Acing the Interview – a book about how to make a great impression at interviews.
Author – Tony Beshara has been in the placement and recruiting business for 35 years.
Here’s what I liked:
- Keeping records of when you talked to people and when they said you should hear back by, that way if they don’t call you by the date specified you can call them.
- Beshara gives you scripts – what to say to family, friends, and peers who might be hiring. He also gives a script for Voice mails. Voice Mails should be specific and succinct. You should say your phone number at least twice and slowly the second time. Repeat your name at least once.
- Tell stories but don’t go overboard.
- List your Features, Advantages, and Benefits specific to you that make you unique.
- Prepare for the interview by researching the company and the open position. Prepare questions for the interviewer.
- Take notes – believe it or not, this makes you appear more intelligent and will help you later to think of questions! It also provides you with “ammunition” for the follow up.
- Beshara provides you with a list of illegal questions, good to know before an interview. You don’t have to answer illegal questions, but find a tactful way of declining to answer.
Beshara suggests questions to ask yourself before you go searching for a job. We don’t always think of this, but in a way they prepare you to answer difficult questions that may come up in the interview. For example, if you ask yourself what disappointments you faced in a previous job, you will have a better answer when asked Why did you leave your previous job? or Why are seeking a new position? What is it that you need in a job? How do you handle disappointment or stress on the job? Asking yourself questions like this might also be able to help you uncover feelings that might have prevented you from successfully interviewing.
What I didn’t like:
- Too much scripting.
- Beshara suggests listing 10 or 12 descriptives to explain your work ethic right off the bat. I think this is too much. A list is just a list, it is better to state a few descriptives and explain what they mean to you and how you exemplify them
In Acing the Interview, Beshara ends with questions to ask once an offer is made.
