found in the library

I'm still doing my library volunteer gig: once a week, I go in and clean up the business section (in the Dewey Decimal system, it's the 680's): put the books back in order (I'm fussy: e.g., books by the same author go in order by title, books in annual series have older versions first), throw out trash left on & around the shelves, return misfiled books to the stacks where they belong. I've taken it on myself to go through the books, shelf by shelf, and make sure:

1. That they belong to this library;
   
2. That they have actually circulated in the past five years; and
   
3. That there are no papers or bookmarks left inside, and that turned-down pages get turned back up again.

Most of the stuff I find in the books is junk (torn papers, short notes, business cards), but today I was going through the interviewing books, and in one of them I found a quite extensive set of notes someone had written about an interview. I suspect the writer did not go through the US public school system (the handwriting appears similar to the handwriting of a Trinidadian I knew many years ago), and it may not have been a male writer. There are fourteen bulleted items, one with sub-bullets. They start with the standard stuff:

• dress appropriately like the interviewer will be dress but a bit better
  
• firm handshake, big eye contact
  
• pay attention to body language
  
• pay attention to voice

After a few items, though, we get down to the strategy:

• ask opening questions
  what you can offer to the employer
  how the organization is fairing against its competition
  what is the executive management style
  what obstacles the organization anticipates in meeting their goals
  do not ask about benefits at this point
  
• Why should they hire you rather than someone else?
  
  • relibable
    
  • care for providing the best resolution in the best timely effort
    
  • quick at completing projetc
    
  • concern about down time

(Spelling and grammar have been preserved from the original note. I was impressed that the writer used the correct form of "its", but then there were some spelling errors, and the capitalization is rare and unpredictable.)

Towards the end was a little prepared speech that I think is a gem:

"The position you have available is what I am prepared to do. I am willing to work harder than the next person b/c I have a desire to keep learning and to do an outstanding job. With my education complete, I can now turn my full attention to this job."

It's the kind of thing you might see in Found Magazine, which presents stuff - mostly ephemera - that people find: notes, letters, doodles & drawings, photographs. It warmed my heart to see someone preparing that hard. I hope he or she got the job.