How to Do Well on a Job Interview 如何在面试中表现出色
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Reading and Writing for Second-Year English
Majors Week 13
Process
A
Professional Essay to Consider
How to Do Well on a Job Interview
by Glenda Davis
Ask
a
random
selection
of
people
for
a
listing
of
their
least
favorite activities,
and
right
up
there
with
my
teeth
drilled
is
likely
to be
as a confusing, humiliating, and
nerve-racking experience. First of all, you
have to wait for your appointment in an
outer room, often trapped there with
other
people
applying
for
the
same
job.
You
sit
nervously, trying
not
to
think
about the fact that only one of you may be hired.
Then you are called
into the
interviewer's office. Faced with a complete
stranger, you have to try
to act both
cool and friendly as you are asked all sorts of
questions. Some
questions
are
personal:
is
your greatest
weakness?
Others
are
confusing:
twenty minutes but seems like two
hours. Finally, you go home and wait for
days and even weeks. If you get the
job, great. But if you don't, you're rarely
given any reason why.
The
job-interview
win
if
you
play
it
right.
The
name
of
the
game
is
standing
out
of the
crowd
—
in a
positive way. If you go to the interview in a Bozo
the Clown
suit, you'll stand out of the
crowd, all right, but not in a way that is likely
to
get you hired.
Here are
guidelines to help you play the interview game to
win:
Present
yourself
as
a
winner.
Instantly,
the
way
you
dress,
speak,
and move
gives
the
interviewer
more
information
about
you
than
you
would think
possible.
You
doubt
that
this
is
true?
Consider
this:
a
professional job recruiter, meeting a series of
job applicants, was asked to
signal the
moment he decide not to hire each applicant. The
thumbs-down
decision
was
often
made
in
less
than
forty-
five seconds--even
before
the
applicant thought the
interview had begun.
How can you keep
from becoming a victim of an instant
Dress
appropriately. This means business clothing:
usually a suit and tie
or a
conservative dress or skirt suit. Don't wear
casual student clothing.
On the other
hand, don't overdress: you're going to a job
interview, not a
party. If you're not
sure what's considered appropriate business
attire, do
some spying before the
interview. Walk past your prospective place of
employment at lunch or quitting time
and check out how the employees
are
dressed.
Your
goal
is
to
look
as
though
you
would fit
in
with
that
1
Reading and Writing for
Second-Year English Majors Week 13
Process
group of people.
Pay
attention
to
your
grooming.
Untidy
hair,
body
color,
dandruff, unshined
shoes,
a hanging hem, stains on your
tie,
excessive
makeup or cologne, a sloppy job of
shaving--if the interviewer notices
any
of these, your prospect of being hired takes a
probably fatal hit.
Look
alert,
poised,
and
friendly.
When
that
interviewer
looks
into
the waiting
room
and
calls
your
name,
he
or
she
is
getting
a
first
impression
of
your
behavior.
If
you're
slouched
in
your
chair,
dozing
or lost
in
the
pages
of
a
magazine;
if
you
look
up
with
an
annoyed
in
your
pockets,
he or
she
will
not
be
favorably
impressed.
What
will
earn
you
points
is rising
promptly
and
walking
brisky
toward
the
interviewer.
Smiling
and looking
directly
at
that
person,
extend
your
hand
to
shake
his
or
hers, saying,
Lesley
Brown.
Thank
you
for
seeing me today.
Expect to make
a little small talk. This is not a waste of time;
it is the
interviewer's way of checking
your ability to be politely sociable, and it
is your opportunity to cement the good
impression you've already made.
The
key
is
to
follow
the
interviewers
lead.
If
he
or
she
wants
to chat
about the weather for a few minutes, do
so. But don't drag it out; as soon
as
you
get
a
signal
that
its
time
to
talk
about
the
job,
be ready
to
get
down to business.
Be
ready
for
the
interviewer's
questions.
The
same
questions
come
up again
and
again
in
many
job
interviews.
You
should
plan
ahead
for
all
these
questions?
Think
carefully
about
each
question,
outline
your answer, and
memorize each outline. The practice reciting the
answers
to yourself.
Only
in
this
way
are
you
going
to
be
prepared.
Here
are
common
questions, what they really mean, and how to
answer them:
me
about
yourself.
This
question
is
raised
to
see
how
organized you
are.
The
wrong
way
to
answer
it
is
to
launch
into
a
wandering, disjointed
response
or--worse
yet--to
demand
defensively,
do
you want
to
know?
or
do
you
mean?
When
this
question comes up, you should be
prepared to give a brief summary of
your life and work experience--where
you grew up, where your family
lives
now,
where
you
went
to
school,
what
jobs
you've
had,
and
how
you happen to be here now looking for
the challenge of a new job.
are
your
strengths
and
weaknesses?
In
talking
about
your
strong points,
mention
traits
that
will
serve
you
well
in
this
particular
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