Page 138 - How To Sell Yourself

Selling Yourself in the Job Interview 137 10
Selling Yourself
in the Job Interview
ONE OF THE most stressful speaking situations is the job interview. And, unless I miss my guess, we’ve all been through it one time or another. If you really need that job, if it seems your whole life depends on it, the stress can be almost unbearable.
I have a friend who worked hard all his life, earned a decent salary, and reached a prestigious position in his field. Suddenly, because of a merger, he found himself out of work, jobless. Be- cause he and his wife had put several children through college and had supported more than one indigent family member, they had very few assets. Now, he had no job. After months of looking, his resumé made an impression on a potential employer and he was asked to come in for an interview.
Desperation can kill the deal
My advice to my friend (and you) was, “Whatever you do, don’t panic.”
“But everything, everything, everything is riding on this one interview,” you say.
Maybe so, but if you’re desperate and it shows, you haven’t got a chance. That piece of advice is really the key to success in the job interview and in every other form of communication. When an interviewer or an audience sees you squirm, becomes aware of your desperation, you’re almost certain to be a loser.
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