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Jobseekers need more than lucky pants

Lucky pants don’t hold up for jobseekers looking for promotion, apparently. Britons have missed out on pay rises worth £2.3bn in the past 12 months through unsuccessful interviews.

Candidates have reportedly missed out on pay rises because they have not “sold themselves” well enough in interviews, according to a report by jobsite.co.uk. A study of 5,000 adults showed that 5% of job hopefuls wore lucky pants or carried a good luck charm to boost their confidence.

However, many did not know how to answer “penetrating” questions such as how to sell a bottle of water, what they wanted on their gravestone or how their friends see them.

One in three people seeking work had failed to receive a single job offer in the past year, mainly because of poor interview technique or nerves, said the report.

Keith Potts of jobsite.co.uk said: “Our candidates tell us that it’s one thing to find a job that matches your skills and experience, but quite another to be able to sell yourself in an interview chair.”

Few of those surveyed said they practised possible questions before going for a job interview, often preferring to buy new clothes or have a haircut.

So-called “killer” questions at interviews were said to include: “I’ve interviewed 20 people for this job, why should I employ you?”, and “Tell me a secret you’ve never told anyone.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .