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When Can You Start? Ace The Job Interview and Get Hired
The job interview in your job search. It is the make-or-break moment that can change your life forever. Job interviews present the key step in the job search process and help you get hired. Yet few people know how to prepare for this all-important step while job hunting.
As president of Shimmering Resumes and former head of corporate communications for McKinsey & Company, Paul Freiberger knows what it takes to give a knock-their-socks-off interview and win the job.
A Los Angeles Times award-winning author, Freiberger offers a clear, entertaining guide with proven tools and tips through every step in the interview process, from the best ways to research industries to how to answer the essential questions.
You will learn about:
• Job Interview Questions and Answers
• The Toughest Job Interview Questions
• Not Telling the Interviewer About Your Weaknesses
• Answering Trick and Oddball Questions
• Mastering Phone, Panel, and one-on-one interviews
• Devising the Best Questions
• Gaining Confidence with Job Interview Preparation
• Avoiding Job Interview Mistakes
• Salary Negotiation Tips and Strategies
With the right preparation, you can walk into the interview with a major advantage over the competition in even the toughest job markets. You can convert “We’ll be in touch” into “When can you start?” And this book will show you how.
Editorial Reviews
“This book is powerful and expertly researched. Packed with interview advice you need to get your next job.”
— Larry Kramer, President and Publisher, USA Today
The most exhaustive, best researched book about job interviewing, filled with insights and research.
— Jean-Louis Gassée, General Partner, Allegis Capital
Freiberger delivers a fun and informative read. You will get a job a lot sooner if you read this book. Perfect for new grads at the beginning of their careers and powerful ammunition for the rest of us.
— Guy Kawasaki, author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur, and former chief evangelist of Apple
Highly useful to anyone facing an important job interview, especially if they haven’t been practicing for a while. Practical and well-researched, with extensive and realistic examples. This will stand the test of time.
— Marc Singer, Director, McKinsey & Company
There are gems of wisdom packed into the sections on how to answer behavioral interview questions, how to succeed in a panel interview, and how to anticipate sensitive and challenging questions. The principles and practices discussed in this book will help the job seeker turn the interview from an interrogation into a conversation.
— Marcia G. Rhodes, WorldatWork Director
Paul Freiberger is President of Shimmering Resumes, a global resume-writing, job interview preparation, and career counseling service. He has helped thousands of clients with job interview preparation, resumes and job search.
Paul is the author of several books and the winner of The Los Angeles Times Book Award. He is co-author of the best-selling Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer (McGraw-Hill, 1984, rev. 2000), translated into many languages and later made into the Hollywood movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. He has produced reports for National Public Radio programs, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He is a former San Francisco Bay Area newspaper business columnist and reporter.
Freiberger has written best-selling books that have changed people's lives.
As president of Shimmering Resumes and former head of corporate communications for McKinsey & Company, Paul Freiberger knows what it takes to give a knock-their-socks-off interview and win the job.
A Los Angeles Times award-winning author, Freiberger offers a clear, entertaining guide with proven tools and tips through every step in the interview process, from the best ways to research industries to how to answer the essential questions.
You will learn about:
• Job Interview Questions and Answers
• The Toughest Job Interview Questions
• Not Telling the Interviewer About Your Weaknesses
• Answering Trick and Oddball Questions
• Mastering Phone, Panel, and one-on-one interviews
• Devising the Best Questions
• Gaining Confidence with Job Interview Preparation
• Avoiding Job Interview Mistakes
• Salary Negotiation Tips and Strategies
With the right preparation, you can walk into the interview with a major advantage over the competition in even the toughest job markets. You can convert “We’ll be in touch” into “When can you start?” And this book will show you how.
Editorial Reviews
“This book is powerful and expertly researched. Packed with interview advice you need to get your next job.”
— Larry Kramer, President and Publisher, USA Today
The most exhaustive, best researched book about job interviewing, filled with insights and research.
— Jean-Louis Gassée, General Partner, Allegis Capital
Freiberger delivers a fun and informative read. You will get a job a lot sooner if you read this book. Perfect for new grads at the beginning of their careers and powerful ammunition for the rest of us.
— Guy Kawasaki, author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur, and former chief evangelist of Apple
Highly useful to anyone facing an important job interview, especially if they haven’t been practicing for a while. Practical and well-researched, with extensive and realistic examples. This will stand the test of time.
— Marc Singer, Director, McKinsey & Company
There are gems of wisdom packed into the sections on how to answer behavioral interview questions, how to succeed in a panel interview, and how to anticipate sensitive and challenging questions. The principles and practices discussed in this book will help the job seeker turn the interview from an interrogation into a conversation.
— Marcia G. Rhodes, WorldatWork Director
Paul Freiberger is President of Shimmering Resumes, a global resume-writing, job interview preparation, and career counseling service. He has helped thousands of clients with job interview preparation, resumes and job search.
