SUBTEXTdrinking fountain, it's an indication of how prestigious your own
job will be!"
Of course there may not be an actual rug on the floor or a
water jug on the desk, but the principle applies: How well furnished
is the interviewer's office?
The interview itself is, to be sure, more important than all the
physical elements of body language and image projection that
surround it. I asked the head of personnel at a large company
what was the bottom line on advice to a job candidate at an
interview. "Two words. Keep cool," was the response. "What
applicants forget, because they're so involved with how they should
look and act, is that the interviewer is a person, too, and, like
you, under pressure. Interviewers don't like to waste time.
"The very fact that you have an appointment is a sign that the
interviewer thinks you can do the job. The interview gives the
interviewer a chance to explore the things that don't go into a
resume, the personal characteristics and the subtext beneath the
surface.
"What you must remember is that an interview goes both ways.
It gives you an opportunity to find out something about the company,
something that won't be available anywhere else."THREE TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Another personnel director suggests that in any interview there
are three types of questions. Listed below are the types and samples
of some of these questions.
Opportunity questions:
- What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
- Tell me about yourself.