Interview Stress
Job interviews are nerve-wracking, but are especially important to handle with professionalism and finesse - for both the interviewee and the interviewer.
The author provides some guidelines for the interviewee, but it's stuff that I've seen before in other sources that go more in-depth, so I'll skip this.
There are also tips for an interviewer, which is largely new information:
- Create an atmosphere of comfort and security Offer a beverage, make small talk, and generally try to put the applicant at ease
- Be prepared: Ensure your schedule is such that you will be ready for the interview, and will not be interrupted during it. Review the interviewee's resume beforehand (don't' read it in front of them)
- Anticipate questions: inasmuch as possible, anticipate the questions an interviewee might have about the job, department, firm, and industry.
- Listen attentively - It's especially important not to dominate the conversation (a guide is that the interviewee should do 80% of the talking) and be attentive to nonverbal cues
- Being honest is also important in answering questions about the company's welfare, the number of candidates you're interviewing, etc.
- Be clear about the "next steps" after the interview: how soon a decision will be made, when they can expect to hear from you
- Follow up: be sure to follow up afterward, if there's a delay, or even if the news is bad.
- Remember: the interview has an impact on the person's perception of your firm. Even if you choose not to hire them, they may be a candidate in the future, or they may go to work for a customer or a competitor.
EN: There's far more to be said on the topic of interviewing, and there are books devoted to the subject, but insofar as etiquette and culture are concerned, the general advice tends to be to attempt to "fit in" with the culture of the organization to which you are applying. But even that is questionable: to behave abnormally in order to make a favorable impression is disingenuous, and it's far more important to observe and discover whether the culture of an organization is compatible with your own. A job is more than a set of responsibilities and a paycheck: it's joining an organization and accepting its culture, and being accepted by that culture. While EEOC guidelines lead employers to feign cultural openness, there are a good many companies that are culturally closed, and to"win" a job that puts you in the company of bigots is, in the long term, to lose something more valuable.