Chapter TenYour Act In Action

A cartoon image depicting man and a woman sitting on chairs facing each other, and a table is placed between them. Over them, four spheres are hanging with the ropes. Starting from the man, the words A, C, and T, respectively, are written on the first three spheres.
A cartoon image in the background of the page depicting a palm tree (left) and grass grown on the ground.
  1. The Five Interviewers
  2. Going with the Flow
  3. How Can You Stand Out?
  4. Answering the Unexpected
  5. The Interview Close
  6. Next Steps
  7. Meeting with Senior Leaders
  8. The Offer

You're merging onto the highway. Looking over your left shoulder, you judge the pace of the traffic. You can't crawl along at twenty miles per hour, nor can you punch the accelerator and speed up to eighty. How fast or slow you proceed does not depend on you, but on everyone else on the road. To merge safely, you must literally go with the flow.

The same applies to your interview. No matter how much you prepare, you must adjust to the content and tempo set by the interviewer, and do it in real time. You may meet with an experienced and skilled interviewer who is very good at asking questions. Or you may find yourself across the desk from an incompetent interviewer who is disorganized and distracted. You can't plan for this. You have to go with the flow.

The good news is that having spent so much time preparing, you've increased your chances of success. You know who you are: You are highly aware ...

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