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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1981)
Page STEP IV: The Interview By ROBERT B. NELSON Playing the numbers game and networking will “net” you numer ous formal and informal inter views. During the interview, the fourth step in the successful job hunt, prospective employers match the image they have of you on paper against how you come across in person. During the interview, the em ployer will not only be noting your qualifications and past experi ence, but will be looking closely at your personal qualifications and how you handle yourself in per son. These past and present indi cators will be the best clues of your future success on the job. Personality Plus Technical qualifications aside, the face-to-face communication during the interview is probably the best way for the employer to determine how you will fit into the position. The interviewer knows the people in the work group and will try to determine if you will interact with the group favorably. This personality mix can be essen tial to having an effective team. Minor details such as a firm handshake and direct eye contact can help demonstrate the message of confidence you have. Speak up and show an interest in the ques tions being asked. Positive, direct answers will help communicate that you are the right person for the position. The interview also gives you a chance to demonstrate many of the skills that you should claim to have. For example, show your communication skills by effective ly communicating, indicate that you are a good listener by actively listening and “playing back” what you hear, show you have initiative by taking initiative throughout your conversation. Telegraphing Answers An interviewer who has been trained in interviewing skills will try to tell you as little as possible about a position until they get all the information they need about you. By doing this the interviewer avoids telling you the answers to questions he might ask. For example, if an interviewer says: “This job requires excellent customer relation skills” and then asks. “What skills do you consider to be vour strongest? vou would y probably be alerted to the correct answer. The best way to counteract hav ing the interviewer control the discussion is to rebound questions back to the person. After you have answered a question, ask one. Make it open-ended so it can not be answered with a simple “yes” or "no.” This technique also will make the inten iew seen more like a natural conversation and will serve to relax you both. Ask the interviewer about your criteria for selection of the posi tion. Give the impression that you are also discriminating. The inter view does not have to be one-way street, and to the extent that it is not, you will look better and get the information you need. Funneling for Facts Another techique that the in terviewer might use is to “funnel” questions from the general to the specific. This is a way to get the interviewee to describe a situation as if it were actually happening to you, thus allowing the interview er to see how you think and how you would react. For example, consider thi series of questions: Did you deal with customers on your last job? Did you ever deal with a negative customer? How did you handle that person? What if they did not respond to your approach?And if that did not work? The belief is that you would probably handle a similiar situa tion in a like fashion once you were hired. As you describe your ac tions and thoughts, be aware of what values you are also exposing to the interviewer. Try to show that you carefully consider numerous factors before acting in a situation. asked any “trick questions or be given a “pressure” inteniew. To best prepare for an inteniew, write out a wide variety of ques tions that think you might be asked. These questions may come from gaps or ambiguities in your resume, your qualifications as they relate to the job, or your ex pectations for the position. Then write out an answer for each ques tions or role-play the inteniew with a friend. u CONGR4TUL4TIONS! (got somewhere to go?) Carea"Placement Registry (CPR) Can Show the Way If you’re a senior, you’ll be job hunting soon—and everyone knows how much fun that is. 300 resumes... saving forever for stamps... that letter to Dream Corp. you’ve written 12 times. You’re beginning to wonder if you’ll ever attract anyone’s attention. Why not let Dream Corp. come to you? CPR could be the answer. We’re an information service that will give over 10,000 employers in 44 countries access to your complete records. (Any idea how much stamps for 10,000 letters would cost?) Here’s how it works: You fill out a short form, listing your career and geographic preferences, your special skills, your GPA. This information is fed into the DIALOG Information Retrieval Service—a system used by businesses large and small, by research firms, accounting and insurance companies, publishers, advertising agencies, international and multinational corporations, most of the Fortune 1,000. Employers search through computer terminals for a combination of factors, such as your degree, your languages, your extracurricular background, and so on. If you have what they want, you wont have to get their attention. They’ll come to you. Instant access, instant searching, instant results. All for $8. Contact your Placement Office for details and student entry forms, or fill in the coupon below. t.—i—t—t. .i i I i i i i i i i tt*; Dear CPR: Please send me a student data entry form. Nat ress-Street