求職男女如何在面試時使用平板電腦大綱

Dear Annie:Please settle a disagreement. A friend and I are both looking for new jobs right now, and I’ve been on a few interviews where I’ve left my cell phone, laptop, etc., in my car. I think bringing devices to an interview makes you look rude and unprofessional, as if you’re not interested enough in the discussion to cut out any possible distractions.

親愛的安妮：請幫我們解決一個爭論。我和一個朋友都在找新工作。我參加過許多次面試，每次，我都會把手機、筆記本電腦等留在汽車裏。我認爲，帶着這些設備參加面試，會給人留下粗魯和不專業的印象，你沒有切斷任何潛在干擾，看起似乎對與面試官交流不太感興趣。

My friend says that’s an old-school attitude. He thinks it’s fine to bring a cell phone to an interview if you are expecting an important call (from the office: we’re both project managers), as long as you explain ahead of time that you may have to take it. Who is right? —Curious in Cleveland

但我的朋友卻說，這是一種老觀念。他認爲，帶手機參加面試是可以接受的，因爲你可能正在等一個重要電話(來自辦公室：我們都是項目經理)，前提是事先向面試官解釋一下，自己可能不得不隨身攜帶手機。我倆誰的看法對？——C.C

Dear C.C.:You are, with one major exception. “An interview is one or more people trying to get to know you,” says Bill Rosenthal, CEO of communications coaching firm Communispond. So, even though constantly checking a phone has become commonplace (one recent study found that managers look at their smartphones an average of 45 times a day), “it’s still rude to leave your phone turned on, let alone answer it, during an interview.” An apology beforehand for having to take an important call may help a little. Or it may not.

親愛的C.C.：你是正確的，但有一點例外。溝通培訓公司Communispond的CEO比爾o羅森塔爾表示：“面試是一個人或多個人嘗試瞭解求職者的過程。”因此，儘管不斷查看手機已經成爲一種司空見慣的現象（最近一項研究發現，管理者每天查看智能手機的次數爲平均45次），“但在面試過程中開着手機仍是一種無禮的行爲，更不用說接電話了。”提前說明自己在等一個重要電話，並表示歉意，或許會有一點點幫助。但也可能於事無補。

Tablets, on the other hand, are a different story. “Using a tablet can help make you a stronger and more memorable candidate,” says Rosenthal. “Since the interview is about exchanging information, and so much of it is easily available online, why not take advantage of that?” A picture is worth a thousand words. If you’re a web designer, for instance, showing an interviewer the sites you’ve done, instead of trying to describe them, makes loads of sense.

但平板設備卻是另外一回事。羅森塔爾說道：“使用平板設備，可以讓求職者變得更強大，給面試官留下更深刻的印象。因爲面試事實上就是交換信息的過程，有大量信息可以輕鬆在線獲得，爲什麼不加以利用嗎？”一圖抵千言。例如，如果你是一名網頁設計師，向面試官展示自己設計的網站，比嘗試用語言去描述它，更有意義。

“But no matter what field you’re in, a tablet can support what you’re trying to get across,” Rosenthal says. “You can show a diagram that illustrates the process you used to achieve a goal, or a bar chart that tracks the results of your last project. You can show photos.”

羅森塔爾表示：“不論你來自哪個領域，平板設備都可以爲你提供支持，幫助你傳達信息。你可以使用一個圖表解釋你實現某個目標的過程，或通過條形圖，跟蹤上一個項目的結果。你還可以展示照片。”

The only limit, he adds, is “the relevance of the information. Start by identifying what you want the interviewer to know about your work. Are you presenting yourself as, perhaps, a team player, a team leader, a problem-solver, an innovator, or a revenue generator? Once you know how you want to position yourself, you can identify, or create, some displays that support what you’re saying.”

