Real Communication An Introduction

Appendix A   Competent Interviewing^513

seek out opportunities to advance those aims, such as looking for specific

openings in the conversation (Waldron & Applegate, 1998). A job inter-

viewee—whose goal it might be to impress a hiring manager—can seek out

appropriate places to give examples of personal energy, drive, and willingness

to be a team player. A human resources manager may advance the public rela-

tions goals of her organization by selecting the positive information she’ll share

in a press interview.

Prepare Yourself Responsibly

Your school’s career services office and your previous employment situations

have likely prepared you for the fact that you’ll need to draft a résumé and a

cover letter in advance of a job interview. But all interviews benefit from some

additional advance planning.

For one thing, you’ll want to be well rested and alert. From personal experi-

ence, we urge you not to skip meals—more than a few of our students have had

growling stomachs during interviews! You’ll also want to consider the context

and be dressed appropriately for the occasion; this is especially important for of-

ficial job interviews, where you should match or exceed the dress policy at that

place of business. Also remember to plan what you should bring with you to the

interview: copies of your résumé to a job interview, for example, or your medical

history to an interview with a new doctor.

Listen and Respond Effectively

Just as interviewers must listen and respond effectively, so must the interviewee.

For example, in a performance appraisal, carefully consider your answers to

your boss’s questions. If she asks you to assess what you have accomplished and

excelled at, honestly highlight your individual achievements or contributions to

your team—without exaggerating.

Shared Responsibilities

Both interviewer and interviewee share in the responsibility to adapt to each other

and the interview situation appropriately—in both their verbal and nonverbal

communication. If a professor in your department is interviewing you to see if you

would be a good fit for your college’s honors program, you would typically treat

the interview quite formally. For example, you would use professional, formal

address when speaking to the professor (“Professor Arisetty” or “Dr. Edmunds”).

But if you have known this professor for three years, you baby-sit her children,

and she insists that you call her Emilia, you can adapt, feeling free to use her first

name and a less strict, more personal style of conversation.

If the interview takes place in a conference room with multiple interviewers,

the interviewee can adapt by making appropriate eye contact with each of the

interviewers and behaving more formally. But this also depends on the situation.

If you are applying to become a barista, for example, and are interviewing on

a bench outside the coffee shop, you can consider the situation less formal. In

this case, you would also need to avoid distractions from the people and noise

around you.

THE KIND OF JOB you’re

interviewing for dictates how

to dress. For an interview with

the typically more conservative

finance industry, you will need

a suit. For an interview at an

art gallery, you might wear a

more casual outfit. (top) Simon

Watson/Getty Images; (bottom) © Spencer

Grant/PhotoEdit

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