Potential Selling and Building Rapport

During the interview, it is important to maintain direct eye contact with the interviewer. Like the handshake, the amount of eye contact wall indicate to the interviewer your desirability as an employee by implying your degree of self-confidence, extroversion, trustworthiness, intellect, and competence. Such implications, though not necessarily logical, are probable. Nothing would be as annoying to an interviewer and as damaging to your chances of hire as your inability to look him or her straight in the eye when asking or answering a question.

Your strategy in the interview is two-fold: (1) sell yourself as a potentially valuable asset by relating your Special Ingredient and your strengths to the needs of the company, and (2) build rapport by encouraging the interviewer to talk about himself or herself and by revealing the common interests between you. To those ends, open the interview yourself by first phrasing the types of questions and statements described in the pre interview preparation.

1. "I hear you're from the east coast originally. So am I. Where exactly did you live?"
   
   
   
   
2. "What does the job description for this position read like, and what else would I get involved with?"
   
   
3. "What kind of background do you think would be best for this job?"
   
   
4. "Let me briefly summarize my background for you, and we can both ask questions from there."
   

Once the interview has started in the direction you have pushed it, keep it going by continually asking questions about the interviewers background, volunteering similarities in your own, responding to all questions asked of you with thoughtful enthusiasm, and constantly looking for opportunities to switch back into questions of your own.

I recommend that you take notes during an interview. Most people are flattered whenever someone else considers something they say important enough to write down. Moreover, your notes will help prevent confusion after the interview as to the differences among various jobs and companies. Such notes also will be in valuable later in accurately evaluating job offers. Additionally, the fact of your note taking will contribute to the overall image of a well-prepared and thorough professional. Your notes should be brief so as not to be distracting and delaying. Make sure your note tablet is mounted in a leather or leather like holder or is removed from a quality briefcase.

I mentioned earlier that you should never criticize your former companies or supervisors, lest the interviewer suspect the problem is really with you. However, if there really is a serious personal problem in your past that a potential employer is sure to uncover when checking references, it is better that the inter viewer find it out from you. So I suggest that you be candid about most skeletons in your closet. For example, I once interviewed a man who very much impressed me from the opening minute of the interview. After only a couple of minutes, however, he said, "Before we go much further, I want to tell you about a blemish on my record. I’ve spent six years in prison. When I was with the city police force, I got caught up in a bribery scandal. I wasn't mature enough to handle the temptation, so I went along with the crowd. But I have paid the price and learned my lesson. I astir you I can’t afford to be anything but completely honest for the rest of my life. I wanted you to hear about my past from me and not someone else."

Had I discovered his imperfect past while checking references, I would have immediately eliminated him. However, hearing a forthright confession from him made his past no longer a major problem in my mind. Most people have an innate urge to forgive others when candidly asked to do so. Therefore, I believe that candidness is usually best in an interview. It is certainly a refreshing change to hear someone assume complete responsibility for his or her own personal problems. Having said that, however, I must admit that candidness is not always effective if the problem revealed is considered by most interviewers to be habitual, such as alcoholism or heart trouble. Employers usually do not want to take a chance on a recurrence of such problems while the person is in their employ. In such cases, I recommend that you have documented proof of the problem being solved, or do not be candid and have your explanations ready when and if the problem is discovered, Your effectiveness in the interview will be enhanced to its extent that you demonstrate the qualities of enthusiasm and self-confidence, since both are rare and prized commodities. Enthusiasm for work in general and the job under discussion is best embodied by a 'Thank God Its Monday" attitude. Such an attitude is reflected in your explanations of seeking the enjoyment of solving the daily challenges of your job and the stimulation of working with dedicated and creative people in an energetic organization. The company benefits, vacation, and retirement plans are important and you will learn them in good time, if you do not disqualify yourself first. However, you immediately will put one foot in the mass grave of unsuccessful job hunters if you dwell on such peripheral factors early on. To borrow a thought from John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what the company can do for you, but explain what you can do for the company, with enthusiasm."