Sample InterviewsNow is the time to put together all you’ve learned into a complete
interview conversation. This chapter contains three sample inter-
views. One with Jerry Aronson, a marketing manager, another
with Sarah Auschansky, an information technology engineer, and
the third with Kei Soto, a director of launch operations.
Jerry’s and Sarah’s interviews include only what the
employer and interviewee are saying, and they have only a few
notes, so that you can get the sense of how an entire interview
might unfold, uninterrupted. The salary negotiations illustrate a
fairly straightforward manner of negotiating, which you’ll rec-
ognize from Chapter 8.
The third interview includes detailed notes about why the
interviewee is using certain tactics, to help you remember the
reasons as they were given in previous chapters of the book. It
also contains a more detailed and comprehensive salary negoti-
ation, illustrating the nuances of the actions Kei takes to gain an
optimum salary in a more complex situation.
As you read the interviews, let yourself get a feel for the flow
and rhythm of the entire question and answer process. Don’t try
to analyze them too much—you already know all of what’s go-
ing to take place from reading the previous nine chapters of
the book.
Now is a time to actually imagine yourself in the scenarios
about to be presented.
Jerry Aronson, Marketing Manager
It’s 10:30 a.m. Jerry Aronson arrived at the Walton Corporation
half an hour early. He found a parking spot in the area that he
had scouted out the day before, and then he took a few moments
in the car by himself.
He checked to see that he had all of the materials in his pre-
sentation package, and then he put it in his briefcase. He left his
cell phone and pager in the car. He was feeling relaxed, excited,
and confident.
He entered the building at about 10:50 a.m. and introduced
himself politely to the receptionist at the front desk, using his
full name and saying he had an 11 a.m. appointment with Elena