What to Say in Every Job Interview: How to Understand What Managers are Really Asking and Give the Answers that Land the Job

by Carole Martin

During a job interview, there are no right or wrong answers, just better and worse answers. When you rethink the process in those terms, you'll gain a huge advantage over the competition. What to Say in Every Job Interview shows you how to focus on the factors of the job, rather than answering questions "correctly." As a professional interviewer, Carole Martin has spent years on the other side of the desk. She knows exactly what she’s looking for in every job candidate and exactly how to find it. Now, she reveals all the secrets. Martin gives you a holistic plan for preparing yourself to best answer every interviewer's three primary concerns:

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2013

Reviews

[Penny McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as self-help books go this one has an unexciting cover and a less than exciting title but the content is all there. It has great suggestions for exercises and prep work for interviews. I would suggest this as a good tool for someone who is considering career change or a nice option for someone who is new to the employment world because it inspires exploration of long term goals.

It's worth a thorough read but diving in to one or two chapters alone would still inspire the job seeker and perhaps provide some context for hiring managers also. The cover does not match the value of the information the authors have collected and the format is fantastically easy to use.

[Lucien · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very bold claim with this title!

The most helpful strategy I gathered from Martin's book was not how to respond to every question, or what to say in every interview situation, but how to respond to one crucial question in particular: "Tell me about yourself."

I really appreciate Martin's five-part breakdown of a strong reply, and how she connects the breakdown to the fingers of your hand (for easy recall in the stress of the moment): (1) thumb - your education and experience, (2) index finger - area of expertise, (3) middle finger - key strength, (4) ring finger - loyalty and work ethic, and (5) little finger - relevant personal information.

Make all five parts relevant to this particular job posting (use the posting itself to determine what details you'll pull forward and claim as your experience, expertise, strength, etc), and you have a great go-to response for that crucial opening question. Beyond that, though, I'll look to other books :)

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting since it broke down any question an interviewer may have into one of 5 basic categories. It broke down job descriptions to fit into these categories so you can see what the hiring manager is looking for and how to tailor your cover letter and resume to fit these postings. If you're looking to interview, it's full of good advice and helpful ways to prepare.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how the author points out that the interviewer is judging the applicant to see how well they would fit in the organization. This is key! Identify the core job requirements & prove that you are someone they'd want to work with. Prepare by using the job description to imagine what you will be asked--the description is the company's wish list. LOVE the identifying the necessary skills without a job posting exercise!
VERY USEFUL!!!

[Sinistmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like that this book emphasized strategy; Martin breaks down the types of questions asked and how one should consider answering it. There are lots of exercises to get you thinking. I really found this book valuable.