Paul is the author of several books and the winner of The Los Angeles Times Book Award. He is co-author of the best-selling Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer (McGraw-Hill, 1984, rev. 2000), translated into many languages and later made into the Hollywood movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. He has produced reports for National Public Radio programs, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He is a former San Francisco Bay Area newspaper business columnist and reporter.
Freiberger has written best-selling books that have changed people's lives.
- GenresSelf HelpNonfiction
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
35 people want to read
About the author
Paul Freiberger
14 books23 followersPaul Freiberger, author of "When Can You Start?" is an award-winning writer. His work has been widely praised for its effectiveness and compassion. As President of Shimmering Careers, Paul helps individuals improve their careers with job interview preparation, resumes and job search.
Paul won The Los Angeles Times Book Award as co-author of "Fuzzy Logic" (Simon & Schuster, 1994) and he co-authored the best-selling "Fire in the Valley: The Birth of the Personal Computer" (McGraw-Hill, 1984, rev. 2000), translated into many languages and later made into the Hollywood movie Pirates of Silicon Valley with Noah Wyle. Paul has produced reports for National Public Radio programs, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He is a former columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner. He directed communications for McKinsey & Company, the world's most respected global management consulting firm.
Paul has gone through several job transformations himself. He has worked as a teacher, a night porter, a newspaper reporter, a technology project manager, a chef, a communications executive, and an entrepreneur. He knows the job search process and how to make it work. He earned a B.A. in history at the State University of New York at Binghamton and a Masters in Italian from Middlebury College.
Paul won The Los Angeles Times Book Award as co-author of "Fuzzy Logic" (Simon & Schuster, 1994) and he co-authored the best-selling "Fire in the Valley: The Birth of the Personal Computer" (McGraw-Hill, 1984, rev. 2000), translated into many languages and later made into the Hollywood movie Pirates of Silicon Valley with Noah Wyle. Paul has produced reports for National Public Radio programs, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He is a former columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner. He directed communications for McKinsey & Company, the world's most respected global management consulting firm.
Paul has gone through several job transformations himself. He has worked as a teacher, a night porter, a newspaper reporter, a technology project manager, a chef, a communications executive, and an entrepreneur. He knows the job search process and how to make it work. He earned a B.A. in history at the State University of New York at Binghamton and a Masters in Italian from Middlebury College.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 10, 2013
To see complete review, please visit Compass Book Ratings.
March 12, 2020
This book helped elevate my interview process in such a drastic way, to the point that I moved up to getting an offer for the first time after months of unsuccessful trials of looking for jobs, right after I applied his methods to my interview preparation. What's so charming about this book is that it's a no B.S, no fluff kind of book. It moves really fast, and skipped all the same basic things that were mentioned in other self-help career books, and gets straight to the core of the problem. I was amazed that not so many people rave about this gem! The one thing that the author press enough, and I will take it to heart from now on, is that, the most important question you will always be asked, and you have to master at answering it, is "Tell me about yourself". Take it seriously, and prepare an answer that tailors perfectly for that job description, and you'll start seeing the magic. 5*/5*
September 16, 2022
Great tips for a novice preparing to perform at an interview.
May 11, 2013
The number one thing you can do to be successful with a job interview is to prepare. How to prepare for an interview is exactly what “When Can You Start? How to Ace the Interview and Win the Job” by Paul Freiberger is about. Freiberger's advice, if followed, will assist many in preparing for and being interviewed and ultimately landing the job.
The book is divided into 15 easy to understand and implement chapters. Freiberger walks the reader through all elements of interviewing for a job and provides outstanding tips an suggestions throughout. The book begins with a chapter on preparation. Like I mentioned, this is the most important ingredient to being successful with any job interview. The book the continues with chapters on researching before the interview, doing informational interviews, how to do phone interviews, questions you must be able to answer (All variations of the most important question), how to deal with your weaknesses, succeeding in panel interviews, a little on questions that may be illegal to be asked and how to handle them, dealing with trick questions, saying “thank you” and meaning it, new forms of interviews, what questions you should ask when given the opportunity, a short guide on salary negotiations, a few extra linchpins for interview success, and a sample of the ideal interview.
Having coached college students before interviews when I directed the Center for Leadership Development at the University of Montana, I was familiar with many of the suggestions Freiberger included in this text, and found all of them to be very sound advice. But I also learned some new things for any future coaching I happen to do. I liked how the book was laid out, and how it focused on preparing and providing practical answers to the most commonly asked questions. The book is filled with practical advice and gems of wisdom from someone who knows the career improvement field.
