Corrections or additions?
This article by Kathleen McGinn Spring was prepared for the February 19, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
When Interviewing For a Job, Act the Part
Acing a job interview involves getting comfortable —
but not too comfortable. “It’s like acting,” says Julia
Poulos, an actress and management consultant who looks at the interviews
from both sides of the desk. The principal in All the World’s a Stage
(www.savvypresentations.com) at 20 Nassau Street, she advises corporate
managers on how best to communicate in every situation, including
interviews with job candidates, and she consults with individuals
who need to excel at business communications — including job interviews.
It is important to be relaxed and friendly during a job interview,
Poulos says, but at the same time it is essential to remain focused.
“You have to remember where you are,” she says. “This
is a business transaction.” Poulos speaks on “How Interviewers
Interview: A View from the Other Side of the Desk” on Friday,
February 21, at 10:30 a.m. at Mercer County College’s Kerney campus.
Call 609-683-8824.
Poulos, who holds a master’s degree in theater from Penn State, is
finding that managers are looking for “soft skills,” but often
find it hard to figure out whether a particular candidate has them.
Evaluating technical experience and skill is a snap compared with
determining whether a candidate has the more elusive qualities that
the job requires. Right now, managers are telling her, these qualities
include a good work ethic, flexibility, a high tolerance for stress,
and the ability to multi-task and to work well on a team with colleagues
from different cultural backgrounds.
It may be up to the job candidate to bring a discussion of these qualities
into the interview. This is part of the process of acing an interview.
Some of the other pieces are:
Preparing carefully. Just as an actor memorizes his linesbefore he steps onto a stage, a job candidate needs to go over thepoints he needs to make during an interview. Just reaching the interviewstage may be the culmination of months of intense job hunting. Itis vital to be fully ready to do well.Establishing rapport. This should be the interviewer’sjob, but Poulos says that not all interviewers are good at it. Itmay be up to you to establish a connection. Be friendly, she suggests,but not too friendly. While opinion splits over whether it is a goodidea to quickly scan the office, choose an object — perhaps thepicture of a pet — and make a comment, Poulos says this is risky.”What if the dog just died?” she asks. Beyond the possibilityof bringing up a painful subject, admiring a finger painting or amodel sail boat could be tiresome. You have no way of knowing whetherthe five candidates ahead of you made the very same comment.Better, says Poulos, to indicate how happy you are to be at XYZ companyand perhaps to make positive mention of the company’s website or topraise one of its products. Don’t get too personal.Being conversational. Interviewers look at your wholecommunication style, although they may not be conscious of doing so.Adopt a conversational style, but “don’t be too overwhelming,”says Poulos. Make eye contact, but “without eye lock.”Pause before answering a question. “Take your time,” saysPoulos, explaining that this lets interviewers know that you are carefullyconsidering your answer.Asking for clarification. Interviewers frequently askquestions that are overly broad. Try to narrow the question. Doeshe want to know about an individual project or a team effort? Is helooking for insight into how you handled a personnel crisis or a crisisinvolving damage control with the media? Focus the question and thereis a better chance you will deliver exactly the information the intervieweris seeking.Telling stories. Everyone loves a story. Prepare several.For starters, Poulos emphasizes, these tales should be true. Theyshould illustrate how well you achieved a goal at another job, inschool, or perhaps in a community project. The stories — preparedin advance of the interview — should include mention of the keysoft skills. Perhaps one story could mention long hours of jugglingseveral projects — easily tolerated because of the rapport withinyour team.Including lots of details. Whether answering a questionor bringing up a success story, include specifics. “Details increasecredibility,” says Poulos. “They make it real for the listener.”Being assertive. Don’t be aggressive, but says Poulos,”managers expect you to be assertive.” Don’t sit back, waitingfor the questions to come. There are points that need to be made,points that demonstrate why you are the best person for the job. Itis up to you to make sure the interview doesn’t end before all theimportant points are made.Remembering the interviewer’s concerns. The biggest mistakecandidates make, says Poulos, is thinking only about themselves. Don’tpepper the interviewer with questions about benefits. Don’t regalehim with tales of family obligations that will make it impossiblefor you to work late on Fridays or travel internationally. The intervieweris focused on what the company needs. It is your job to demonstratehow well you can fill these needs.Save questions about dental coverage and company day care for afteran offer has been extended.Top Of PageFreelancers WorkshopThe New Jersey Society for Professional Journalists(NJSPJ) is reaching out to freelancers at its annual Freelance Workshop.”It’s a really nice event,” says Patty Murray. “Lastyear we had 65 or 70 participants.” Murray is principal of Milltown-basedMurray Communications and vice president of NJSPJ.The half-day event takes place on Saturday, February 22, at 8:30 a.m.at the Camden campus of Rutgers University. Cost: $40. Visit www.njspj.orgfor registration information and directions.Designed to bring freelance writers — fiction as well