Working World

Not all interviews are the same. The easiest is usually a one-on-one, face-to-face arrangement; but many employers use different setups for different purposes. Your best strategy is to anticipate and prepare.

For instance, employers use preliminary phone interviews to screen large numbers of applicants. Don’t be afraid to ask for a call back if the baby is screaming or if the interviewer catches you at work just when your boss drops by. If you pass this “first cut,” you move on.

In other cases, the interviewer will want to cover substantive material. Fortunately these calls usually involve prearranged times, and you can prepare by having everything you might need close at hand.

Another type of interview that can be intimidating is a group or panel interview, either with people from human resources or potential coworkers. HR personnel are professionals, so you should have no difficulty. But be prepared for possible coworkers to fall a bit short of that mark. Don’t let indifference or hostility fluster you (they may have had to interrupt other work to come), and expect the questions from this group to lack cohesion. In each case, answer directly to the person asking the question.

Breakfast, lunch or dinner interviews are designed to get to know the “real” you. So put your best fork forward. The interviewer picks up the tab, so make your choices moderate. Don’t drink, and stay away from messy or hard-to-handle food. Remember what your mother told you about table manners, and focus more on what you can bring to the job and less on the food. Your main objective is to sell yourself.  

Prior to writing on employment issues, Elizabeth Hanink worked as a telephone operator, library aide and as a nurse.