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Early Moments of Job Interview Are Most Critical
By Marc Meltzer, Daily News Staff writer

Hiring decisions are most often made in the first five minutes of an interview, experts say.

So it crucial for candidates to have their acts together from the moment they set foot in the door.

Here’s what Mike Prushan, general manager of Management Recruiters of Cherry Hill, N.J., suggests:

	Make a list of every job you’ve had with columns for the tasks of your performance at each task and what the result was from the employer’s perspective. That way you can talk about your skills and accomplishments.
	Prepare two or three mini-stories that show specific accomplishments, skills or your value to a previous employer.
	Write out and practice the answers to the questions you hope an interviewer doesn’t ask. They’re the toughest ones.
	Research the prospective employer, using the Internet. The more you know, the better you look to the interviewer.
	At the end of the interview, ask for the job. Employers want to know that you are eager to work for them.

Stress Relievers

A new book provides tips for quick relief from daily anxiety.

In "Undress Your Stress: 30 Curiously Fun Ways To Take Off Tension," author Lois Levy offers the following techniques to avoid flipping your lid:

	Let out a big groan – fully, passionately and with a lot of energy.
	Instead of saying, "I could scream," do it.
	Paste a stupid fake smile all over your face.
	Spend 10 minutes with a box of Crayolas and a piece of blank paper.

Hanging Heavy

Employers discriminate against overweight people, especially women, when it comes to hiring, firing, demotions and pay levels, according to Mark Roehling, an assistant professor of management at Wester Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business.

Roehling, who examined studies on the subject and did his own research, concluded that weight discrimination is more common than discrimination based on other factors, including race and gender.

Many employers acknowledged in the studies that they made decisions based on an applicant’s or employee’s weight, Roehling said, and "in a way, it appears to be the acceptable bias." He noted that only one state, Michigan, has a law against weight discrimination.

Take a few weeks

According to a survey by Accountemps of chief financial officers, it takes an average of 16 weeks to replace an executive, 10 weeks for a middle manager and 7 weeks for staff.

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