Interviews can be nerve-racking, brain-draining, headache-inducing experiences. These days, recruiters have found a way to make
interview even more difficult by combining experience with a meal. This means that in addition to listening to interviewer, formulating intelligent responses, and trying your hardest to be confident, you now have pay attention to how you look while eating.Interviews over lunch or dinner are an increasingly popular recruiting tool. This http://www.WorkTree.com career article gives you need-to-knows of meal interview.
1. Mind your manners 2. The dish dilemma 3. Consume and converse 4. Finish with a bang
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1. MIND YOUR MANNERS It may seem unnecessary to mention, but those basic table manners you were taught as a child still matter. In casual settings, poor manners are not always corrected. Therefore, you could have picked up some habits that your mother would be ashamed of and more likely than not, your interviewer probably will not be too be impressed by them either.
Here are just a few of habits you should be mindful of during a meal interview:
- BE POLITE. In addition to evaluating your answers to questions, an interviewer is also assessing your personality. Be courteous and respectful to everyone, especially wait staff. Words such as "please" and "thank you" speak worlds about your character. - BE AWARE. Keeping you elbows on table, chewing with your mouth open, talking with your mouth full all convey a negative impression. Pay attention to even your smallest actions. - BE PREPARED. If you feel uncertain about your table manners, consult experts. Emily Post's books on etiquette are considered to be among definitive works on etiquette. There is no shame in doing research; after all, this is an interview.
2. THE DISH DILEMMA Even though you are being treated to a nice meal, you are not free to order any dish you like. You are in an interview, and therefore, you have duty of maintaining a certain level of professionalism and formality throughout meal.
There are no definitive rules of food selection, and you may have to make a game-time decision. However, following these rules will help you steer clear of trouble:
- AVOID MESSES. Steer clear of foods that have to be eaten with your hands or have a tendency to splatter. It is hard to recover from embarrassment of splashing your interviewer with spaghetti sauce, nor do you want to inadvertently adorn yourself with gravy or cream sauce. So stick to foods that can be cut into small pieces with a knife and fork. - NO STENCHES. Avoid foods that have a strong or unpleasant order. You are better off having an interviewer not remember you at all rather than as candidate with bad breath. So no matter how much you love onions and garlic, lay off stinkers for one meal. - KEEP IT QUIET. You need to be able to conduct a civil conversation. Avoid foods that are crunchy and noisy to eat. In a public setting there is a lot of noise that could drown out voice of a person sitting across from you so try not to order food that would add to problem. - FOLLOW THE LEADER. You may be wondering if a menu item is priced too high or if to order an appetizer first, etc. The answer is to follow your interviewer's lead. Try to order food in same price range as interviewer and order same number of courses. You do not want to be sitting idle while recruiter is still eating.
