Interview Part-1:APPLES , ORANGES AND INTERVIEWS

                                

    

                                                                                     

               “ IN AN INTERVIEW, TELLING ABOUT YOU, IS SELLING YOUR SELVES”     
     

My grandson and I went to a fruit market. Hawkers and shop men were in competition with each other to woo the customers.

“Please come here Sir, apples  ...Simla apples  ... Tasty like honey and cheap like green leaves” saying this One hawker invited us. His shop was full of flies. Fruits were lying open.

“How is it, grandpa? Can an apple taste like honey?”

“Baby, they say this to sell their apples. Your question is correct. Honey cannot be apple and apple cannot be honey” He is now 6 years old. Would you allow me a small digression here? That is about my little grand son. He usually asks lots of questions. One of the questions, which his mother had had to face, was “You say God is kind,Mom. Then why are these people begging and sleeping on platforms and signals? Why is God not good to them?” She has been still looking for an appropriate and satisfactory answer. Could you help her?

Let us come back to our  topic-apples, oranges etc. We moved further in the market. The next man who was in a clean and bright dress offered “…Son, taste this sweet piece, if you like it, then buy some apples. These oranges have calcium and vitamin C. If you eat them regularly, my dear boy, you can become strong like Tarzan. Take a piece sir, vitamin-c strengthens our immunity” (We usually have a weakness for freebies, discount, bonus etc. Yes... I don’t deny I am also one of them. This fellow some how seemed to have understood this. I took the piece and enjoyed more his attitude)

He further continued confidently with an eye on me “Show me your teeth  ...My Boy!  Ha! You have got bad teeth. Isn’t it? Let me tell you about apple. if you eat an apple a day, it will prevent decay. Would you like to have an apple and better teeth?” 

Both of us decided to purchase not only apples but also some more fruits, of course at my grand son’s choice.

Let us analyze why I preferred the second seller over the first hawker.

The first person who called us was very brief in communication. His emphasis was on taste and money (I felt my self esteem was in question if I preferred to buy fruits because they were cheap. Neo-middle-class mentality?)

On the other hand,

The second one’s appearance was neat and clean.

Secondly his attitude: behavior and communication are descent. He directly addressed my grand son offered a piece of apple to prove the sweetness of the fruit.

Thirdly his knowledge about fruits is reasonably good.

Fourthly look at his experience in selling: Really a brilliant approach; he indirectly attracted me by addressing the child and leaving the decision of buying to me.

Precisely, what I could understand from his presentation was that we have to tell about ourselves in a manner which may not fail to address the needs of our interviewers.

Don't you accept that we have to adopt these methods when present (sell/rent/lease our abilities to the employers) ourselves in interviews?