8% of Singapore professionals never prepare for a job interview

So much for confidence, huh?

Robert Walters released its latest Global Web Poll findings, a generic poll posted on our websites featuring a career-related question each month. The recent poll question was:

“How long on average do you spend preparing for a job interview?”

The poll found that most professionals recognise the importance of interview preparation.

Methodology
The results included a total of 31,780 responses from visitors to our official Robert Walters websites around the world and were collated in June this year.

A total of 20 countries were polled. Within Asia, countries included China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea. The poll also included Luxembourg, Belgium, Brazil, South Africa, Switzerland, United States, Australia, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany and Ireland.

(Click on the table to see Singapore poll results)

Findings
Professionals view pre-interview preparation as a vital element of the interview process. 84% of professionals spend more than 30 minutes preparing for an interview. Of that proportion, 43% spend over 2 hours on pre-interview preparation.

‘Professionals clearly recognize the importance of preparing well for an interview. We always recommend to our candidates that they ought to find out as much as possible about an organisation prior to an interview. You need to demonstrate that you are interested in the organisation and have researched the company in order to be prepared for questions that you might be asked and stand out as the candidate of choice versus other professionals that the organisation is interviewing with.” said Mark Ellwood, Managing Director (Asia).

In today’s candidate-driven job market, professionals understand that pre-interview preparation can help reduce anxiety and allows them the opportunity to impress interviewers. This is essential for professionals looking to set themselves apart from other candidates vying for the same position.

‘Poor preparation will more than likely lead to a poor interview and less chance of receiving a job offer. For the individuals themselves, thorough preparation prior to an interview gives them the chance to prepare questions that they would also like answered to make an informed decision on whether this is the right organisation and role for themselves as well.’ Mark Ellwood, Managing Director (Asia) commented.

Only 3.7% of the professionals polled in Asia never prepare for an interview.