The covid-19 pandemic has impacted everyone in adapting to a new normal way of working and living that we have never imagined before. This situation has also been influencing all business owners, all workers in various fields, and job seekers until today.

Besides, the pandemic also makes things even more challenging for recruitment teams due to the changes of some selection processes in finding the best candidates for the employers.

The Important Part of Job Recruitment

According to the article by Kola O. Odeku, an interview is the crucial part in the selection process. Throughout the process, a recruiter or an employer has the responsibility to ensure everything is progressing on the right track.

Thus, the candidates are required to present their best skills besides their fundamental educational background and working experience.

with an effective interview session, it helps the recruiter or employer to decide whether a candidate fits in the respective position or not.

The questions being asked by the employers during an interview is almost the same in generally. However for some employers, questions -related to pandemics- is one of the ways to find out more on the empathy side of a candidate especially as we are going through challenging times right now, empathy is one of the keys to success.

We have compiled and summarized the top five most common questions being asked by the employers during the interview, to help you as the candidate to be more prepared for an interview.

How are you holding up during the lockdown period?

This is the most common question asked by the employed to a candidate this year as we go through the pandemic. The interviewer wants to know how the candidates spend their time during the strict health protocols or social distancing restriction and mostly making us to stay at home.

From this question, the interviewer expects to see the positive side and feedback from the candidates in handling the current situation.

Even though you spend most of your time at home, there are some activities that you can do to stay productive such as joining the online courses to improve your skills; enrolling the webinars; doing some freelancing and volunteering works, or even doing gardening at home.

If we are practicing and having positive activities that we do at home even we are being locked down physically, then you will definitely get a plus score from the interviewer. The employer desires to know that the things you have done certainly benefit and impact both personally and others.

Have you learned any new skills in the last few months?

This question may most likely be asked by an interviewer. They may find out how a candidate has initiative and put efforts to pick up new skills.

In this question, the candidates can share their webinar experience and other activities that they have participated in improving their skills. You need to show the employers that you have the willingness to learn despite of the challenging situations.

You can even share the skills that are not really related to your works, such as learning to cook, sewing, or even reading more books. Even though it is not related to your work professions, the interviewers may still be able to find your potential.

Have you worked remotely? How much adjustment made from you to work from home?

Employers may ask you questions about working from home (WFH) or working remotely. In normal conditions, WFH and working remotely is rarely happens.

Therefore, the employer might want to know your experience and effectiveness when you are working remotely from this question.

The employer also attempts to find out your WFH environment, such as a proper working space at home and a good internet connection to stay productive.

For those who don’t have any experience to work from home, it is okay, to tell the truth. You can begin with creative answers.

For example, the new working style could be challenging for the first time for me; however, I believe that these changes can help me to grow and adapt to the new situation in my career and personal life.

When you are working remotely, how do you manage your day?

The next question is about how you manage your day between your personal life and work when you are working from home. This question aims to find out how you can do the task optimally from home.

You can begin with, “Even though working from home seems to more benefits, it does not mean that I do anything as I wish without any self-control.”

You can also tell the interviewer on your best hacks in managing your day, such as what you’ve learned about yourself over the past few months or how you’ve been able to -or how you plan to- maintain performance while working from home.

What life lesson have you learned during the pandemic?

It is a classic question to find out how you deal with a challenging situation. Are you taking efforts to join the online courses, webinars, etc.? Feel free, to be honest with yourself by answering the question.

Tell them the positive side of the pandemic situation and how it has changed your life, like picking up any new skill or technologies in order to work remotely effectively.

These are the top 5 most common interview questions asked by the employers during the pandemic 2020. However, not all employers will ask you these questions, but you can use it as reference as you prepared for an interview with the current practice.

Things you need to understand is your attitude and personality such as honesty have certain impacts on your job applications to be selected. Are you ready to find new opportunities during this pandemic? See the latest job vacancy available at elabram.com

Sources:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311551477_The_role_of_interviewers_in_job_effective_recruitment_and_selection_processes