Fearless Interviewing160
[Kei purposely answered this way because he saw that words trustand
teamworkwere prominent in the Panatel mission statement when he was
researching the company Web site before the interview.]
“Tell me what you know about Panatel and why you want to
work with us,” Tina said.
“Well, that’s easy. With a rating of 12 in the Fortune 500 com-
panies, I think Panatel is a household word. Frankly, I’ve always
admired not only the innovativeness and durability of your prod-
ucts but the fact that you are so active in giving charitable dona-
tions to adult literacy and cancer research. I would be very proud
to work for Panatel because I believe in the lasting power of its
products, like the VoicePan 2000 and TelEase Release 201BV. I
also appreciate that it shares profits with the community and peo-
ple in need, like ‘Ready, Go, Read’ and The American Society for
the Prevention of Breast Cancer.”
[Kei also found these details by doing Internet and library research
into news archives about the philanthropic efforts of the company.]
“I must say, I’m very impressed with how much you know
about our company,” Tina said.
“I guess I just really enjoy doing research,” Kei responded. “I
like to go into any endeavor with as much knowledge and infor-
mation as I can so that I can analyze the situation before coming
up with a plan of action. I’d really like to tell you about a project at
my former company for which I spearheaded some research into
a product launch in the previously untouched Latin American
market. When we finally launched the voice recognition software
into that market, we were able to report a return on investment
within only 9 months, because of careful research and forecasting.”
[Note that “research” was one of the critical key words in the job
description. Kei carefully guided the conversation to one of his key accom-
plishments, even though he wasn’t directly asked to do so.]
“Good. Kei, I understand you currently live in Texas. Will
relocation be a problem for you?”
“Not in the least. I’ve already discussed the possibility of mak-
ing a move with my family, so we’ve been expecting a change for
quite a while. You see I have another offer pending from Nusite
in Denver that would also require relocation. My wife, in fact, was
quick to let me know that she’d prefer being here in Fort
Lauderdale than in Denver. We have an extended family here in
Florida, and since my wife completed her MBA at Florida State
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