Page 155 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

140 Reading Between the Signs

The Cultural Set of Job Interviews
In contrast with most medical, educational, and other business
situations, which vary with each encounter (although they con-
tain certain repetitive elements and routines), almost all job inter-
views in mainstream American culture follow the same basic pat-
tern and have definite underlying cultural precepts. Usually these
conventions are not formally taught in high school or college. If
we grew up in the United States, we generally absorbed them
through books, TV, movies, or in discussion with others. There are
many books and workshops available, however, on how to inter-
view, for people who may not have had much formal education or
who wish to practice these techniques so they can hone their job-
seeking skills and present themselves to their best advantage.
So what are the rules of the job interview game? In poker, we
learn that our advantage is not in the strength of the cards we
actually hold in our hand, but in what we can make our opponent
think we have through bluffing. Similarly, in a job interview, the
point is not to recount our previous positions, education, or skills
but to present ourselves in a positive way so as to convince the
employer to hire us. (This may or may not necessitate bluffing.)
“Positive” seems to be the key word in interviewing well, accord-
ing to the authors of Interview for Success, who use the word in
almost every piece of advice they offer (e.g., “Turn what appears
to be a negative into a positive.” “Use positive form. This means
avoiding negatives by presenting yourself in as positive a light as
possible.” “Present your strengths, skills and accomplishments in
a positive way.” “Always phrase your answers to questions in a
positive manner”) (Krannich and Krannich 1982, 87, 119, 121,
123).
While playing Scrabble, good players do not volunteer infor-
mation about their position that would disclose their weaknesses
(e.g., “Darn! I’ve got all vowels”). Similarly, in job interviewing a
cardinal rule is not to disclose any negative information which
has not been specifically asked for. Or in the words of the author
of Job Interviews for Dummies, “Never should the unnecessary be
volunteered by the unwary for the unforgetting” (Kennedy 1996,
68).
The job interview is like a game of chess; it begins and ends
almost formally with moves chosen from very limited sets of pos-
sibilities. The question with which it often begins, “Did you have
any trouble finding our office?” is offered as an icebreaker and

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