Job Interviews: Can Your Availability Notice Affect Chances of Being Hired? Your dream interview has gone just as you had anticipated and time for you to leave the interview room has come. But one interview panelist motions at you: “One last question,” she says, “when are you available?” Caught off-guard? Not a surprise. Should you say you are IMMEDIATELY or give them a week, two or probably a month as your notice period? According to cvcentre.co.uk this question doesn’t mean you’ve won the job. ‘The interviewer is generally just planning ahead and trying to find out when, if he offered you the job, you would be able to start work’. Will the availability period affect your chances of getting the job? “Yes. It may affect your chances—depending on how you respond,” says Liza Shaka, Human resources Manager, Monarch Insurance Company. “Don’t give the impression that you are desperate to run away from your current job or it will give an impression that you are probably someone not keen on going to hand over properly,” she says. “I am immediately available” “If you say you are immediately available, the interviewers will be keen on knowing why; are you currently unemployed? That would make a good explanation. You might also give an explanation that your contract has expired and that would also sound logical.” However, she says, if one suggests that the current job he is doing is stressful hence the need to quickly move out of it would work against the interview candidate. “What is stressing you? They will wonder. Are they deadlines you are not meeting or aren’t you on good terms with other employees and supervisors?” says Ms Shaka. “If they see the need to find that out, they will ask you to provide more information and if not satisfied, they will dig deeper and even do background checks,” she says. “Give me a week, two weeks, or one month” According to Ms. Shaka the urgency of filling the position also plays a part in whether your notice will sound acceptable or not. One week: “One week can be adequate depending on the job. Remember, the recruiters still need to do background checks on the potential employee,” she says. “The interviewers are also looking to see whether you can be fair to your current employer in terms of giving notice and if you will be kind to them as well,” she says. “The legal notice period is one month in lieu of one month’s salary but you should come across as somebody who is flexible; someone who can negotiate. Indicate that you will confer with your current employer on how soon you can be free. If you are the strongest candidate, they will get back you.” See a sample response from cvcentre.co.uk below: “My current contract stipulates a notice period of four weeks but I fortunately have 10 days’ leave available to me which effectively reduces my notice period to just two weeks. On receipt of a firm job offer I would intend to resign immediately from my current position and conceivably start my new role just two weeks later.” Which is the best response to your availability? “Refer to the terms of the contract of service as a guide,” advises Ms. Shaka. “That way you can find a better way to make an informed response. Look at the leave days that can compensate for your notice period, factor in the period required for the handover in order to come to a favourable notice period; fair to you, your current and future employers.”
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 15:46:03 +0000
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