Dear SafetyXChange Members:

The following exchange took place in our ExecuNet Forum, where members can pose "Ask the Expert" questions and get them answered.

Question: The Interview Pas de Deux

Dear Lauryn:

You go to a job interview and meet several people from the company in separate one-hour meetings. It's pretty much the same dance:

• Step 1: The person wants you to explain something in your resume;
• Step 2: They ask you a few meaningless questions like "Tell me about your hobbies"; and
• Step 3: They give you a chance to ask them a few questions.

Then each person takes a bow - a handshake really - and it's off to the next partner. What's really frustrating is that the dance doesn't change much even in second interviews. The only difference is that we delve a bit more deeply into my resume. I don't get much out of this and I don't think my "dance partners" do either.

I want to talk not just about the past but the future. What's the job? Are my skills a match? How can I do it effectively? I'm almost tempted to send a tape of my answering these standard questions to the interviewers ahead of time so that when I actually show up we can get down to the real issues. What I have tried is sending the interviewers a proposed agenda for our meeting. But it doesn't work. The interviewers insist on doing things "their way."

Is there some way to get around the interview routine and somehow keep the focus on the heart of the matter?

Sincerely yours,

Frustrated Ballerina

Answer: Tie Past Accomplishment to Future Needs

Dear Frustrated:

What you've described is a common situation. The problem is that many interviewers are simply not good at interviewing. Instead of addressing the issues head-on, they engage in routine conversation and rely on their "gut feeling" to size up the candidate's abilities. And that routine conversation centers mostly around resume items. As you've noticed, this more often than not results in a less than useful interview.

Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do to control the interview dance card. You just have to accept the fact that interviewers will concentrate on your resume. But I disagree with something you said. Talking about your resume (your past) does not preclude you from telling the interviewer what you can accomplish in the future. On the contrary, previous experience and success overcoming challenges demonstrate ability to excel in future opportunities.

But the burden is on you to present your resume to the interviewer as evidence of your fitness for the job. Something you can try is to answer the standard questions about your past accomplishments and then tie what you've done in the past to the position you're interviewing for.

Of course, this isn't easy if interviewers are tight-lipped about the requirements of the position. So you'll need to do research on the company to utilize this tactic effectively. Try to determine what the company is like and what challenges it faces. Concentrate on gathering as much information as you can about this during the early stage of the interview, when the prospective employer is most likely to tell you about the position.

Conclusion

One final word of advice: Consider creating a one- or two-page addendum to your resume that draws a capsule picture of your three to six most impressive success stories. Send the addendum along with your resume and give a copy to the interviewer after your meeting ends. This will ensure that the interviewer emerges from the meeting with important details that you might not have been able to bring up in your conversation. It is a great way to control the agenda and set yourself apart from the competition.

Wishing you career success,

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

MEMBERS' REPLIES
Teenagers & Workplace Ethics

I read your column last week in which 40% of U.S. teens said they would act unethically if their boss told them to and more than one third said they'd be prepared to lie to cover up a mistake they made at work. Here's another situation I wonder about. What percentage of teens would exercise their obligation to refuse work that they knew was dangerous - to themselves or to a co-worker? Just a thought...

"Safety John" Wettstein

NASCAR & SAFETY

The tragic death of Dale Earnhardt during the 2001 Daytona 500 led NASCAR to mandate use of the HANS device

By Glenn Demby

No U.S. sport has attracted greater numbers of fans than NASCAR (short for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). And, perhaps not coincidentally, NASCAR and other motor sports result in more fatalities to participants than other sports. As long as one-and-a-half ton race cars hurtle down tracks at speeds close to 200 mph, the risk of death will always remain part of the sport. But in terms of safety, NASCAR has come a long way since its earliest days when races were held on the beach in cars driven by helmet-less drivers.

With the Daytona 500, NASCAR's premiere event, set to take place on Sunday, let's step back and document some of the extensive safety measures NASCAR has implemented to protect drivers, pit crews and fans:

INSIDE THE CAR

The Roll Cage: Designed to absorb energy and cocoon the driver in case of a crash.

The Front Clip: Steel tubing designed to push the engine out of the bottom of the car rather than into the driver's compartment in a crash.

The Seat: Shaped to wrap around the driver's rib cage which keeps the driver in the seat and diffuses the force of impact. Some newer seats also wrap around the shoulders.

The Safety Belts: A five-point harness made up of two straps that come down over the shoulders, two that wrap around the waist and one that comes up between the legs. Straps are made from thick, padded nylon webbing.

The HANS Device: Short for Head and Neck Support, the HANS device is a semi-hard collar made of carbon fiber and Kevlar held onto the upper body by a harness worn by the driver. Two flexible tethers on the collar are attached to the helmet to prevent the head from snapping forward or to the side during a wreck.

The Window Nets: Mesh made from nylon webbing designed to keep the driver's arms from flailing out of the car during a crash that also includes a quick release mechanism so the driver can get out of the car in an instant.

OUTSIDE THE CAR

The Roof Flaps: Designed to keep cars from going airborne and tumbling over the track. Deploy automatically when the car reaches a certain angle.

The Windshield: Made of Lexan, the same polycarbonate material used in fighter-plane canopies.

THE ENGINE

The Restrictor Plates: Used at super-speedways, a restrictor plate is a square piece of aluminum with four holes drilled into it. The plate is placed between the carburetor and the intake manifold to reduce the flow of air and fuel to the engine's combustion chamber which results in reduced speed and horsepower.

The Fuel Cells: Consist of a steel outer layer and a hard, plastic inner layer. Filled with foam to reduce the amount of air in the cell and thus the risk of explosion.

The Check Valves: Shut off fuel if the engine is separated from the car.

DRIVER'S GEAR

The Helmet: Consists of an outer shell, BeadALL liner made of special foam and an inner liner, padding and hardware.

The Fire Retardant Suit: Made of either Proban or Nomex material.

THE TRACK

Soft Walls: Typically built of some kind of crushable material that can absorb the impact of a high speed crash.

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