Preparing Mentally for the Interview

To be ready mentally for the try out, make sure you are:

• On time

• Rested and alert

• Well versed on the company

Being on time for the interview.

A late arrival shows disrespect, disorganization, a poor

perspective, and immaturity.

Consider this plight. You're conducting screening interviews for a Midwest sales representative in a major hotel at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. You set your schedule to interview four candidates starting at 9 a.m. with two hours allotted for each. You have a 6 p.m. flight back to New York. Then the first candidate doesn't arrive until 10:15. His excuse: "Unbelievably heavy traffic." You are disturbed because you will be in a catch-up mode for the balance of the day. What kind of a review would you give the late candidate? A sales candidate who is over fifteen minutes late without notice will almost always be disqualified, regardless of the excuse.

If you know you are going to be late because of unforeseen circumstances, call and give the interviewer the option of having you come ahead or scheduling you for another date.

Being rested and alert.

Driving four hours to an interview through traffic and rain will drain anyone's energy. You should attempt to set your schedule so the travel time to an interview is no more than one hour. You will look, feel, and perform better.

It is also very impressive when a company finds out you booked yourself into a local hotel the night before, ensuring that you arrive on time and alert. This action shows you're not afraid to travel, you plan ahead, and you care about the interview. It is a sign of respect and professionalism.

Researching the company.

A company's primary objective during an interview is to learn about your personality and talents. The more time the interviewer uses to explain the company's background and products, the less time you have to make an impression.

The following background questions can knock you out of the running if you ask them during the early stages of the interview.

• "So what do you guys make here?"

• "Gee, until you called, I never heard of your company. Are you people a division of another company or something?"

There's the door. Any candidate who doesn't take the time to find out at least a little about the company shows a lack of initiative and concern.

At a minimum, you should find out the following about a potential employer:

1 Products or services

2 Markets

3 Annual sales

4 Number of employees

5 Perception in the market

6 Potential for a buyout or merger

Armed with this information gathered from annual reports, industrial directories, and conversations with associates, you will be able to ask more pertinent and intelligent questions during the interview.

You should also be aware of the downside to overpreparing for an interview. Take the case of Dolores, a candidate for a market analyst position in a large chemical company. Since Dolores had a degree in accounting, she felt right at home dissecting the annual report and preparing an extensive list of questions for her interviews.

As part of the process, the last person Dolores met was the comptroller, who had recently been on the hot seat to get inventories under control. Well, you guessed it. Dolores started in on cash flow and inventory questions, irritating the man to the point where he cut the interview short. This top official was taking enough heat from the directors and didn't need additional pressure from a B.S. in accounting who was applying for a $55,000 job in the marketing group. Dolores never survived the final cut because her extensive preparation trapped her into a confrontational discussion.

However, when you are applying for a top-level position where a significant portion of your income will be derived from incentive compensation, tough questions are in order. Just make sure they are asked well into the meeting with the objective of learning about the company's financial and market conditions. At a high level, not asking these questions will raise concern about your street sense because some issues are expected to be addressed.

Being physically and mentally prepared for an interview will help bolster your confidence and self-esteem. When you feel good, you will perform well in the tryout.

Vocabulary and grammar exercises

1 Choose the correct form and fill in the gaps:

1 Don’t ________, prolonging the interview, when it should be over.

a) hang around b) get around

c) pay around d) walk around

2 When is the ________ for application?

a) supplier b) candidate

c) deadline d) remark

3 The unions say this is because of the 30% ________ in the workforce.

a) reduction b) distribution

c) security d) training

4 And then, last month, Mr Gates ________ the Human Resources Director.

a) spoke b) sacked

c) passed d) provided.

5 Business can be a powerful ________ for social change.

a) agent b) agency

c) agenda d) agreement

2 Ask questions on the underlined words:

1 Appearances are important during the interview.

2 The first candidate for the interview did not arrive at 10 AM.

3 He booked himself into a local hotel the night before the interview.

4 Dolores had a degree in accounting and felt right at home dissecting the annual report.

5 The Tories will use the figures to intensify their onslaught against the Government in the run-up to the budget.

3 Fill in the blanks with prepositions and articles:

1 This approach and style will provide you ________ an edge ________ the competition.

2 During this time frame both parties look ________ a common chemistry that will produce _______ good working relationship.

3 Ask good questions that relate ________ the job, and how it fits ________ overall corporate strategy.

4 ________ company's primary objective during _______ interview is to learn ________ your personality and talents.

5 It’s not surprising that he’s working less hard. He’s very close ________ retirement.

6 They thought everything was ________ control until they had a big dispute ________ pay.

7 ________ brevity is ________ soul of wit.

8 ________ experience is ________ best teacher.

4 Reword the following sentences without changing their meaning. Pay attention to the italicized words:

1 The employer should not think that you are too stylish.

2 The matter of the greatest importance is to learn about the personality and talents of the interviewer.

3 In the end, no matter hard you try, your true traits will surface.

4 After a sudden breakdown at their Southford site the main assembly line was put out of action.

5 Four basic emotions are most commonly singled out as underpinning our attitudes towards money: our desires for security, power, love and freedom.

5 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the below verbs:

Get/find work, do work, do something for a living, make a living, be offered a job, take on a job.

I’d love to…a job in journalism, but it’s not easy without qualifications. Since I have to earn a … somehow, I’ll have to get…wherever I can find it. I’ve been…some part - time work editing a typescript for a book, but I’m not sure I want to…it….

6 Complete each sentence (a-h) with a suitable ending (1-8). Use each ending once.

a) If you work hard, the company will give you….

b) In a different job I cold get a higher….

c) The best way to find new staff is to put a /an….

d) Because he had stolen the money, we decided that….

e) She has a pleasant personality but hasn’t got the right….

f) In the meeting we are going to discuss….

g) I think it would be a good idea to send in your….

h) We cannot give you the job without….

1 qualifications for a job of this kind.

2 advertisement in the local press on Friday.

3 application for the job as soon as possible.

4 promotion to a more responsible position.

5 references from your previous employer.

6 dismissing him was the only possible action we could take.

7 salary and better conditions for employment.

8 appointment for a new sales representative.

7 Match each phrase with its opposite:

well-paid	stressful
work indoors	work long hours
hard work	easy and fun
relaxing	badly paid
go home early	exciting work
boring job	work outdoors

8 Pair work. Discuss the statements below and find out your partner’s views on the issues:

1 Interviewers will excuse a shabby appearance because they know you are unemployed.

2 When you have to travel three hours to an interview, the people you meet will understand if you yawn.

3 You can never overprepare for an interview.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-27