An interview
Employers are seeking vital information but so too are job seekers, and questions are valid, writes Jane Bradley
Iwas out for a drink with my friend, a dentist, when she told me she was going to “look at a new job” the next day.
Assuming I had misheard her and that she meant “look FOR” a new job, we continued chatting. Then I discovered that I hadn’t heard her wrong.
For in her industry at that time, demand for her skills was such that she did “look at” jobs. It was a twoway street.
She visited a dental practice which needed a new member of staff, had a chat with the head of the surgery – and they both asked each other questions and decided whether or not she would be a good fit for the role – and what her working conditions would be. It was as much her decision as theirs. Which is the way it should be. Of course, not everyone has that luxury. Not many industries need a member of staff as much as the employee needs the job, creating a different kind of culture – and not necessarily a particularly healthy one. A report out this week from Cv-library showed that Scots are most likely to ask awkward questions during job interviews, just under a third saying they would enquire what the salary for the job was going to be – far higher than the rest of the UK, who admitted they we too scared to enquire about this crucial piece of information.
Companies regularly make it difficult to find out what an advertised job is likely to be paid, in hope, presumably, of luring more prospective staff through the doors – then hooking them in before disclosing the true amount they are likely to be paid. Yet, a “competitive salary” can mean anything from minimum wage to a benefitsstuffed six-figure sum for a senior management role.
Not only is this a waste of time for the employee, who will have put themselves through interview preparation and potentially had to take time off their existing job, only to find that it pays significantly less than their current employment