Caution! You may be your own worst enemy! The purpose of this essay is to help you approach the interview in a positive, prepared, confident and relaxed manner. There are pitfalls ahead. Let's focus on those pitfalls that you might have dug for yourself:

Your attitude toward yourself and your attitude toward the interviewer.
You must have a positive attitude toward yourself and what you have to offer. Build yourself up
in your own mind. Review your accomplishments. Think about your successes. Jot down the points about yourself that you want to make during the interview and keep them

clearly in mind. Be positive.

Attitude toward the Interview
There are two attitudes or postures regarding the interview itself that can seriously undermine
your performance:
1. "This is an exam. The interviewer's role is to ask questions. If I give enough good
answers, I'll get the job."
This attitude puts you a weak position. You will tend to be passive. You will respond,
but you won't initiate. You will be tense. Your leadership abilities and your initiative
will not come through.
2. "This is competition between me and the interviewer. Our roles are to try to beat each
other in verbal combat."
If you take this posture, you will come on very strong and probably seem too aggressive.
The interviewer cannot be beaten, and if you try to overpower him or her, you will blow
your chance for the job.

Feeling the Role of the Interviewer
You must approach each interview according to what you expect to get from the exchange. First,
you must identify what kind of an interview are you having. You want to approach the interview as though you are a fellow professional in the field and that you are having a discussion about business with another professional, the interviewer. If you can adapt this attitude, it takes the pressure off you and the interviewer. You will have more of a personal exchange of information than a classic interview. This is to your benefit.

Ask yourself: What are the likely internal problems at this company? How can you assist solving them?

If you make it to a second or even third interview, you will know a great deal about the needs of
the company, if you have done your work right up until this point. You should be able to capitalize on this knowledge and present yourself as the person who can help the company the most. If you are not selected for the job, there is a post interview rejection' that can slow you down, if you allow it to do

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