Newspaper Page Text
September 26, 1984/The Maroon Tiger/Page 3C
Playing The Corporate Game
By Paul Dillard
According to Benjamin
McLaurin and Lydia McKinnly,
who teach Business Seminar, a
course offered here at
Morehouse designed to show
students how to make it in the
corporate world, making it in the
corporate world is not easy. In
their course, they emphasize
that if you are going to succeed
and make it in the corporate
By Joyce Lain Kennedy
Special to The Maroon Tiger
No matter how superior your
resume or qualifications, your
job search will be futile unless
you are able to get the employer
to like you personally in light of
the job you want.
Your chance to be likable
comes during the job interview.
Many recruiters say that far
more people are turned away for
personality factors than for lack
of capability.
Personality factors include
personal chemistry, vibes,
speech mannerisms, nonverbal
communications — under-the-
surface factors that make inter
viewers bristle or warm to you.
Of course, no one really can
control all the personality factors
in play — some biases and
feelings are beyond reach. But
what you can do is make a
conscious effort to be likable in
light of the job you want.
You can:
• Practice interviewing skills.
Try to enlist a friend to help
record mock interviews on audio
or video tape. Nothing will help
more to correct distracting or
irritating mannerisms that hear
ing or seeing yourself. Practice
answering questions — very few
people do their best with off-
the-cuff answers. Review key
questions and answers the night
before your interview.
• Arrive promptly; lateness
shows a lack of regard for the
interviewer’s time.
• Smile. Give a “connecting"
hand shake — as a genuine and
friendly person, you are connec
ting with another (important)
human being. Look the inter
viewer in the eyes — eye contact
is another way of connecting.
• Make small talk for a few
moments. As an opening
pleasantry, compliment the in
terviewer on the attractiveness
of a picture or the office itself.
Even a comment about beautiful
weather will do.
• Give thoughtful answers
during the conversation that
follows. Rather than fire back an
ill-considered response, ask for a
moment to reflect on adifficult
question, or ask to come back to
it later.
world, you will have to play the
“Corporate Game."
However, they say, “playing
this game will be extremely
difficult if you don’t know the
rules. The rules for blacks are the
same as they are for all other
players; the unfortunate fact is
that many blacks are unfamiliar
with these rules or inexperienc
ed at playing the game. They
assure, however, that, once the
• Show enthusiasm. Being
responsive indicates not only a
pleasing temperament but a
high-energy level. Employers
prefer high energy because it
suggests you have the motivation
to finish a task, not tiring and
losing interest before the daily
work is done.
• Refrain from bringing up talk
of salary or benefits until you
have received a job offer. You’ll
be better liked if your overriding
interest is seen as what you can
do for the employer than what
the employer can do for you.
• Understand how screening
and selection interviews differ.
In organizations large enough to
operate a personnel depart
ment, interviewing usually is a
two-stage process.
A representative of the per
sonnel department conducts
screening interviews designed to
weed out all but the best-
qualified candidates. Survivors
are passed to the person who has
hiring authority.
The recommended behavior
at a screening interview is: Be
pleasant and bland. You have
nothing to gain by risking strong
opinions which may conflict with
those of the screener. )f your
credentials are good and you
don't “make waves,” you
probably will be sent onto the
hiring authority.
At the selection interview,
however, feel free to express a
fuller measure of your personali
ty. The person conducting the
selection interview usually is
your prospective supervisor,
perhaps in concert with other
line managers such as the
department or divisional heads.
You must hit it off with the hiring
authority. You must be seen as
likable — as fitting in with the
group. If you don’t clock, you
won’t be offered the job.
A useful script for interviews
At screening interviews, you
probably will meet with a
professional interviewer who has
studied interviewing theory and
who prefers to control the flow
of discussion.
By contrast, selection inter
viewers — whose time usually is
taken up with tasks other than
interviewing people frequently
— may know little about con
ducting an interview.
Special to The Maroon Tiger
rules are understood, any one
can be successful if he is willing
to work hard enough.”
