Agree that it is indeed not easy to know the entire character of a person, but certain basic ones as highlighted by Eileen like punctuality, courtesy etc. should be even evident during interview.

Indeed. it is the attitude(character) that determines the altitude(success) of a person’s life and not the apptitude entirely!

As i mentioned, you may cheat your way through interview or into a job, but how long can you stay ? And can you succeed in that particular job? But if you have the character, in long run, you’ll be successful and even if you don’t perform well at the start.

If the basic elements of character like being punctual for interview is not even practiced, it has already said something about the person.
Therefore, as per earlier article by Jason, we often mis-judge people, but a person’s character will tell in the long run.

Once in KL there was a guy (prospective hirer) who could tell i dont have it in a sit-in, one-off interview session.
Interestingly, how he found out was simply by way of a forth-telling ‘ i dont know ‘ answer which i gave in reply to his requirement.

and what was his requirement ?
he told me the answer he had looked for, was that ” i want my guy (potential candidate) to cheat.. ”

i was rather surprised to hear that. For once in my life i did not know one could bull his way thru academia like the way with an IQ test. and i wasnt even tested on IQ but electronic questions (calculations, gates, switches, circuits..)
i could essay a write-up but to put down numerical figures on boxes??

i told him flatly,
Mister, i am years into working as a Mechanical engineer; & i no longer have it on my finger tips to work out EE questions like in an exam setting.

Didnt the hirer have Mechanical test paper for interviewees??
But he was adamant i should ‘ at least put down something ‘ so he could call it job done and hand over to his superior..

at the end, i saved myself the embarassment of putting in nonsense for the calculations i didnot know, & handed back the blank sheets to him.

i was jaw-dropped and rather spurned out of this planet from that encounter.
to this day it is monumental prime example to me of how screening process can occur, looking for that illusive Character in a person.

What he really wanted :
I had a hunch he needed the Right Guy who could stand up and fight well in the competitive world; lead the team and meander thru the thick and thin of customer whims and fancy.
And the one vital element in the characteristic make-up of this Right Guy is to be able to twist turn and bend over..

Can u really tell character?
the embedded ingredients that will lead to success down the road, the right stuff for the making of a good employee?
Some achievers I knew didn’t even have it in the infant days when they first got in, while others who seemed to have something up the sleeve went on in mediocrity over time.
What happened? Something not accurately detected in the screening process? Perhaps something on the Art of Telling a Character will be educational to us all.

i hold my belief there’s an element of hit-&-miss, shot in the dark, one in million kind of thing to it.
‘ long distance shows the true strength of a horse, time will reveal the character of an individual ‘ ~chinese saying.