成人高等教育英语教材第四册03-成人高教英语

UNIT 3
Job Hunting
Integrated Skills Development

Passage Fruitful Interview

The coming early summer is again the time when college students are busy with job interviews in the hope that four years high priced education was not in vain.
A job hunter can have the best credentials in the world and still fail the job interview. If that happens, his dreams of employment are shattered at least with one employer.
Some people are naturally better at interviews than others, thanks to an outgoing personality. But it takes more than smooth talk to a job.
Personnel experts say that preparation is the thing. Learn how to play the game of hard questions, which is what a job interview is all about. Interviewers may differ in technique, but there are some common questions most of them always ask.
"The first 60 to 80 seconds are the most important part of an interview," Ed Morsier, a director of the Graduate School in Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh said.
"This occurs during the small talk before the hard questions begin. If you can relate some unique experience that will make the interviewer remember you, you may clinch a job," he said.
But it must be done without appearing to be contrived. I remember a girl who mentioned that she did macrame. So did the interviewer's wife.
Some of the questions seem harmless enough. Actually, they are tricks designed to bring out your weaknesses and strengths.
"Tell me about your life" is almost always asked. It is a trap for ramblers. The interviewer wants to see how quickly you organize your thoughts and how well you communicate. Someone who rambles a lot is on shaky ground.
Your answer also provides a glimpse of your character and interest. Morsier recalled an episode about a lawyer being interviewed for trial work with a large firm. "She talked about a skiing medal she had won. It showed she liked to win." So she was given the position.
Another question that usually catches people off guard: What is your weakness?
It's a most difficult question. One should always try to present a weakness in a positive light. You might say: "One of my problems is that I'm a perfectionist. It interferes with my personal life because I'm always taking work home."
Perhaps the most dangerous booby trap is the inquiry: What do you think of your former boss or company?
"Never bad-mouth anyone", advises Morsier. If you were fired, try to owe it to personality conflicts rather than to some other people. But always stress that the conflicts didn't prevent you from doing your job well.
Be more careful about the presentation of your former boss. It might be noted that "he helped me learn specific skills" or "he was under a lot of pressures". You might add, "But I would have handled it differently and shown more compassion to the employees."

New Words and Expressions

booby
n. 笨蛋，呆子

clinch
V. 扭住；拥抱

compassion
n. 同情

conflict
n. 冲突

contrive
V. 设计，策划，发明

credentials
n. 凭证，证明

episode
n. 一段情节，一个事件

glimpse
n. 一瞥，一眼