From the book How to Prepare for an Employment Interview.
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You now know the points you want to make during the interview. You don't know every question you'll be asked, but you've thought about all the ways you can make a contribution, and how your experience, skills, and traits match up with the job as you imagine it. You've pictured yourself doing the work, and thought about the environment you'd be working in and the people you'd be working with-co-workers and customers.
You have all the information you need to do well in the interview. But there's more to success in the interview than what you say. There's also how you say it and how you come across to the interviewer-the image and personality you project.
Despite the intentions of recent legislation and trends in industrial psychology, the hiring decision will never be reduced to some detached numerical analysis of your qualifications and your answers to the questions you're asked. The hiring decision is emotional as well as logical. It's a leap of faith. You'll be judged not only on the content of your replies, but on presentation.
The interview is more than having the "right" answers, it's about transferring a positive feeling to the interviewer. The right attitude will go a long way.
Imagine two people with identical resumes, who give the same answers word-for-word in an interview. One is animated and alert, the other speaks in a monotone and seems uninterested. Who would you offer the position to? And would your decision be any different if the enthusiastic interviewee had slightly less impressive credentials?
Displaying enthusiasm is vital in an interview. You don't have to act perky, but you want to be alert, listen attentively, enunciate clearly, and speak with inflection in your voice. Everything from a firm handshake to a warm smile can be helpful in projecting the right image. Be yourself, but be at your best.
Some do's and don'ts:...[Continued here]
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