Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Winning a Monitoring and Evaluation Job Interview

Become a Winner

You have been called for a job interview hoping to nail a position as a Monitoring and Evaluation specialist of that prestigious organization of your dreams. You know fully well that opportunities don't always come easy and you know how important it is to really look your best right. We can almost imagine how much time and energy you have put in just to look your best and read some of your past academic materials on Monitoring and  Evaluation. Congratulations! However, you should know that no matter how ready you think you are, some interviewers are just mean. You will fail the interview that took you over a week to prepare in just a few a minutes. So, what do you do to really nail the Monitoring and Evaluation Job position? Big question but few answers.

What Interviewers would like to See

When a Job interview is about to happen, interviewers already have it in their minds what kind of Monitoring and Evaluation person they are looking for except, they want to be sure they are choosing the right one. Don't disappoint them. First things first, it is always important to look your very best. The dress code for an interview should usually be a suit but depending on the region of the world you come from, you should be able to know what formal wear really is. Now, when you are called for an interview, they have already seen your C.V and so they actually know you are qualified for the Job. But what really seperates you from the rest of the others who were also called is your body language, your reasoning, your personality and other things like that. Here are some things you should do.

1) Clarity; Make sure you answer questions in a clear and confident way. Interviewers are interested in a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer who is able to communicate clearly. Why is this so important? Well when you will be called to do a powerpoint presentation on your Monitoring findings infront of a wide audience, you have to be able to communicate it in a clear but effective way. When the interviewers ask you questions, answer the question as it comes and don't include things that are not related at all to the topic. Be yourself.

2) Be Practical; Usually interviewers want to test your intelligence by giving you a practical situation. If you are called to explain your experience in the Monitoring and Evaluation field, make sure you explain things in a practical way. For instance, imagine if the interviewers asked you whether you have conducted a Baseline Survey before in your life. You are not only going to say yes, but you will briefly explain how you did it and what were your findings. It is usually interesting if you conducted a Baseline Survey for a prestigious organization.

3) Be Friendly; You have to relax during the interview and try to be friendly. You should put up a warm smile on your face occasionally and try not to be to formal and yet again too informal. Try to treat the interviewing panel like they are actually your work colleagues no matter how intimidating they may appear.

4) Display your achievements; There is absolutely no harm in displaying some of your big achievements to the interviewing panel. More especially if it is really related to the kind of programme they intend to implement over the years. Take for example, if they are recuiting a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for a gender programme they are about to implement and you were fortunate to have conducted a gender evaluation as a consultant months before the interview, why not show them your Evaluation Report.

Remember that the interview is really nothing more than an interview that allows you to really get to sell yourself. To sell your qualities, your attributes and your experience. You shouldn't fear anybody at all but just make sure that you are yourself. Monitoring and Evaluation is just soooooo interesting folks. Best wishes in your Job Interview.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for such an article! I'm in a situation like this. But my weak point I don't know how to smile during the interview!? Because when i try to make a smile on my face, I feel like a clown in circus. )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Job interview will be the important task during the job hunting period. We should take time to practice answering target interview questions which we’ll probably be asked during a job interviews.
    job hunting

    ReplyDelete

 

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