1. freeze up
過度緊張語無倫次
if you can’t make it through an interview without crumbling, people are unlikely to believe you’ll be able to withstand the rigors of a normal job. so if you find interviews particularly daunting, work on your pep-talk beforehand. for example, if you find you’re saying things to yourself like, “i’m terrible in interviews, i know i’ll look like an idiot” – that can’t be a self-fulfilling prophecy. instead, change your mental monologue to something more hopeful, yet still realistic, like “i get nervous during interviews, so i need to practice beforehand, and remember to look at the interviewer and keep breathing.” and do practice, too – that can really reduce your fear.
如果你無法平和冷靜地通過一場面試，這會很難使別人相信你能禁得起來自常規工作的嚴格考驗。因此，如果你覺得那些面試會使你緊張不安，你可以事先給自己打打氣。比如說，即使你心裡在想“我知道我在面試中會表現很差，看起來就像個傻瓜”，這也不可能是一個自我實現的預言。相反，把你的內心獨白轉化成一些更加樂觀卻不失現實性的話語，就像“我在面試的時候會緊張，所以我要事先練習一下，一定要記得看著面試官，呼吸要平穩，放輕鬆。”除此之外你還要做一些事前練習，此舉能夠有效緩解你內心的不安。
2. dominate
完全一言堂——說個不停
if you know you have a strong personality and tend to talk a lot, coach yourself before you go into an interview to get curious about the interviewer: what he or she might be interested in hearing from you, his or her view of the job and of the company. if you’re in a curious mindset, you’ll be much more likely to listen, and the interview will be a dialogue, vs. a monologue.
如果你深知自己個性很強且喜歡滔滔不絕地說話，那你在面試前就要訓練自己去揣摩面試官的內心：面試官想聽我講什麼?對這份工作還有這個公司是什麼看法?如果你在面試過程中處於這樣一種好奇的心態，你就會更傾向於去聽面試官在說什麼，面試就會成為一場對話，而不是一次獨白。
3. be sloppy
儀表草率
try to find out, before your interview, what’s standard dress at that particular company. but no matter how casual the dress code – don’t be a slob. having good personal hygiene – clean hair, showered, nails trimmed – and clean, unwrinkled clothing is much more important than whether you’re a little over-dressed or under-dressed. when someone comes to an interview looking like he or she has just rolled out of bed, it communicates lack of respect for the interviewer, the job and the company.
在面試前，你要查詢一下你所應聘的那家公司的著裝規範。但是無論著裝要求是多么隨意，面試時都不可以不修邊幅。要保持良好的個人衛生：頭髮要理好，事先洗過澡，指甲要修好。還有衣服要乾淨整潔不可以皺巴巴，這點很重要，不管是打扮鄭重還是隨意都要注意這點。當一個人去面試的時候看著像是剛起床的樣子的話，這會給人以一種這個人並不在意這次面試，也不在乎這份工作，這個公司的印象。
4. throw anybody under any bus
拉任何人為你墊背
even if your former employer was terrible, resist the temptation to share any of that with your interviewer. i think sometimes people say dreadful things about their previous job because they don’t think about how it will be perceived, and sometimes because they actually think the interviewer will take it as a kind of compliment (e.g., my last job was horrific, unlike this job…). trust me, saying negative things about your past work life in an interview will only give the impression that you’re both a complainer and indiscreet. neither quality will put you on the ‘let’s hire’ list.
哪怕你的前任僱主很差勁，你也要克制自己去向面試官說任何有關這方面的事。有些時候人們會抱怨他們之前的工作，是因為他們並沒有考慮到這件事會被如何看待，有時他們甚至認為面試官會把這些抱怨當做一種恭維(例如，我的上一份工作很糟糕，不像這份工作……)。請相信我，在面試中這些有關你過去的工作生活的負面話語只能給人以輕率且愛抱怨這種印象。無論是輕率還是愛抱怨，都會使你被排除在雇用名單之外。
5. focus more on perks than on the job
關注福利比關注工作本身還多
job seekers are often counseled to be clear about what they need and expect from a job, rather than just taking whatever’s offered. while i agree with that in principle, timing is critical. many years ago, i conducted a first interview with someone whose only questions, when i asked her what else she wanted to know about the company, were 1) how much vacation will i get, 2) how many sick days can i take, and 3) will i get paid for the time i take off for family emergencies. these are all important things to know, and if i had offered her the job, would certainly be things she should find out before taking it. but to focus on them (exclusive of anything else) in a first interview left me with the sense that she was assessing the job purely as a vehicle for her to get paid time off. i was not inspired to hire her.
常有人建議求職者們不要全盤接受這份工作提供的酬勞，而是要清楚明白地知道自己真正需要、真正想要的是什麼。我大體上是同意這個觀點的，但是時機很關鍵。很多年前，我在初試時面試過一個女生，當我問她“對公司的事情還有什麼疑問”的時候，她問的都是這一類的問題：1.我的假期有多長，2.我的病假有幾天，3.如果我因家中急事請假的話是否會給工資。這些事確實很重要，而且她也確實應該在我聘請她之前了解這些事。但是在第一輪面試就關注於這些事(而不是其他)，這使我有一種她只是把這份工作單純地作為一個給她帶薪休假的工具的感覺。因此我不太建議僱傭她。
6. be opinion-free
毫無主見
one manager told me about an interview he conducted where the interviewee was trying so hard to come across as flexible and accommodating, it felt as though he would have agreed with anything the manager said. of course, most people don’t want to hire folks who are combative or rigid – but they do want people who have a sense of who they are, what they think, and what’s important to them.
一位經理告訴我，他在面試中遇到過一位應聘者，他竭力給人以靈活、隨和的印象，卻讓人覺得無論經理說什麼他都會附和。當然，大部分人都不想招到好鬥分子或者頑固分子，但是他們更希望應聘者能有自我意識，明白自己的所想所要，清楚孰輕孰重。
7. stretch the truth
言過其實
this is critical. in this era of massive information availability, anything you say about your experience, your past performance, or your education that isn’t accurate can most likely be checked. it’s much better to be upfront about anything that’s less than stellar, and offer a simple (non-defensive) explanation. unless you’re applying for a job as a con artist, your trustworthiness is an essential quality – and one that every interviewer will want to see and hear.
這點很關鍵。在這個海量信息的時代，你的經歷、你過去的表現還有你的學歷，你所說的任何事是否屬實是很容易被核實的。在你表現不那么完美的事情上最好坦率一些，還要給出一些簡單的辯解(而非狡辯)。除非你是申請的工作是當一個騙子，不然的話，誠信是你的必備素質，這也是每位招聘者樂於見到的。
8. be clueless about the hiring company
對用人單位一無所知
in the age of the internet, there is no excuse for going into an interview not having a solid foundation of knowledge about the company. knowing nothing about the company you want to work for comes across as insulting and incurious. if you don’t care enough to find out about the company, it’s natural for the interviewer to assume you won’t be that interested in finding out how to do the job well, either.
在這個網際網路時代，你沒有任何藉口不在面試前對應聘公司的基本情況做一個了解。如果你對你求職的公司知之甚少，這會讓人覺得你對此漠不關心，讓人覺得受到了怠慢。如果你不關心公司情況，那么面試官就會自然而然地認為你也不會費心去做好這份工作。