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G U R U S

Job Interview is NOT an interrogation

Conducting a job interview should not be an interrogation, but an engaging conversation if we want to best out of the candidates. Decades ago I sat for a job interview with a company; the interview questions and processes were more of a crime scene-it was like a detective squeezing my balls to get the truth or left at the mercy of a polygraph machine. The interviewers got me thinking that they needed witnesses –there was total anxiety. 

In my HR career and academic journey in HR; I have practically seen many interviews fail, and fall short of the standards- not being able to attract the best talents because the process was an interrogation rather than an interview.

Some interviews are complete crime scenes. Interviewers engage in interrogation rather than having a professional conversation with the prospective candidates about their suitability for the job. In an interrogation, the truth-finding aspect is lopsided, though, in a job interview, it is, preferably, bilateral. In a job interview, it is correspondingly imperative for the candidate to evaluate the job as it is imperative for the employer to evaluate the candidate.

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Jonah Soe Kotee is a Liberian human resources and employment-law professional with more than 20 years of experience in human resource management, employment relations and workforce development in Liberia and internationally. He holds an LLM in Employment Law from the University of Leicester and a Master’s degree in Strategic Human Resource Management from the University of Roehampton in the United Kingdom. He is also a Certified Global Talent Management Professional (GTML) and has undertaken professional training in Strategic HR through Cornell University. Jonah is the Chief Executive Officer of Gurus HR Consultancy Group, a Liberia-based human resources advisory firm providing recruitment, HR consulting, payroll, HR outsourcing, Employer of Record solutions, training, compensation and benefits, and employment-law advisory services. He also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer in Human Resources at AME University, where he contributes to the development of graduate-level HR professionals. Jonah has a particular professional interest in Liberia’s labour and employment framework, human capital development, workplace compliance, compensation, employment relations and the future of work in Liberia. Through his professional work and public commentary, he advocates for a labour market that protects workers while enabling responsible employers to grow, invest and create sustainable employment opportunities. His perspective is informed by practical HR experience as well as academic training in employment law and strategic human resource management. About this article: This article represents the author’s professional perspective on issues that should be considered in discussions surrounding the modernization and reform of Liberia’s labour and employment framework. It is intended to encourage informed dialogue among employers, workers, HR professionals, policymakers, trade unions, legal practitioners and other stakeholders.

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