The job interview is the moment of truth in job hunting. In addition to how the interviewer sees your qualifications and personal qualities, much will depend on how they evaluate your interview performance in general. Therefore, it is helpful to consider it a performance or a game whose goal is to sell the interviewer on the idea that you are the best person for the job. Most people take a passive approach to interview, answering whatever questions they are asked to the best of their ability. A better approach is to take control and give the interviewer what you want to give, not necessarily what they are trying to find out inspire confidence—to give the interviewer every reason to believe that you can handle the job for which you are being considered and little reason to believe you can't. You do this with more than the answers you provide. Confidence is also inspired by the way you look, the enthusiasm, confidence, personal ability and ambition you show or don't show. The main reason most candidates do not get the job is that they don't inspire confidence. They lose out not because they don't have the qualifications to do the job but because their confidence in their ability to do the job didn't come through in the interview. They didn't sell themselves well enough. The mason most don't is because they are nervous and feel great pressure to perform. Many people feel like failures and become even more anxious if they don't get an offer after each interview. This is unrealistic. Most people who get interviewed get turned down. Forget about whether you ore going to get the job. Just concentrate on the interview and do as many as you can. Interviewing is a skill that is learned with practice just like any sport or performance. Mentally going over what worked and what didn't will improve your performance. Preparation is the key. Practice answering questions and sounding confident. Just like an actor rehearses, you are rehearsing your role as a job candidate. It will give you the confidence to take control when it is your turn 'on stage'. When you handle the interview with confidence, the job will take care of itself. As in sports, confidence comes from knowing you are prepared. Never go to any interview, without doing as much research as possible about the company, institution, etc. Surveys in the U. S. show that lack of familiarity with the company will hurt your chances in as many as 75% of the interviews. The essential factor for the success in a job interview is ______.