job interviews

Do they seriously want to get this job?
Do they know that there are certain things you do not say or do in a job interview?

One guy sported his hair long, so long that it covered his eyes sometimes. He walked not just with his back hunched, but also with arms hanging as if he neglected them and let them dangle to all directions. Hm... Excuse me? We are in a Research Center, working closely with hospital staff and patients. We're not hiring an artist (even an artist should show me some respect in a job interview).

Another person had his first question on the salary rate. He also chose not to tell me that he had been accepted to a medical school next year. This information was leaked from his reference contacts. Well... asking salary in the first encounter is so not recommended. And it is bad that I found out something which could have been told directly from the applicant.

Another applicant literally used the f word in the conversation with my boss.

One lady shook hands with zero grip force as if I was holding a weightless patient who would die in the next minute. Hello? Are you so scared or nervous? Stand straight and play it as you mean it! Don't run away before I say "nice meeting you and goodbye".

A person's writing samples were lack of titles, headers, references, or anything close to a standard writing format such as APA. Hey... this is not acceptable. Please take care each detail before submitting anything for job application.

I thought how to behave in a job interview followed rules of common senses.
You pay attention to your interviewer. You look directly into her eyes. You nod. You smile. You say thankyou often. You shake hands firmly. You ask questions. You initiate conversations leading her to talk. You, actually, should be a listener, and only talk when necessary. When talking, you say everything as if you are the expert: concise, appropriate, to the point, and importantly, humble.
You have to perform all these especially if you have not much working experience at all in the field that you want to work.
You smile. You nod.

The worst applicant I have ever encountered was a Clinical Psychologist, applying for the fellowship. He gave a job talk that contained no contents. He only had 5 slides including the title page, which in fact did not bear a title of his "talk". The first slide he presented his name and the location of his presentation, which everyone knew was the Research Center. So the topic was himself or the Research Center?
It turned out the topic was himself because he spent 15 minutes saying how good he was as a clinician and a researcher while providing no evidence. "Oh, I am very good at stats. I didn't bring the data today, but I participated in this and that studies, meaning I am very good. Trust me. I am good."
When asked to describe his research projects, he avoided the question but kept saying his rich experience in data analysis and how nerdy he could be to finish work at home while raising his young children.
I had only one question to him: Do you know what a job talk should be like? But I didn't ask. He was not hired.

I am receiving more applications for the RA positions. Some applicants live far away. I don't understand why anyone would like to relocate to another state for an entry-level job. Perhaps the job market is actually this bad. Other applicants have no clue about the Research Center and think they can work here without a driver's license.
As I interviewed more applicants, I found myself filtering CVs with criteria on school name, major, and school performance. Yes, records do matter. How am I supposed to guess if you are a good candidate? I guess based on your records. If I cannot make a decision based on my guess, I invite you for an interview.
Two applicants I met were from the same school, the same program. What a lesson, I thought after I met them, and the lession is I will not interview any of grads from that program any time soon.

Yesterday, I was waiting in my office. The applicant was 15-minute late for her appointment. I would give her 5 more minutes and delete her name from my record. As if on cue, my phone rang. The receptionist informed me that this young lady was actually here on time, but she was busy receiving other visitors' registration and let the applicant wait for 15 minutes. I suddenly had a good feeling about this candidate, who was able to have a stranger apologize for her.
I walked over to pick her up. She slowly turned her head while hearing the approaching sound of my heels knocking the floor. "Dr. C?" She has the most innocent eyes. I smiled and offered my hand, "Hi! I am Pei." She immediately stood up, shaking my hands, smiling, with her eyes smiling as well, "Hi! I'm a person whose eyes can smile." No, she did not say that. But I can't reveal her real name here.
Smiley-eye had me at that moment.
She paid attention to her interviewer, me. She looked directly into my eyes. She nodded. She smiled. She said thankyou often. She shook hands firmly. She initiated conversations leading me to talk. When asked with questions, she answered calmly, consicely, and appropriately. She sat at the first half of the chair with her back straight. She smiled. She nodded.
Even though she did not have much experience in working with clinical populations, I feel that she would become very good at it. Patients would love her.
RAs and Jenny then met her, and liked her very much. So I told her at the end of the interview that we decided to invite her back for the second interview. Her eyes smiled again.

First impression does matter.
Since long time ago, Mama has told me that beauty matters. Beauty can be presented in many ways. Being confident and neat and respectful actually brings impression of being beautiful. People like seeing beautiful people. If you offer something attractive at the first sight, the chance of getting being known and liked is much higher.

You, before examinig yourself, don't complain that the market is tough and you cannot get a job. Behave and be prepared like you really want the job.