Tis the season for turning out your lights and pretending nobody’s home, as swarms of children dressed in costumes of all shapes and sizes take to the streets and come knocking on your door requesting sweets.

Although we consider it an American affectation and whether it horrifies you more than the holiday itself, or fills you with ghoulish glee, there is no doubt that trick or treating is a central part of Halloween. Its origins go back as early as the 11^th century, when Irish, Scottish and Welsh children would go ‘souling’, the practice of going from house to house dressed as angels, devils or saints to collect soul cakes, which had a cross baked into the top. The fancy dress was supposed to impersonate and trick the spirits of the dead that wandered the streets on All Hallows’ Eve, and therefore protect the children that were collecting their treats.

Since then, while trick or treating may have evolved in some ways, the basis of the tradition remains the same; children dressed up as demons, the undead (or Olaf, from Frozen) go from door to door, asking for treats. If denied, they perform a wicked trick on the ungenerous resident. Today, the custom is so popular that Halloween has become America’s second largest commercial holiday, with nearly $7 billion spent on sweets, costumes, and other Halloween products. Now isn’t that a figure that makes you quake in your boots.

In the world of financial recruitment, while we may not be faced with the same horrors of sugar-fuelled children and over-priced sweets, there are many other things that may strike fear into us all, primarily interviews. So here are a few tricks to make your next interview more of a treat than a living nightmare.

 

• Punctuality: If you don’t want to immediately put your potential future employer into a “mood” turn up on time. This will also give you time to make sure you’re calm and prepared just before you enter the interview.
• Research: Although you may be faced with some questions that you cannot answer straight away, make sure you have a fairly thorough knowledge of the business and role you’re applying for.
• Enthusiasm: Short of turning up in a vampire costume complete with fake blood, nothing will make you more memorable to your interviewer than an abundance of enthusiasm and a big smile. Employers will want to hire someone with a positive attitude more than someone who presents themselves as a bear with a sore head. 

 

 

Rej Abraham Managing Director