In their course material,
McLaurin and Ms. McKinnly list
six simple rules for outstanding
career success. Becoming aware
of your ambitions, your
motivations, and the strength of
your desire for high achieve
ment is the first step. They say it is
important to weigh the pros and
Be ready with an agenda of
your own:
1. After initial pleasantries,
take two minutes to summarize
yourself. You will be more
relaxed and less nervous if you
memorize the opening state
ment of who you are. Keep your
introduction confined to job-
related information.
2. Now ask the interviewer to
describe the scope of the job and
the qualifications of the ideal
person for it. Gaining this infor
mation is the key to the entire
interview. Listen carefully. Take
notes if you wish. You are being
given the clues to win the
interview. Throughout the
remainder of the conversation,
take every opportunity to re
mind the interviewer of the link
up between your qualifications
and the stated ideal person.
3. Be alert to shift subjects if
the interviewer seems bored.
Ask for direction: "Would you
like to hear more about my
media experience or about my
sales background?”
4. Close with an approach that
leaves the door open if you are
not recruited on the spot.
Make the closing minutes count
Be watchful for signs the
interview is drawing to a close —
the interviewer may rise, or ask if
you have any further questions.
Here’s your chance to sum
marize your qualifications. Then
ask if the interviewer sees any
gaps between your qualifications
and the requirements for the
job. Try to overcome expressed
shortcomings. Restate benefits
you offer.
Now show interest by asking:
“Do you have any further
questions or concerns about my
background, qualifications or
anything else at this point? I'm
very interested in this job and I’d
like to be sure you have all the
information you need to con
sider how I might fit in here.”
(At this point, you may even be
able to ask the big question —
“Do I get the job?”)
Exit by asking what is the next
step in the process and when the
employer expects to make a
decision.
In the final moments, be
certain to express thanks to the
interviewer for the time spent
with you.
cons of your ambition to deter
mine whether or not reaching
for the top is a goal you actually
want to strive for.
Next, they say, “Take the dare!
Take upthechallengedecisively,
resolutely, with firm, full com
mitment. Take the risk, shed
timidity and cast out passivity!
Don’t be afraid to aspire to the
highest level of success about
which you dream.”
After completing these first
two steps, they say you need to
begin to openly declare your
ambitions. “Let the world know!
Tell everybody, your spouse,
your family, and your friends.
Tell your associates and be sure
to tell your boss. Make your
declaration absolutely crystal
clear. Never let it be said by
anyone up the line that they
didn’t know you had high-level
aspirations.”
Then, they say, “Diligently
prepare! Start closing the
‘readiness gap.’ Study, inquire,
and learn. Know the organiza
tion chart from top to bottom.”
They also say it is important to
develop interpersonal skills,
learn how to make decisions,
enhance communicative skills,
and present yourself as a compe
tent leader.
The fifth suggestion they give
is to truly care. “Apply yourself
devotedly to your job and
become loyal to your organiza
tion. Identify with the enterprise.
Know the objectives of the
company and commit yourself to
them. Never be satisfied just to
achieve the goals of your own
job; show that you care about
the well-being of the whole
company.
And finally, they add, “Don’t
despair. Yes, you'll have plenty
of chances to throw in the towel,
but the simplest, most certain
and universal rule for success is
'don’t qqit.’ Many of your
associates will. They'll quail,
hesitate, fall back, or disappear.
Don’t quit, however the tempta
tion. If you want to reach the top,
stick with it thirty years. That’s
just about what it takes," they
say.
urdman
KMG Klynveld Main Goerdeler-
intemational firm
Certified Public Accountants
Traditional Services
• Accounting
• Auditing
• Tax & Tax Planning
• Management
Consulting
Services
Expanded Services
• SEC
• ERISA
• Expert-Witness
• Mergers
• Acquisitions
• Bankruptcies
• Reorganizations
Suite 900 Harris Tower
233 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30303
522-6100
High Quality Professional Services
Perform a
death-defying act.
Have your
blood pressure checked.
American Heart Association
$
Put The Interview On
Your Own Terms