ing and experience tends to reinforce a particular way of thinking.
Salespeople learn to be very responsive to their customers and to accept
rejection without letting it diminish their efforts. Bookkeepers are
rewarded for being extremely well organized and detail-oriented.
Though it is not always possible to do so, it is particularly useful if
you can learn about the background of the person who will be inter-
viewing you prior to the interview. At the very least, you want to learn
as much as you can about the kindsof people who are in the field in
which you will be interviewing.
Have discussions with people who might know the interviewer’s
mind-set. The people who can give you a realistic picture of a job are
also likely to be able to tell you about the typical mind-set of inter-
viewers in this field.
Rather than ask about “professional mind-sets,” which might
require a fair amount of explanation on your part, you would probably
do better to ask,“So what are the personal characteristicsthat inter-
viewers are looking for in candidates for this kind of job?”You can make
some suggestions as to what you think these personal characteristics
might be, so that the person you are talking with knows what you mean
by personal characteristics. And, of course, you also want to ask:“What
sort of experience do you think the interviewer will be looking for?”
“Please tell me about the kinds of accomplishments, knowledge,and
skillsthat are likely to be most valued in job candidates.”
It is particularly helpful if you can get the people you interview to
specify which of the particular P.E.A.K.S. they have mentioned are of
the highest priority.
Obviously, you can come up with your own variation on these ques-
tions, but these are the kinds of questions that are likely to elicit the
information you need to target your portfolio.
Talk with assistants, if you can. It is not unreasonable to call the
office of the person who will be interviewing you and ask if you can
have a quick phone conversation with one of the interviewer’s assis-
tants to learn more about the job for which you will be interviewing. If
you are able to get a hold of one of these people, in addition to finding
out about the particulars of the job, you can ask about the particular
P.E.A.K.S that are important to the person with whom you will be
meeting.
Ask P.E.A.K.S. questions during informational interviews.If you
are in a rush, then you may not have time to do formal, informational
interviews. But if you can schedule an informational interview, defi-
nitely ask the above questions about the P.E.A.K.S. that are considered
desirable. We explore ways you can do this in the next chapter, which
focuses on techniques for conducting effective informational interviews.
Listen carefully for desired P.E.A.K.S. during job interviews. As
noted earlier, in most cases you will want to be able to bring a targeted
Can-Do Portfolio to your first job interview. But whether or not you are
able to do this, you would do well to listen very carefully for clues as to
what the interviewer and people in this organization think are partic-
ularly impressive P.E.A.K.S. If you are invited back, this knowledge
will enable you to further refine what is included in your portfolio. AndChapter 3: Targeting Your Portfolio 35