The Everything Practice Interview Book Be prepared for any question

308 Pages·2012·6.57 MB·English

by  Dawn Rosenberg Mckay

37-133-0-p000i-00x.qxd 7/2/04 10:45 AM Page i
Practice Interview Book
Dear Reader,
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Good Luck!
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The Series
Editorial
Publishing Director Gary M. Krebs
Managing Editor Kate McBride
Copy Chief Laura MacLaughlin
Acquisitions Editors Bethany Brown / Kate Burgo
Development Editor Christina MacDonald
Production Editors Jamie Wielgus
Bridget Brace
Production
Production Director Susan Beale
Production Manager Michelle Roy Kelly
Series Designers Daria Perreault
Colleen Cunningham
Cover Design Paul Beatrice
Frank Rivera
Layout and Graphics Colleen Cunningham
Rachael Eiben
Michelle Roy Kelly
John Paulhus
Daria Perreault
Erin Ring
Series Cover Artist Barry Littmann
Visit the entire Everything® Series at www.everything.com
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PRACTICE
INTERVIEW
BOOK
Be prepared for any question
Dawn Rosenberg McKay
Adams Media
Avon, Massachusetts
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To Dean and Rebecca for their patience.
Copyright ©2004, F+WPublications, 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.
Everything® and everything.com® are registered trademarks of F+WPublications, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, an F+WPublications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-133-3 (paperback)
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-466-7(EPUB)
ISBN 10: 1-59337-133-0
Printed in Canada.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKay, Dawn Rosenberg.
The everything practice interview book / Dawn Rosenberg McKay.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-59337-133-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-466-7(EPUB)
1. Employment interviewing. I. Title. II. Series: Everything series.
HF5549.5.I6M327 2004
650.14'4--dc22
2004005401
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with
regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the pub-
lisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If
legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent pro-
fessional person should be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American
Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their prod-
ucts are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and
Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed
with initial capital letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, call 1-800-289-0963
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Contents
TOPTENTHINGSNOTTOSAYONAJOBINTERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
CHAPTER 1: Preparing for the Interview . . . . . . . . 1
Understanding Job Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Learning about Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Learning about Your Prospective Employer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Doing Your Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Take Time to Rehearse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Access Your Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Dealing with Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
What to Do about Low Confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Night Before and Morning of the Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
CHAPTER 2: First Impressions Count . . . . . . . . . . . 19
What to Wear to the Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
What to Bring to the Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Getting to the Interview on Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Arriving for Your Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The Interview Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Body Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Making Your Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Interviewing over a Meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Interviewing in a Foreign Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
CHAPTER 3: Revealing Your Personality . . . . . . . . 37
Why the Personal Questions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
v
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THE EVERYTHING PRACTICE INTERVIEW BOOK
CHAPTER 4: Discussing Your Skills and Abilities 55
Hard Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Soft Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Skills You Haven’t Used Professionally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
CHAPTER 5: Highlighting YourAccomplishments 73
Listing Your Accomplishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Discussing Your Accomplishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
CHAPTER 6: Questions about Your Education . . . 91
How You Spent Your College Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
CHAPTER 7: Discussing Your Work History . . . . 109
How to Present Your Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
CHAPTER 8: Your Interpersonal Skills . . . . . . . . . 127
An Employee Balancing Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
How Do You Resolve Conflicts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
CHAPTER 9: Did You Do Your Homework? . . . . . 147
Proving Your Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Highlight Skills That Fit the Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
CHAPTER 10: What Would You Do
If You Were Hired? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
What You Can Bring to a Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
What the Company Expects of You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
vi