BODY LANGUAGE IN THE WORKPLACE

THE JOB INTERVIEW

for me it was a triumph of pretense. I did need the job. I was

nervous and anxious and uncertain, but I used the two-hour trip

down to Philadelphia, where the interview was, to "psych" myself

up with my wife's words, "You've got something they want." It

was also my first introduction to the fact that you could send out

a subtext completely at variance with what you really felt!

THE RESUME AND ITS SUBTEXT
Every job applicant who makes it to an interview has something
the employer wants, a skill that can be useful, or else he or she
would never have gotten as far as the interview. The resume elimi-
nates those who are not needed or useful to the firm. Your resume,
therefore, is probably your most persuasive element in your job
hunt. Know your resume intimately, and you'll be able to discuss
anything on it.
The first step in any job application, therefore, is the resume,
and the resume itself sends out a subtext. Make sure the subtext
is exactly right for the position you want. For that matter, any
company you want to work for will have a subtext of its own.
Before you go after a job, before you even send out your resume,
and long before the actual interview takes place, bone up on the
company. Learn everything you can about it.
There are many ways to do this. Send for their annual report.
For a more honest view, if the company is large enough, ask a
stockbroker to get you a brokerage house report. Get to the public
library and look the firm up in the F & S Index of Corporations
and Industries or The Business Periodical Index. Know something
about the executives you are likely to meet. Browse through Stan-
dard and Poor's Register: Directors and Executives or Who's Who
in Finance and Industry.