Preparing Mentally for the Interview

To be ready mentally for the try out, make sure you are:

• On time

• Rested and alert

• Well versed on the company

Being on time for the interview.

A late arrival shows disrespect, disorganization, a poor

perspective, and immaturity.

Consider this plight. You're conducting screening interviews for a Midwest sales representative in a major hotel at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. You set your schedule to interview four candidates starting at 9 a.m. with two hours allotted for each. You have a 6 p.m. flight back to New York. Then the first candidate doesn't arrive until 10:15. His excuse: "Unbelievably heavy traffic." You are disturbed because you will be in a catch-up mode for the balance of the day. What kind of a review would you give the late candidate? A sales candidate who is over fifteen minutes late without notice will almost always be disqualified, regardless of the excuse.

If you know you are going to be late because of unforeseen circumstances, call and give the interviewer the option of having you come ahead or scheduling you for another date.

Being rested and alert.

Driving four hours to an interview through traffic and rain will drain anyone's energy. You should attempt to set your schedule so the travel time to an interview is no more than one hour. You will look, feel, and perform better.

It is also very impressive when a company finds out you booked yourself into a local hotel the night before, ensuring that you arrive on time and alert. This action shows you're not afraid to travel, you plan ahead, and you care about the interview. It is a sign of respect and professionalism.

Researching the company.

A company's primary objective during an interview is to learn about your personality and talents. The more time the interviewer uses to explain the company's background and products, the less time you have to make an impression.

The following background questions can knock you out of the running if you ask them during the early stages of the interview.

• "So what do you guys make here?"

• "Gee, until you called, I never heard of your company. Are you people a division of another company or something?"

There's the door. Any candidate who doesn't take the time to find out at least a little about the company shows a lack of initiative and concern.

At a minimum, you should find out the following about a potential employer:

1 Products or services

2 Markets

3 Annual sales

4 Number of employees

5 Perception in the market

6 Potential for a buyout or merger

Armed with this information gathered from annual reports, industrial directories, and conversations with associates, you will be able to ask more pertinent and intelligent questions during the interview.

You should also be aware of the downside to overpreparing for an interview. Take the case of Dolores, a candidate for a market analyst position in a large chemical company. Since Dolores had a degree in accounting, she felt right at home dissecting the annual report and preparing an extensive list of questions for her interviews.

As part of the process, the last person Dolores met was the comptroller, who had recently been on the hot seat to get inventories under control. Well, you guessed it. Dolores started in on cash flow and inventory questions, irritating the man to the point where he cut the interview short. This top official was taking enough heat from the directors and didn't need additional pressure from a B.S. in accounting who was applying for a $55,000 job in the marketing group. Dolores never survived the final cut because her extensive preparation trapped her into a confrontational discussion.

However, when you are applying for a top-level position where a significant portion of your income will be derived from incentive compensation, tough questions are in order. Just make sure they are asked well into the meeting with the objective of learning about the company's financial and market conditions. At a high level, not asking these questions will raise concern about your street sense because some issues are expected to be addressed.

Being physically and mentally prepared for an interview will help bolster your confidence and self-esteem. When you feel good, you will perform well in the tryout.