英文履歴書の書き方 英語版 No. 14
LANDING THE JOB
The interview -- getting in face to face
14th in a series
By ROCHELLE KOPP
Sometimes interviewers will want to have a telephone interview with you. This may be efficient for the company and save them time, but it is bad for you as a candidate.
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Your appearance and mannerisms can have a dynamic positive impact. But, all will be wasted if you only have a phone interview.
Try and avoid a telephone interview whenever possible. Ask the interviewer if you can come see him for just five minutes. If you cannot avoid a telephone interview, then remember that your primary goal during the telephone interview is to get a face-to-face interview.
If you are put into a position where you are forced to have a phone interview, you should continually keep two goals in mind while you are talking on the phone.
* I will arrange a face-to-face meeting.
* If I can't do this, I'll get a lead to another opportunity.
Telephone etiquette
Things to avoid on the telephone* Answering machines with cute messages
Do not use your children's voices. Do not use a joke message. Simply say, "This is Keiko Tanaka. Please leave a message and I will call you back. Thank you." Needless to say, if you are conducting a job search in which you might be contacted by native speakers of English, but also might be contacted by native speakers of Japanese, your message should be bilingual.
* Eating or drinking while on the phone
This is a major distraction. Do not do it.
* Dogs or kids in the background
If the interviewer calls at a busy or noisy time at home, move to a phone in a quiet room.
Talking on a poor connection
If there is a poor connection, apologize and call the interviewer back. Do not try and talk above the static. Apologize for the poor connection as if it were your fault.
* Talking on a speaker phone on your end of the line
Never do this under any circumstances. It is considered rude.
* Talking at work in a soft voice to avoid detection
This makes a bad impression and distracts you from doing a good job on the interview. Apologize and try and set up an alternative time when you can talk freely.
Interview appointment
After successfully completing the screening process by getting the face-to-face interview, it is a good idea to send an email confirmation to the interviewer and if possible, a copy to the department administrator. If you do not have an email address, you may also offer to call the department administrator on the interviewer's behalf to set up a time.This shows the interviewer that you are willing to take the initiative. If the interview appointment was set more than one week in advance, it is also a good idea to call the interviewer or the department administrator the day before the interview to confirm your attendance.
Here is an example of a confirmation:
Dear Mary, Thank you for speaking with me regarding Position X. I am looking forward to meeting with you on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 3:00.
If there are any changes to your schedule, please contact me at (555) 222-1313. Sincerely, Hiroko Takeda
Interview preparation
* Research, research, researchThis aspect of interview preparation cannot be overemphasized. Research is a critical part of preparing for an interview. If you haven't done your homework, it is going to show in your interview.
Spend time researching and thinking about yourself, the occupation, the organization, and know what the interviewer is expecting from you.
* Know yourself
The first step in preparing for an interview is to do a thorough self-assessment so that you will know what you have to offer an employer.
It is very important to develop a complete inventory of skills, experience, and personal attributes that you can use to market yourself to employers at any time during the interview process. Use your resume as a guideline for this list.
Make a detailed list of all the activities that you have done (past jobs, extra-curricular activity, volunteer work, school projects, etc.). Go through the list, and for each item ask yourself, "What did I learn by doing this? What skills did I develop?"
