5. Focus more on perks than on the job

　　关注福利比关注工作本身还多

　　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.

　　常有人建议求职者们不要全盘接受这份工作提供的酬劳，而是要清楚明白地知道自己真正需要、真正想要的是什么。我大体上是同意这个观点的，但是时机很关键。很多年前，我在初试时面试过一个女生，当我问她“对公司的事情还有什么疑问”的时候，她问的都是这一类的问题：1.我的假期有多长，2.我的病假有几天，3.如果我因家中急事请假的话是否会给工资。这些事确实很重要，而且她也确实应该在我聘请她之前了解这些事。但是在第一轮面试就关注于这些事(而不是其他)，这使我有一种她只是把这份工作单纯地作为一个给她带薪休假的工具的感觉。因此我不太建议雇佣她。

　　6. Be opinion-free

　　毫无主见

　　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.

　　一位经理告诉我，他在面试中遇到过一位应聘者，他竭力给人以灵活、随和的印象，却让人觉得无论经理说什么他都会附和。当然，大部分人都不想招到好斗分子或者顽固分子，但是他们更希望应聘者能有自我意识，明白自己的所想所要，清楚孰轻孰重。

　　7. Stretch the truth

　　言过其实

　　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.

　　这点很关键。在这个海量信息的时代，你的经历、你过去的表现还有你的学历，你所说的任何事是否属实是很容易被核实的。在你表现不那么完美的事情上最好坦率一些，还要给出一些简单的辩解(而非狡辩)。除非你是申请的工作是当一个骗子，不然的话，诚信是你的必备素质，这也是每位招聘者乐于见到的。

　　8. Be clueless about the hiring company

　　对用人单位一无所知

　　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.

　　在这个互联网时代，你没有任何借口不在面试前对应聘公司的基本情况做一个了解。如果你对你求职的公司知之甚少，这会让人觉得你对此漠不关心，让人觉得受到了怠慢。如果你不关心公司情况，那么面试官就会自然而然地认为你也不会费心去做好这份工作。

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）