I believe this book will be useful for anyone facing an important job interview, but especially for those new graduates who may not have much practice interviewing under their belts. This book really aims to help the job seeker, and I believe the author hit the bull's-eye. It will help determine the best answers and just as important keep you from answering with the wrong answers. If preparation is the key to job hunting success, and it is, reading “When Can You Start?” should be your first step in preparing to win the job you want.
The book is divided into 15 easy to understand and implement chapters. Freiberger walks the reader through all elements of interviewing for a job and provides outstanding tips an suggestions throughout. The book begins with a chapter on preparation. Like I mentioned, this is the most important ingredient to being successful with any job interview. The book the continues with chapters on researching before the interview, doing informational interviews, how to do phone interviews, questions you must be able to answer (All variations of the most important question), how to deal with your weaknesses, succeeding in panel interviews, a little on questions that may be illegal to be asked and how to handle them, dealing with trick questions, saying “thank you” and meaning it, new forms of interviews, what questions you should ask when given the opportunity, a short guide on salary negotiations, a few extra linchpins for interview success, and a sample of the ideal interview.
Having coached college students before interviews when I directed the Center for Leadership Development at the University of Montana, I was familiar with many of the suggestions Freiberger included in this text, and found all of them to be very sound advice. But I also learned some new things for any future coaching I happen to do. I liked how the book was laid out, and how it focused on preparing and providing practical answers to the most commonly asked questions. The book is filled with practical advice and gems of wisdom from someone who knows the career improvement field.
I believe this book will be useful for anyone facing an important job interview, but especially for those new graduates who may not have much practice interviewing under their belts. This book really aims to help the job seeker, and I believe the author hit the bull's-eye. It will help determine the best answers and just as important keep you from answering with the wrong answers. If preparation is the key to job hunting success, and it is, reading “When Can You Start?” should be your first step in preparing to win the job you want.
April 8, 2013
Read my full review here: http://mimi-cyberlibrarian.blogspot.com/
A young woman I know is looking for a new job and returned from an interview a few weeks ago thinking that she had done a great job selling herself to the interviewer. She didn't get the job, but before she interviews for the next job, I want her to read When Can You Start? Freiberger has filled his book with practical, to the point advice--Everything you really wanted or needed to know about how to get the job.
I particularly liked the information in the chapter about researching the opportunity before going for the interview. He reminds people that you can never over prepare for an interview. I watched my son prepare for a big interview as a toy designer for a major toy company a few months ago. He poured over their design manuals and the company history. He wandered the aisles of a toy store making sure he was completely familiar with the company's product line. When he was flown in for the interview, he was totally prepared. I was impressed. I was also impressed that he turned the offer down because it was going to be too difficult for his wife's career.
The chapter called The Only Question You Must Be Able to Answer is probably the most important
chapter in the book. Freiberger says that in some form or other the question "Tell Me About Yourself" shows up in every interview, and answering that question correctly is crucial to getting the job. He offers all the best ways to answer that crucial question. Freiberger says, "Take charge of a job interview right away. You may only get one chance to impress so be attentive to the events leading up to the interview."
I would recommend When Can You Start? to anyone beginning the interviewing process, whether you are a recent university graduate, someone reentering the job market, or someone seeking to make a job change.
Freiberger's website: www.paulfreiberger.com
A young woman I know is looking for a new job and returned from an interview a few weeks ago thinking that she had done a great job selling herself to the interviewer. She didn't get the job, but before she interviews for the next job, I want her to read When Can You Start? Freiberger has filled his book with practical, to the point advice--Everything you really wanted or needed to know about how to get the job.
I particularly liked the information in the chapter about researching the opportunity before going for the interview. He reminds people that you can never over prepare for an interview. I watched my son prepare for a big interview as a toy designer for a major toy company a few months ago. He poured over their design manuals and the company history. He wandered the aisles of a toy store making sure he was completely familiar with the company's product line. When he was flown in for the interview, he was totally prepared. I was impressed. I was also impressed that he turned the offer down because it was going to be too difficult for his wife's career.
The chapter called The Only Question You Must Be Able to Answer is probably the most important
chapter in the book. Freiberger says that in some form or other the question "Tell Me About Yourself" shows up in every interview, and answering that question correctly is crucial to getting the job. He offers all the best ways to answer that crucial question. Freiberger says, "Take charge of a job interview right away. You may only get one chance to impress so be attentive to the events leading up to the interview."
I would recommend When Can You Start? to anyone beginning the interviewing process, whether you are a recent university graduate, someone reentering the job market, or someone seeking to make a job change.
Freiberger's website: www.paulfreiberger.com
March 20, 2013
"When can you start?" Is officially the most helpful book about the interview process and how to secure yourself a job that I have seen yet. What I loved about this book, was that it teaches you to do more than just play to your strengths. This guide teaches a potential interviewee how to play up their weaknesses as well. I realize that sounds strange, but it is true. This will show you how to present an honest version of yourself and your situation to the person who is in control of whether or not you get the job without sounding pathetic or giving the same tired old answers. Rather than encouraging you to overlook your personal faults in the interview, this work prepares you to be asked about them.
