Kay - This is how to get your next job: an inside look at what employers really want

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kay, Andrea, 1954

This is how to get your next job : an inside look at what employers really want / Andrea Kay; foreword by Richard N. Bolles.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-8144-3221-1 (pbk.) -- ISBN 0-8144-3221-2 (pbk.) 1. Job hunting. 2. Employment interviewing. 3. Career development. I. Title.

HF5382.7.K39 2013

650.14--dc23

2012051814

Portions of this work were previously published in slightly different form in the authors syndicated columns.

2013 Andrea Kay

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

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Printing number

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In memory of my father, who gave me my first job when I was five and taught me how to be the best pencil sharpener the world would ever know. And in honor of my mother, who has supported me in everything Ive ever done.

If you are looking for a job, I recommend you read this book. But before we talk about why, I want you to think about what a strange practice this is: One author recommending the books of another author. It happens all the time. Why do authors recommend other authors, particularly those writing in the same field? You dont find that happening in other arenas of the marketplace. Does Coca-Cola recommend Pepsi? Nope, it does not. In commerce, you dont recommend a competitors product. And why? There is a simple rule operating here: Consumers only have a finite amount of money. If they spend it on a competing product, they have less to spend on you. Therefore, isnt it mildly insane for authors to recommend that people spend their money on other authors books, rather than their own? Well, I can really only speak from my own experience. But for me it makes perfect sense. For three reasons.

First, overwhelm. The Book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament, enunciated the problem: Be warned, my son.... Of the making many books, there is no end.... To illustrate this sentence, as of August 2010, according to Google, there were 129,864,880 books in existence. Now, I have no idea how many of these books are in the careers or job-hunting field, but after writing in this field for literally decades, I can tell you it is a mind-boggling number. You want to read something? You want to read something helpful? One hardly knows where to begin. There are so many choices. I like to help by calling attention to those booksthis one in particularthat stand out above the rest of the crowd.

Second, voice. I am the author of a book that has sold over 10 million copies and has for 40 years been the best-selling job-hunting book in the world. But, as with all books, there are a number of people who cannot hear my voice. The reasons dont matter. They just cant. They need another voice, even if it is conveying basically the same message, a voice that speaks to their heart, as mine does not and never will. Andreas book speaks truths that I have emphasized for years, but here they are in a different voice. A lovely and knowledgeable voice. What truths, you ask? That you have to enter into the world and the mind of employers, if you are job hunting. That you have to have found out as much as you can about a company or organization before you go to interview there. That job interviews are more like dating than they are like selling a used car. That you, as much as the employer, are trying to use the job interview to gather information, and then make a decision. That self-knowledge precedes market knowledge, in priority and importance. If you are hunting for new work or a new career, it is crucial to know these things. And to choose the voice that will help you hear them best.

And, finally, depth. Andrea writes about the job interview with far greater depth than I did in my bookor most other books on this subject. She writes with authority. She has interviewed countless employers and asked them a question I never asked: Why didnt you hire the last ten people you interviewed? Out of their answers, Andrea has constructed a thoughtful, effective series of strategies that will benefit every job hunter who reads this book. I think this kind of depth was always needed on the subject of the job interview, but now more so than ever, in todays tough economy. This book is a gift. So, buy it. Read it. Use it. Please.

Richard N. Bolles, author

What Color Is Your Parachute?

A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers

2013 edition; rewritten annually

Reason #1: I couldnt stand listening to myself yell at the radio any longer.