BODY LANGUAGE IN THE WORKPLACE

THE JOB INTERVIEW

boss or company. Try to find an explanation that takes the blame

away from you. A few examples: "I went as far as I could go,

and there was nothing else open." "My job has been eliminated,

and no one is filling it." "They discovered that I was looking

outside, and they asked me to leave." The trick is to turn a

negative subtext into a positive one.

An important point in answering this question is to know what

your references have said about you. One good way to check

this out is to have a friend call up your old company, say you

are applying for a job, and ask for references. If there are negative

elements in your references, try to talk them over with your ex-

boss and see if they can be softened. But the best thing to do is

to give, as references, people you know will speak well of you.

Your resume is good, but aren't you overqualified for this job?

Don't deny it. You can use this gambit to really sell yourself.

Explain that your overqualifications are your employer's good luck.

You can do this in a number of ways. One is to show the similarities

between your last job and this one, or how your past experience,

even if it's from a different field, can be of great value in this

job. A point here: every industry has its own lingo. Know the

terminology of the business and use it.

What didn't you like about your last job? Give an honest answer
to this one, but in a positive sense. Once again, do not speak
negatively about your last employer. The subtext you want to send
out is that you had more to give to your company than they cared
to use. One ploy is that at your last job, seniority meant more
than hard work in terms of promotion. You like to work hard.
Another possible answer is that meeting deadlines and schedules
is important to you, and you don't think the last job used your