhilippines.com ,and to clients of leading hotels and upscale coffee houses in the metro. She can be reached at editor@fairnewsmedia.com.

Have you ever wondered why you didn't get the job you applied for? You graduated with honors, have some work experience that shows off your skills, and even aced the employment exam! So, why didn't you get the job?

First, I'll tell you something most hiring managers may not readily admit. Where you grew up, studied, and live may affect whether you are even called for an interview at all.

An example from my own experience: If I see an applicant for reporter is from this certain school, I move on. I'll tell you why. Although the school has excellent graduates in other courses, I've never met a journalism graduate from the school that can write a decent English sentence! What's worse, those I've interviewed graduated magna or summa cum laude!

With the crazy volume of tasks I need to get through each day, I simply do not have the time to NOT discriminate. Here are three other things that raise a red flag and tell me that I should no longer waste my time on an applicant.

1. Poor grooming. We have a relatively relaxed dress code compared to other firms, but we still want our reporters and marketing staff to look clean and decent. We also want them to, well, not smell funky. Since China Business staffers often go out to cover events and meet clients, good grooming is very important. If an applicant looks like he needs a shower or reeks of cigarettes, I won't risk having to hand out multiple memos later on to correct the problem. I'll avoid the headache by moving onto the next applicant.
2. Arrogance. One of our written exams requires the applicant to tell us why we should hire him. Be careful when you answer such questions. Be confident, not arrogant. Emphasize your passion for the job. After that, you can mention your skill set, sparingly. Recently, an applicant for reporter answered that she was trained by the best—and that we needed someone of her caliber to compete with the best. The problem was that her written English was stilted and showed an awkwardness of style that could potentially be an editor's nightmare. So why should I even interview the girl?
3. Bad manners. (Especially) if you're an applicant, when a man or woman enters the room to talk to you, STAND UP. If I come in and the person remains slouching and doesn't bother to get up, I'll send the person home. Once, I caught this girl checking her cellphone in the middle of the interview. I stopped in mid-sentence and sent her home. I have better things to do than watching if she can multitask answering my questions with reading text messages!

So be on your best behavior and in your most professional mindset and demeanor at your next interview. A change of attitude and some reasonable grooming may be all that stand in the way of you landing a job!