What I Learnt From The Current Affairs Interview Question

By Edith Mecha

You can all agree with me that it hurts most when you lack an answer to the current affairs question. Because you know you missed to check the day’s headlines as you were running late for your interview. Then you panic, lose your confidence and composure, try to make a guess that will salvage the moment but you can’t think of anything. There and then you feel so ashamed of and disappointed with yourself for not following daily on current affairs.Further, you feel like that’s the end of you, right?

This is a common scenario, and the good news is that you have the power to avoid this dilemma the next time you are called for an interview. Be fair to yourself, don’t beat yourself down. Yes, you’ve already put yourself at a disadvantage of getting the job, but going on the rest of the day  completely stressed out will only harm you further. Learn your lesson and start preparing for the next opportunity. The job market in Kenya has become fierce, competition has never been greater and it’s important that you grab every opportunity for competitive advantage and stay one step ahead. Don’t allow this question to lock you out on your dream job again!

As you prepare for your interview ,it is very important to understand and focus on issues of national and international importance. Focus on the socio-economic issues that the industry falls in like Women issues, Education or Health related issues and issues or policies affecting vulnerable sections. Also understand political issues affecting the country, bearing in mind the administrative description, the executive, legislative and judicial vertical and horizontal spreads, as to quickly tell what issues are to be addressed by who, where and when.

It is important to position yourself highly by being conversant with the emerging issues in the career you are interested in. For instance, if you are attending an Accountant or Finance Officer interview, you should be conversant with the economic aspects of the country and be able to compare with other developing countries and even the developed ones. What strategies could you put in place to stem wastage, lower expenditure in the OP, boost revenue collection, increase tax compliance or overall percentage revenue and national economic productivity? If you are involved in environmental issues, you most certainly will be asked about climate change.

When a potential new job is on the line, what’s the best way to avoid being caught off-guard?

Here are tips to help you answer the current affairs question in your next interview.

Know the current developments. Most interviewers will test your knowledge about recent developments in the country and in your field. On the day of your interview make sure you read thoroughly the newspaper to know the latest happenings at the business, political, sports and social front. If the interviewer asks you a question to check your general awareness, you should not appear uninformed. But reading the newspaper only on the day of your interview is also not very remarkable. In the process you will just cram information and won’t be able to gather much about it.

So when asked by the interviewer if you know what’s of national interest, now that you did you research well, say ‘yes’ with confidence. You can now even predict the obvious follow-up question in which the interviewer will ask for your opinion about the issue you mentioned. This will be to test your analytical skills. When you couple your answer with some other statistics from verifiable sources, it shows you are not only well informed but also well rounded person. This is a plus for you and increases chances of getting the job.

Therefore, as you prepare for your interview be consistent in your efforts, make sure that you read the newspaper every day, subscribe to a current affairs or a topical magazine; more importantly though, you must learn to sift through information.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. A job interview is basically like a test meeting at the job. No one expects you to completely understand everything that is being asked of you from the start. So don’t be afraid to ask for clarification when the interviewer asks about a current affairs question. You would be asking these sorts of questions every day, anyway. It is perfectly acceptable to ask for further simplification in order to answer the question well.

Watch news and research. You can increase your knowledge of current affairs through watching news channels regularly for timely updates, read the newspapers, blogs, social media channels, networks, mentors, register and subscribe to weekly or monthly magazines in your career and make Google, Yahoo and Bing, your personal friends. The good news is that you can now read the newspapers online thus saving a lot of time. For best world news you can watch CNN, BBC, ABC, New York Times, and search Wikipedia,etc. On each day ,at least search five new items and you will gain a lot of knowledge in your area of interest, and general information on what is happening locally and nationally.

While it is good to show you are aware of and have an interest in what is going on in Kenya and in the world, keep in mind that you only have approximately half an hour for the interview. It will not be wise to give a long-winded answer exhibiting all the knowledge you have on one subject.

A simple mistake like not being conversant on current issues can sometimes make the difference between who gets the job—you or someone else. Let the other person be the one who misses out – not you. In your next interview you have the chance to be different, better or special if you follow the above three tips.