When a recent college graduate came into my office not too long ago looking for a sales job, I asked
him what he had done to prepare for the interview. He said he'd read something about us somewhere.
Had he called anyone at Mackay Envelope Corporation to find out more about us? No. Had he called our
suppliers? Our customers? No.
Had he checked with his university to see if there were any graduates working at Mackay whom hecould
interview? Had he asked any friends to grill him in a mock interview? Did he go to the library to
find newspaper clippings on us?
Did he write a letter beforehand to tell us about himself, what he was doing to prepare for the
interview and why he'd be right for the job? Was he planning to follow up the interview with another
letter indicating his eagerness to join us? Would the letter be in our hands within 24 hours of the
meeting, possibly even hand-delivered?
The answer to every question was the same: no. That left me with only one other question: How well
prepared would this person be if he were to call on a prospective customer for us? I already knew
the answer.