Tough Interview Questions in a Week

by Mo Shapiro, Alison Straw

This newly revised book considers how interviewers structure their questions and why they ask the ones they do. It will make it easier for job-hunters to understand the purpose of various questions and prepare appropriate responses.

Genres: Self Help

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Bronwyn Lok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review at http://bronzelock619.blogspot.com/2015/11/tackling-interview-questions-in-week.html.

Interviews had always been the bane of my existence. When I am nervous, I either get verbal diarrhoea or my brain switches off. So I picked up this book when I saw it, hoping that it will make me better at handling them. This book spread all you need to know about handling interviews over a week, and promises that you will know in a week what experts spent years finding out.
Day one helps you prepare for stages before the actual interview. Day two teaches you how to make a good impression and handle the early questions. On day three, questions commonly found during interviews were given, together with examples of answers. We learn how to describe our career path up until now, and to convince the interviewer that we are capable of doing the job. Next, we learn how to showcase our personality, and help the interviewer understand how our personality would fit with the job.
In interviews, we would always be asked questions like why we want this job, and what kind of organization do we want to work with. This book teaches us how to answer this question. By describing our expectations and preferences for this potential job, we show if we would be able to fit into the company environment. Then, we need to show the interviewer that we would be a good fit into the culture and environment of the company, that we would be a good investment. We learn to answer some of the most difficult questions like "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?", and "What salary do you require?" Examples of questions you can ask about the organization by the end of the interview were also provided. Well-thought-through questions will help you leave a positive impression.
Finally, we learn how to mentally prepare ourselves for the interview. Practice makes perfect, and knowing that you are prepared will ease your anxiety. Think positively and find ways to relax the day before.
Reading this book eased some of my anxiety for interviews, as it showed me things that I could better prepare for beforehand. However, I personally feel that more examples and answers of typical interview questions would make this book a lot more helpful. Now, if only I could find something similar for public speaking...