I loved that the author, Paul Freiberger, discussed not only what to expect, but also how to deal with the potentially unexpected aspects of the interview. After reading this you will also understand how to protect yourself from interviewers who ask illegal questions that you should never have to answer. I hadn't even thought about that possibility before reading this and it was very eye-opening. With such an intimidating ratio of people vs. available jobs these days, I think people need all the help they can get to secure a good paying job, and this guide may be just the thing to help give you an advantage over all of the others who are vying for the same position.
I also liked the way the author used a straightforward and yet conversational tone throughout the course of his writing. This was interesting to read and didn't have the sterile feeling that many business type books have. Overall I think this book will raise the effectiveness of a person's job obtaining toolkit. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for work, and even to those who are ready to get their first job. This is an easy to understand, well written and useful book.
I loved that the author, Paul Freiberger, discussed not only what to expect, but also how to deal with the potentially unexpected aspects of the interview. After reading this you will also understand how to protect yourself from interviewers who ask illegal questions that you should never have to answer. I hadn't even thought about that possibility before reading this and it was very eye-opening. With such an intimidating ratio of people vs. available jobs these days, I think people need all the help they can get to secure a good paying job, and this guide may be just the thing to help give you an advantage over all of the others who are vying for the same position.
I also liked the way the author used a straightforward and yet conversational tone throughout the course of his writing. This was interesting to read and didn't have the sterile feeling that many business type books have. Overall I think this book will raise the effectiveness of a person's job obtaining toolkit. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for work, and even to those who are ready to get their first job. This is an easy to understand, well written and useful book.
June 18, 2013
I think that the number one thing before a job interview is being prepared. This book will help you figure out how and what to do in this area. Currently I am in a situation where I feel like I am on a constant job interview. I am a long-term substitute teacher for a teacher that is out the rest of the year. I have been with the students for over a quarter now and I am getting into the groove. My issue is with the fact that I am going to school to get my teaching license and my Master of Education license. I will be trying to get a job in this district(maybe this school) in a bit over a year. This puts me in the position of constant job interview mode. It is tough, yet I am learning so much.
I read this book looking for some pointers and it has them. If you are unsure of how to interview for a job this is the book for you. I know when I was straight out of college that I blew many an interview by not knowing what to do, how to present myself and what to say. One interview I blew by looking too young, I was 23 and the interviewer kept saying that I looked like I was still in high school and that was just …. Well I didn’t get the job. Now I worry I will have the opposite issue since I am in my mid 40’s almost, or at least by the time I am interviewing for a teaching job.
Get this book to help you know what to do for that so important interview. We all need and want to be gainfully employed so this little book might be the answer to your wondering how to achieve that goal. Go get this book today.
I read this book looking for some pointers and it has them. If you are unsure of how to interview for a job this is the book for you. I know when I was straight out of college that I blew many an interview by not knowing what to do, how to present myself and what to say. One interview I blew by looking too young, I was 23 and the interviewer kept saying that I looked like I was still in high school and that was just …. Well I didn’t get the job. Now I worry I will have the opposite issue since I am in my mid 40’s almost, or at least by the time I am interviewing for a teaching job.
Get this book to help you know what to do for that so important interview. We all need and want to be gainfully employed so this little book might be the answer to your wondering how to achieve that goal. Go get this book today.
January 25, 2020
I enjoyed reading this book. It is chock full of information, useful information to give a person the edge when it comes to that job interview. I felt very empowered by this book. It has so much help for someone that's in the job market right now that is useful and to the point. I liked his advice for the "ambush interview" but the chapter about the "trick questions/ oddball questions was really great. He has considered every possible aspect in this book. he has a wonderful chapter about how to negotiate a salary and it makes sense. There are so many gems in this book that I highlighted the best parts as I read along because they were very helpful. I will keep this book close by so I can look at it as needed and also be able to share some of the tips with family members that may be looking for that extra help when they apply for a job.
September 21, 2013
I highly recommend it if you're looking for jobs and is tackling this field of interviews. It helped me to find out some little mistakes that probably can make a huge difference when picking an employee from a competitive market. While reading the book I had the impression I was really talking to someone who knows his stuff. Precious tips.
February 23, 2015
So this was ok book on how to get throw the interview process. I really didn’t learn anything that I not already learn or knew. Also it was really in general, but I know that it’s just trying to cover the interview process for just about every position. So it’s only really helpful if this is the first how to get throw a interview book that is being read.
March 7, 2014
I did find some very useful information that may help me in future interview situations, however, in my opinion the bulk of the book was filler.
December 22, 2016
Very useful book. Lots of good ideas and suggestions. Helpful when preparing to interview.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews