Successful Interviews Every Time

I’m always a little wary of self-help books, but one book that I’ve re-read recently (out of curiosity, not the need for a new job) deserves recommendation: Successful Interviews Every Time by Dr Rob Yeung should be studied by anyone engaged in job search.  I first read this book about five years ago when I was job hunting and was struck at the time by how much it was focussed on straightforward, practical advice.

In particular, Dr Rob devotes five chapters, nearly half the book, to the types of questions that you are likely to get asked. Now you might think that it’s impossible to identify all types of questions that will come up, but believe me, Dr Rob does. What’s more, he distinguishes between questions that you are likely to be asked by a skilled interviewer (e.g. those that elicit more information than might at first seem obvious) and the dead-end questions that an unskilled interviewer will ask.

How do I know that these questions come up? When I first read the book I’d had some interviews where I knew I could and should have done much better. So I set about creating a document listing every question or question-type that Dr Rob identified and drafting my own answer to each. It was quite an exercise and at the time I questioned my sanity for going through the process. However there is no doubt in my mind that it paid off: I used the document with my answers as a crib before interviews and sure enough the questions came up. The value to me was that I was able to answer those questions with prepared answers that were crafted to show my skillset and potential value to the employer organisation. Had I been answering on the hoof, I doubt that my responses would have been anyway near as good.

So, before your next interview, get a copy of this book; study the questions; craft your answers; and memorise them. You’ll thank Dr Rob at the end of it.