Page 167 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want
P. 167

that you always wanted the job, but that you now want it even
             more after meeting and talking to the interviewer. Be pleasant,
             but not overfriendly – you’re not trying to be best mates after
             one meeting.




             overcoming nerves




             To make the interview process pleasurable for both sides, the
             secret lies in creating a sense of relaxation, and establishing that
             rather mystical, indefinable quality: rapport. This should arise
             naturally from the knowledge you have acquired in advance,
             and the confidence that knowledge automatically gives you. But

             the pressure of the interview situation can still lead to nerves,
             which will obscure all the good work you have put in.
                Since appearing on Dragons’ Den, I have noticed – and I find

             this quite astonishing – that ninety per cent of the people who
             come and see me now are incredibly nervous and uncomfort-
             able, simply because they perceive me as a TV celebrity. They
             have seen me on TV, read about me in the newspapers. These
             are people who are successful in their own right – and yet, when

             they walk into my o≤ce, to some degree they are shaking.
                And because I am an experienced interviewer, I can spot
             those nerves a mile away.

                In that situation I will ask the interviewee, ‘Are you feeling
             nervous?’
                At this point most people will say, ‘Actually, you know, I am a
             bit nervous.’


                     155  pleasure
   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172