David Holmes - Smart Guide to the Perfect Job Interview

The Smart Guide To The Perfect Job Interview

Published by

Smart Guide Publications, Inc.
2517 Deer Chase Drive
Norman, OK 73071
www.smartguidepublications.com

Copyright 2011 by David Holmes. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, illustrations and icons may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

For information, address: Smart Guide Publications, Inc. 2517 Deer Creek Drive, Norman, OK 73071

SMART GUIDE and Design are registered trademarks licensed to Smart Guide Publications, Inc.

International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9785341-6-5

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2011945685
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Printed in the United States of America

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I want to thank the loves of my life, Lisa and our two incredible daughters Lauren and Madison. I also want to thank my friends for life Joel Cohen and David Burrows, two of the nations best on Wall Street, for their invaluable inputs and encouragement, and all of those in the armed forces with whom I served and taught me so much. I want to acknowledge my agent Mary Sue Seymour for finding this opportunity and all of those at Smart Guide Publications. I also must acknowledge the lessons I learned from all of those poor candidates who had the ill fortune to interview in front of me. Finally, I want to thank God for all the blessings bestowed upon me and my family.

PART ONE

On The
Road To The
Perfect Job
Interview

Anatomy of the Job Interview

In This Chapter

What is an interview?

Key points about interviews

What does a perfect job interview look like?

What a perfect job interview is and what it is not

Getting an interview

In this chapter, you will discover what an interview is and what it is not. Youll learn what the key features of an interview are and what is meant by the perfect job interview. Well agree on a set of rules for getting the most out of this book, and then, of course, discover what it takes to succeed. Finally, you have to get an interview before it can be perfect, so lets keep first things first, or said otherwise, lets keep the horse out in front of the cart where he belongs!

Lets start with the first building block. Exactly what is an interview? Some reading this book may have considerable job search experience, while others may have little or none. We can start on a playing field by understanding that a job interview is simply a conversation that occurs between someone wanting a job and another person who could choose or recommend that person for a job.

Interviews can be structured and formal, or they can be void of formalized structure and appear almost casual. It usually depends upon the whims of the interviewing company or its representative, or upon common practice and convention in a specific industry. Like alien space creatures, interviews are conducted in a variety of mutated, hybrid forms:

Interview Vocab

A job interview is a meeting staged in various formats by a hiring firm or person to compare the abilities, personality, and relevant experience of a prospective employee over other candidates relative to the job requirements.

Over the phone

In person

By videoconference or over the Internet

By one person or many

With one candidate or many

In an office or in the field

During a party, during a ball game, or during any other venue

As an initial screening tool or as a one-chance meeting

Short and sweet, or days-long affairs

One in a succession

Technical or nontechnical

Formal or casual

Information-only or job-giving

Conclusive or not

Any combination of the above

The point is that there is no single structure, form, or venue that describes the interview. It comes in all shapes and sizes. However, probably the most prevalent form is still the one-on-one discussion in an office setting. You will learn about the most common types of interviews in a later chapter as well as different coping strategies for various types of interviewers. But for now, simply understand that preparing for an interview requires information about its type and its content.

Simply stated, an organization is looking to fill a vacant position with a competent person. That position has certain requirements in terms of experience, education, personality, and physicality. The organization interviews candidates to determine who has the requisite attributes to fit specific needs. Since the organizations search is a needs-based endeavor, candidates must learn what those needs are and show the organization they can fulfill them. Simple, right?