If you’re like a lot of job seekers, when you get called for an interview, you swing into preparation mode. You research the company, you try to predict what questions you’ll be asked, and you practice your answers until they’re flawless. But in the midst of all this effort to make a great impression, don’t lose sight of what might be the single most important thing you can remember as you head into the interview: The point of the interview is not to get a job offer. It’s to figure out if you’re a mutual match, emphasis on mutual.

　　你是不是和大部分的求職者一樣?在收到面試通知后，會(huì)立刻進(jìn)入準(zhǔn)備狀態(tài)。對(duì)公司進(jìn)行研究，分析會(huì)問到哪些問題，練習(xí)回答直到答案完美無缺。但是要想讓人印象深刻，在面試時(shí)，不要忘了最重要的事情：你面試的目的不是為了得到這份工作，而是要弄清自己是否適合這份工作。注意這種適合是相互的。

　　If you go into your interview focused solely on convincing the employer to hire you, you’ll lose sight of whether this is a job you even want or a company (or manager) you want to work for. Instead, in addition to showing the interviewer what you can do, your goal should be to make an informed decision about whether this is the right job and the right employer for you.

　　如果你在面試時(shí)只是想說服雇主聘用你，你會(huì)忽視自己是否想做這份工作或是否想為這家公司(或管理者)效勞。相反，除了向面試官展示你的技能外，你的目標(biāo)應(yīng)是通過面試時(shí)的信息判斷：這份工作是否合適?雇主是否適合你?

　　Think of it like dating: If you approached every first date determined to make your date fall for you, you’d miss important cues about whether or not you were right for each other. And you might end up with someone who makes you miserable, or someone who you couldn’t make happy.

　　把它想象成約會(huì)：如果你在每個(gè)初次約會(huì)前都下定決心讓對(duì)方愛上你，你會(huì)錯(cuò)過你們是否合適的重要線索,這樣也許最后和你在一起的人會(huì)讓你很痛苦，也可能你沒辦法讓他/她幸福。

　　So when it comes to job hunting, it’s important to view a job interview as a two-way conversation … not a one-sided interrogation where the interviewer fires questions at you, and you just hope you’re measuring up. Don’t focus so hard on pleasing the interviewer that you forget to pay attention to whether this is a job you even want.

　　所以，找工作時(shí)，不要認(rèn)為面試就是面試官向你發(fā)問，你能做的只是把所有問題都答出來。要把面試看成雙向的交流，而非面試官的單方審問。不要只想著如何取悅面試官，還要看看這份工作是否是你想要的。

　　This approach means interviewing the interviewer, asking questions to figure out things like:

　　本文提出的方法是讓你和面試官交談，詢問一些問題來解開下面的疑惑。

　　Is the work well aligned with your strengths—your real ones, not ones you puffed up in your cover letter?

　　這份工作是否能發(fā)揮你的優(yōu)勢?注意，這里指的是你真正的優(yōu)勢，而不是你在簡歷上吹噓的那些。

　　Is the environment one you’ll thrive in?

　　你會(huì)在這種環(huán)境中成長嗎?

　　Is the manager someone you’d want to work with?

　　你想和這樣的管理者一同工作嗎?

　　If you’re offered the job and accept it, you’re going to be doing this work with these people, all day, every day. Your goal is to find out if you can do it well and happily, not to get the job at all costs.

　　如果你收到了錄取的通知并接受了這份工作，你每天都要和這些人在一起。你要弄清自己做這份工作時(shí)，會(huì)不會(huì)開心，能不能做好， 而不是想方設(shè)法獲得這份工作。

　　Now, some job seekers hear this and think, “That’s all well and good, but I really need a job, and I don’t care if the employer is right for me or not, as long as I’m getting a paycheck.” But approaching the interview as a two-way discussion rather than a one-way assessment means that you’re going to do better in that interview. After all, interviewers want to see that you’re thinking really critically about whether you’d be good in the job and whether you’d be happy in it or itching to leave a few months in.

　　現(xiàn)在，有的求職者看到這些后可能會(huì)想，“那樣做的確很好，但我確實(shí)需要一份工作，我不介意雇主是否適合我，只要有工資拿就行。”但是，把面試看成是雙向的交流而不是單向的評(píng)估會(huì)讓你在面試中表現(xiàn)得更好。畢竟，面試官是想看看你有沒有考慮過，自己是否擅長這份工作，或這份工作會(huì)不會(huì)讓你開心，還是你只想在這家公司呆上幾個(gè)月。

　　In other words, even if you really do just want that job offer at all costs, this approach will still work in your favor.

　　換句話說，即便你非常想要這份工作，這種方法對(duì)你也是有益的。

　　So when you head into your next interview, remember that you’re not just waiting for the interviewer to decide if the fit is right. You’re making that decision too.

　　下次再去面試時(shí)，記住你不是只在那里等待面試官?zèng)Q定你是否適合，你也可以做決定。