Page 36 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

Interview Types and Techniques 29

either place male sure you have your interview essentials ready and
organized. If a phone call comes when you are at work, ask the inter-
viewer to excuse you for a moment while you close the door. Tale a
moment to close the door, if this is possible, and to get your interview
essentials out of your briefcase - or wherever you are keeping them. Take
a deep breath to help calm you as you pick up the receiver to continue.
Face-to-face interviews most often take place in a hotel, convention
center, or college campus setting for screening interviews. Employment
interviews usually take place in the employer’s offices, but may occur at
other sites. Some interviews, or at least parts of them, may tale place in
a restaurant, the employer’s home, or even in an airport waiting area.
The portion of an interview that takes place in a restaurant can be the
most dangerous minefield for many interviewees. Evening dinners in the
employer’s home often have the same effect. One potential problem is
that many applicants who have been on their best behavior for the
interviews in the more formal setting that preceded the lunch or dinner
session now mistakenly believe that the interview is over and act
accordingly!
As long as you are with the prospective employer or her representa-
tives, the interview continues. The setting may change; the participants
may seem to turn from talk of business-related matters to a more social
set of conversation topics; but you, the applicant, are still on stage and
continue to be evaluated. This is no time to relax, let your hair down, and
forget what you are there for. Continue to give thoughtful responses to
questions and probe in a non-threatening manner for insight into the
company where you may have the opportunity to work. Your interest and
enthusiasm for the company must remain dynamic even if you are tired
and worn out from travel and the stress of several series interviews.
Another consideration should be what you will order if you are in a
restaurant and what you will take should you be eating in someone’s
home. If ordering from a menu, select something that will be easy to eat.
Bony chicken or lobster in its shell are to be avoided along with spaghetti
or anything else that may prove difficult to eat. You want to be able to
give your full attention to your dinner companions and appear in control
and well mannered rather than having to struggle with your food and only
give half attention to your dinner companions.
If eating in someone’s home, you will have fewer choices, but at least
everyone else will be facing the same struggle you are if the host’s menu