as non-fiction— together with editors and publishers, the event provides networkingopportunities and a number of workshops on all facets of the profession.The first of two concurrent workshops, beginning at 9:45 a.m., addressesthe business aspects of freelance writing. It is moderated by StephanieOverman, president of NJSPJ. Panelist include Susanna Dodgsonof the National Writer’s Union, media attorney Steve Schecter,financial planner Meghan Shannon, and Roberta Frizer,a home office specialist.The second 9:45 a.m. workshop takes on the how-tos of getting a bookpublished. On hand to give advice are columnist Mary Mitchell,essayist Mimi Schwartz, and Niels Nielsen, a Princeton-basedconsultant and author of Princeton Management Consultants Guide toYour New Job, published by John Wiley & Sons. Representatives fromXlibris, Running Press, and Temple University Press also are expectedto attend.After a coffee break, a combined 11:30 a.m. session looks at “Printand Electronic Opportunities.” Panelists include Vikki Monaghanof the Trenton Times, radio freelancer Steve Taylor, PhiladelphiaDaily News columnist Ronnie Polaneczky, Philadelphia Daily Newsmanaging editor Ellen Foley, webzine editor Mary Chollet,and Tim Whitaker, editor of Philadelphia Weekly.Murray says NJSPJ holds its events around the state for the convenienceof journalists in every part of New Jersey. This event is held inconjunction with the Philadelphia Society of Professional Journalists.Top Of PageCorporate AngelsThe Eden Family of Services credits a number of area companiesfor making its 2003 Eden Dreams benefit a success. Among its benefactorsare Amersham Biosciences , Bohren’s United Van Lines, Hale& Dorr, Leigh Photo & Imaging, Penguin Air Conditioning,and Trumball Advisors.Top Of PageDonations SoughtThe Pennington Athletic Club and the Mercer County Chapterof the Sunshine Foundation partner this year to host the third annual”Dreamday for Dreamlift” on Saturday, April 12.The Sunshine Foundation helps seriously ill, physically and mentallychallenged, and abused children fulfill their individual dreams andwishes. The foundation satisfies many Mercer County children’s requests,which range from a computer to a special wheelchair to a week-longstay at the Sunshine Foundation’s Dream Village at Disney World.A “Dreamlift” is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23, takingover 100 children from Mercer County Airport to Disney World. To fundthis and other activities the organizations supporting the SunshineFoundation are holding a silent auction at the “Dreamday”event. Contributions of items for the auction are needed, as are monetarycontributions. For information call Michael Briehler of the PenningtonAthletic Club at 609-730-8100.Top Of PageGrant Applications SoughtThree separate grant cycles are approaching for public benefitorganizations wishing to apply to the Princeton Area CommunityFoundation (PACF) for program funding.The Fund for Women and Girls seeks grant proposals from programswith proven competence in working with girls to build character andself-esteem, hone special talents, train for leadership, respect theirbodies, stay in school, and be proud of who they are and what theycan do. The fund is also interested in projects that help women tobe positive role models and advocates for themselves, to be good mothers,to transition from welfare to work, and to adopt healthy behaviors.The deadline for proposals is Friday, February 28.The New Jersey AIDS Partnership is accepting grant proposalsfor innovative approaches that address unmet needs and underservedpopulations and serve the state’s HIV/AIDS population. Community-basedorganizations or programs providing direct service, preventive education,outreach to, or advocacy for HIV positive and at-risk populationsin New Jersey are eligible for funding. The deadline for proposalsis Monday, March 3.The PACF’s Greater Mercer Grants is available twice in 2003for programs that help low-income people help themselves, effortsto improve a non-profit’s productivity, or projects that build regionalleadership and effective partnerships. The spring deadline for proposalsis Friday, April 18, for consideration for a June grant.Full grant guidelines and applications for all grant cycles are availableat PACF’s website at www.pacf.org. For more information call 609-688-0300.Top Of PageMedia WatchThe first ever NJ Transit bus to be fully wrapped with an advertisementcan now be seen rolling through the Route 1 Corridor. Designed byRed Flannel Design , a branding and design company based in Freehold,the ad was created to publicize the Children’s Specialized HospitalOutpatient Center at Hamilton, which opened in January to providespecialized and therapeutic care for children in the Mercer Countyarea.The ad literally covers the entire bus and features giant-sized cartoonchildren waving to passersby. Bus wraps are common in cities suchas New York, where the giant ads function as rolling billboards.A call for entries is out for the 35th annual Jersey Awards,sponsored by the New Jersey Advertising Club . Entries must havebeen published, produced, or aired between January 1 and December31, 2002 for a company headquartered in New Jersey or by a New Jersey-basedadvertising agency. The latest Jersey Awards contest, entitled “TakeYour Best Shot,” features 109 categories, up from 105 the yearbefore. Categories include newspaper and magazine advertising, collateralmaterials, direct marketing, out-of-home, radio and television advertising,and interactive media as well as similar categories for Hispanic andforeign language advertising.Deadline is Friday, February 28. Judging takes place at Gibbs Collegein Montclair on Saturday, March 15. The awards dinner is scheduledfor May 20 in West Orange. For more information, call Pat Hanley at201-998-5133.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
