Second, tell a story. Introduce the issue you were faced with, and walk them through how you solve it. You probably wont have access to PowerPoint, so use hand gestures to show when you transition from one point to the next. Third, brainstorm the questions the interviewer is likely to ask, and prepare your answers. They could take the questions two directions: (1) interview-y questions (hardest challenges, etc.), or (2) real-world questions (impact, issues, etc.). Fourth, practice! In front of a mirror, your friends, or just the family pet. Finally, admit to your interviewers that youre nervous. Theyll probably smile and do what they can to calm you down, and youll get away from this uber-serious-professional tone. On a more serious level, though, if you really dread public speaking, you may want to reconsider this position. Public speaking is obviously an important enough part of the job that theyre putting it into the interview process. Are you prepared to take on a job

~Gayle 134 Too Much Information or Just Enough? Dear Gayle, I have Tourettes syndrome. While I dont curse or do anything inappropriate (thank God), I do twitch, especially when nervous. Should I give my recruiters a heads-up about this? Im worried that this may make them uncomfortable or, even worse, open me up to discrimination. ~T. B. Dear T. B., Youll hear advice both ways on this, but I think it really depends on how severe the condition is. Will it distract signifi cantly from your interview? Would you feel more comfortable if your interviewer knew why you twitch? If the condition is relatively subtle (i.e., noticeable but not distracting), you may not need to say anything. Heres why: 1. There are no accommodations for you. You dont need to ask your interviewer to speak lower, talk louder, write larger, and so on. In short, theres no action they should take, so the information would likely not even leave the ears of your recruiter. 2. Its obviously m

If you had, say, a black eye due to recent surgery, you might want to inform your interviewers of this, lest they thing you decided to rough someone up on your way to the offi ce. In this case, though, theres no other way they can interpret a tic. Its clearly a medical issue; who cares if its Tourettes or something else? Interview Prep and Overview 135 As far as I can see, specifying the condition in advance

Some people might assume that you shout out obscene words at random and (unfairly) be concerned about the impact of your condition. However, if either of these points were wrongif you did need accommodation or there is an alternate, worse explanation for your conditionthen I would suggest telling your recruiter well in advance. ~Gayle Playing Hard to Get Dear Gayle, I interviewed with a company two weeks ago, and they havent notifi ed me of a decision. I even tried e-mailing the recruiterno response. Does this mean Im rejected? ~S. J. Dear S. J., In one word: no. After you interview with a company, they will always tell you if youre rejected. Delays can happen for many reasons, good, bad, and neutral: They are going to give you an offer, but would like to have all their paperwork together. They prefer another candidate, but are waiting for her to make a decision. You are their second choice. The team is being reorgd and the current head count is unclear. (continue