DR. WALLACE: How can I make sure that I get the job I want during my upcoming interview? I'm a first-year college student and I have enough time in my schedule to work approximately 20 hours per week.

My interview is at a nice local restaurant. I simply picked up an application and filled it out, and they just called me yesterday and gave me an appointment time.

I'm a little concerned because I was hoping to be a server and earn tips, but I happen to notice online that this exact restaurant is advertising for different jobs right now, and only one of them is the one that I want. For example, I do not wish to be a hostess since that position only earns a modest hourly wage. — New to the Job Market, via email

NEW TO THE JOB MARKET: It's usually best to specifically list the job you're applying for on an application. But in your case, since you already have an appointment set, I'd recommend that you go to the interview and listen to what opportunities might exist.

Hopefully, there may still be openings for servers. But if not, do ask if there might be a possibility that if you took another position initially that you could later be given an opportunity to slide over to a server position once one opens up.

I'M NOW A PARENT WITH A SECRET

DR. WALLACE: I'm now the parent of two teenagers and I have a little secret that I've not told anyone in our family. My secret is that I used to smoke when I was younger, and this went on for about a year and a half until I came to my senses and quit for good. Now I'm harping on my own kids to not smoke, but I'm wondering if I should tell my teenagers about my own smoking experiences?

I'm worried that if they know I actually smoked for about a year and a half they might subconsciously take this as a green light to at least try smoking for a period of time.

But on the other hand, I also teach my children to not harbor secrets, and to try their best in all reasonable matters to apply full disclosure to every situation, as that is usually the hallmark of a person with good character. Therefore, I've got a conundrum here as I could see, potentially telling them or withholding this information from them, both for what I would consider to be good reasons. What's your opinion on this matter? — A Mom Who Previously Smoked, via email

A MOM WHO PREVIOUSLY SMOKED: If I were in your shoes, I would tell my children about your experience. Focus on the reasons you made the mistake in the first place and tell them how much better you felt after you quit smoking entirely.

Let them know exactly how many years it has been since you smoked, and that you consider it to be one of the bigger mistakes you've ever made. Tell them that as a conscientious parent, you do not want your children to repeat mistakes that you made, not even for one cigarette or one pack of cigarettes. Mention that you're disclosing this since you feel it's both important and material to the topic, just as you always teach them on various issues.

Give them another example as a hypothetical to illustrate this point. Let's say you or someone you knew rode in a car when you were young without a seatbelt and got severely injured. You would want to be sure that your own children always used a seat belt, even if you or your friend didn't one time, wouldn't you?

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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