10 Minutes to prove yourself

Afeera Shahjehan
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

Working as an assistant in the Monitoring & Evaluation section of an organization for the past year and a half, I got to learn a lot. Before that I was an intern, and that was my entryway into the organization where many people from my province want to work.

Now before I get into the details of proving myself in 10 minutes, I want to tell you all WHY in the first place did I join this place. I was free after my Masters, having quit my job as a teacher which was just not for me, I wasn't particularly looking for work. I was happy in my world of sleep and some crafts-y stuff which I’d do when I got time off of guests. Then a friend suggested I do some freelance writing, which I gave a try and did about 4 articles before one of my cousins came up with the idea of “Getting better at it” by joining his organization where there’s a lot of scope of writing (read as reports and proposals) and also great people to learn from.

!!Just another example of how I go with the flow!!

And the next thing I knew, I had handed over my CV to him for an internship which I guessed would end soon and the lazy person that I am, was assuming internships don’t come with responsibilities (my bad).

My interview was just about 5 minutes long where I was asked about my qualifications and why I wanted to get in there and if I had any previous write-ups. It went okay but then I was given a random topic to write about- which again I did in 10 mins and excused myself to leave because I was informed of the interview only a day ahead or maybe the same morning, I cannot exactly recall and I had other commitments.

Fast forward today, and I was called to sit in an interview panel for another member of the same team. And did I feel grateful to joining this place as an intern. The interview I just witnessed was so hard. Not hard as in the questions, but all the eyes on the interviewee and then questions hitting him from all directions.

It was great to experience it though but if I had to give this interview, I am a 110% sure I’d have never gotten through. Firstly because my academics background is different, having studied Economics, the development sector was a new thing for me along with all the terms and tasks.

Secondly, how do you prove your worth in less than 10 mins??

That’s not even enough to get comfortable in saying hi to some random person, let alone introduce yourself. And then when you know you are being assessed (read as judged) on the way you are sitting, the way you answer, your explanation, your examples and simply EVERYTHING.

I believe 98% people would be nervous, or shy and would not be able to answer even when they know the right answers (in terms of the technicalities).

Plus, procedures and terms vary from organization to organization, what good is it to ask the interviewee of the knowledge he has of the organization he is coming to.

Lets all just hope we get friendly interviewers, who can make us feel comfortable before getting into the interview, so one does not has to worry about the interview round besides the fact that they have to deal with the co-workers, who again are rarely in a mood to welcome new people.

Afeera Shahjehan

Written by

Looking for answers to the WHYs.

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