The Everything Practice Interview Book: Be Prepared for Any Question

272 Pages·2004·1.36 MB·English

by  Dawn Rosenberg McKay

THE
EVERYTHING®
PRACTICE
INTERVIEW
BOOK
2 EDITION
ND
Make the best impression —
and get the job you want!
Dawn Rosenberg McKay
Copyright © 2009, 2004 by F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything® Series Book.
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trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
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ISBN 10: 1-60550-050-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-050-8 (paperback)
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-726-2 (EPUB)
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THE EVERYTHING PRACTICE INTERVIEW BOOK
®
Dear Reader,
Interviews are difficult. I know — I've been on both sides of the desk. I've
interviewed job candidates and I've been interviewed for jobs myself. I can
honestly think of many things that are a lot more fun and a lot less stressful. Of
course, there's great deal of pressure on the job candidate. Anyone who has been
interviewed for a job can attest to that. Your utmost desire is to make the
interviewer see that you are the best person for the job. However, the interviewer
faces pressure, too. She must make sure the candidate she selects is a good fit for
the job and for the company in general.
In the more than a decade I've spent as the Guide to Career Planning on
About.com (http://careerplanning.about.com) and in the years I spent before that
managing a job information center in a public library, I've heard from many
people who are incredibly anxious about going on job interviews. Mostly, job
hunters want to know what questions to expect and how to answer them. I also
get e-mails from people who have faced improper or illegal questions on a job
interview. I made a point of including information on that topic in this book, as
well as letting you know where to turn if you feel a prospective employer has
discriminated against you.
To me, the best way to overcome the stress of job interviewing is to prepare for it
as much as possible. I've included more than 300 questions in this book. Read
them carefully and use them as a guide as you prepare for your own job
interviews.
Good luck!
THE EVERYTHING® Series
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project,
gain a new hobby, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but
have since forgotten. You can choose to read from cover to cover or just pick out
information from our four useful boxes.
: Urgent warnings
: Quick handy tips
: Important snippets of information
: Answers to common questions
When you're done reading, you can finally say you know EVERYTHING® !
PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing
DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Elizabeth Kassab
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
Visit the entire Everything® series at www.everything.com
To Dean, Rebecca, Mom, and Dad: With encouragement
and love, everything is possible — With all my love, Dawn
Contents
Top Ten Things Not to Say on a Job Interview
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW
Understanding Job Interviews
Learning about Yourself
Learning about Your Prospective Employer
Take Time to Rehearse
Access Your Network
Dealing with Anxiety
What to Do about Low Confidence
The Night Before and Morning of the Interview
CHAPTER 2: FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT
What to Wear to the Interview
What to Bring to the Interview
Getting to the Interview on Time
Arriving for Your Appointment
The Interview Begins
Body Language
Making Your Exit
Interviewing over a Meal
Interviewing in a Foreign Country
CHAPTER 3: REVEALING YOUR PERSONALITY
Why the Personal Questions?
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSING YOUR SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Hard Skills Versus Soft Skills
Skills You Haven't Used Professionally
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 5: HIGHLIGHTING YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Listing Your Accomplishments
Discussing Your Accomplishments
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 6: QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION
How You Spent Your College Years
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSING YOUR WORK HISTORY
How to Present Your Past
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 8: YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
An Employee Balancing Act
How Do You Resolve Conflicts?
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 9: DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK?
Proving Your Knowledge
Highlight Skills That Fit the Company
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 10: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE HIRED?
What You Can Bring to the Company
What the Company Expects of You
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 11: DIFFICULT OR EMBARRASSING QUESTIONS
I Hope They Don't Ask Me That
How to Answer Difficult Questions
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 12: DEALING WITH ILLEGAL QUESTIONS
Laws That Protect You from Discrimination
What Questions Are Illegal?
Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 13: BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS
Behavioral Interviews: The Basics
How to Answer Behavioral Questions