他補充道，唯一的限制，“是信息的相關性。首先要確定希望面試官瞭解哪些與自己的工作有關的信息。你要將自己展示爲一名有團隊精神的人、團隊領導者、善於解決問題的人，還是創新者、收入創造者？求職者只要明確了自我定位，就可以確定或創造一些展示內容，爲自己所說的話提供支持。”

Of course, you could use a laptop, but a tablet is better because it’s smaller, so “it’s easier to hand back and forth. Encourage the interviewer to touch and swipe the information, which is more active—and more interesting—than just sitting and talking,” Rosenthal says. “If you’re being interviewed by more than one person, they can pass it around.”

當然，求職者也可以使用筆記本電腦，但平板設備更合適，因爲它更小，因此“更容易來回傳遞。鼓勵面試官觸摸和滑動信息，這比干坐在那裏說話更生動，也更有趣。如果面試官不止一人，他們可以傳閱觀看。”

A few points of tablet etiquette: First, keep the device “handy but unobtrusive. Don’t bring it out until it will help you to answer a question or make a point, and then ask if it’s okay to use it,” Rosenthal advises. If so, “look for opportunities to say, ‘I can show you…’ during the conversation.” Then, give the interviewer a chance to look at what you’re referring to, before you explain it. And, while you’re talking, keep your eyes on him or her, not on the screen.

面試時使用平板設備有幾個要點：首先，將平板設備放在“方便拿但不引人注目的地方。除非它可以幫助你回答一個問題或證明一個論點，否則不要拿出來，而且要徵求面試官的同意，”羅森塔爾建議，“在談話過程中找機會說：‘我可以給您看一下……’”然後，讓面試官有機會在你開始解釋之前，查看一下你提到的內容。在你表述時，眼睛要看着面試官，而不是屏幕。

Make sure the interviewer can see the screen at all times, “maybe by setting it on the desk between you,” Rosenthal suggests. “Try to avoid scrolling through anything with the screen facing you, so that the other person can’t see it, or it will look as if you’re hiding something.”

羅森塔爾建議，保證面試官始終能夠看到屏幕，“比如把它放在你與面試官中間的桌面上。儘量避免在屏幕面向自己的時候滾動屏幕，因爲對方根本看不見，或者這會讓對方以爲你在隱藏某些東西。”

It’s also a good idea to practice beforehand, “to make sure you can quickly find what you want to show, instead of having to fumble around looking for it,” he adds. “You want to come across as organized and professional, just as you would if your presentation were on paper.”

他補充道，提前練習也是個好主意，“可以確保你能迅速找到自己希望展示的內容，而不是笨手笨腳地到處查找。你得表現得有條理、夠專業，就像在紙面上做展示一樣。”

One more tip: Turn off notifications on the tablet before you go in, since “you don’t want to get pinged by messages during the interview,” Rosenthal says. “You want your tablet to enhance the discussion, not distract from it.”

再加一條提示：在進入面試間之前，關閉平板設備的提醒，因爲“你肯定不希望在面試過程中被突如其來的信息所幹擾。你希望自己的平板設備提高討論的效果，而不是造成干擾，”羅森塔爾建議道。

Of course, your phone-toting friend might point out that anything you can access online is probably also available on a cell phone, but “the real estate is too small,” Rosenthal says. “You don’t want anyone having to squint at that tiny screen.”

當然，你那位攜帶手機參加面試的朋友，可能指出，可以在線訪問的任何信息，都可以在手機上查看，但羅森塔爾表示：“手機屏幕太小。你肯定不希望面試官眯着眼看那麼小的手機屏幕。”

The general rule for whether or not to bring any electronic device (or, for that matter, anything else) to an interview: “If it doesn’t add anything substantive—or, even worse, if it could possibly be an annoyance—then by all means leave it in the car.”

對於是否應該攜帶任何電子設備（或其他設備）參加面試，有一條通用的規則：“如果它不能增加任何實質性的效果——或者更糟糕的是，如果它會令面試官厭惡——那還是乖乖把它放在車裏吧。”

Talkback:Have you, or would you ever, take a tablet to a job interview? If you’re a hiring manager, would you have any objection? Leave a comment below.

反饋：你曾經或者以後會攜帶平板設備參加面試嗎？如果你是一名招聘經理，你是否會反對這種做法？歡迎評論。