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The Five-Minute Interview
By Richard H. Beatty John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0-471-25083-X
Chapter One
Introduction Chances are, if you have picked up this book, you will be going on an interview shortly and are interested in learning something that will better prepare you for this important event. This book is intended to do just that!
At this point in time, there are probably a thousand questions going through your mind. What will the interview be like? What type of questions will be asked? What kind of answers are expected? What questions do I need to ask? How do I best sell myself during the interview? What should my approach or strategy be?
This book is designed to answer all of these questions, to help you feel comfortable with the interview process, and to be confident in your skills as an interviewee.
Whether you are a first-time interviewee or a seasoned veteran, you should find this book extremely helpful in sharpening your interviewing skills and effectiveness. Importantly, it will not only provide you with a thorough review of interview basics, but this book will also help you formulate some very effective interview strategies as well. These are geared to the needs of the employer and, if well planned and executed, should serve to generate considerable interest in your employment candidacy. One such strategy is the "five-minute interview," an extremely powerful strategy which is used during the first five minutes of the interview discussion.
One of themajor concerns of the interviewee is simply not knowing what to expect in the interview process. Chapters 2, "Types of Interviews," 3, "Interview Techniques," and 5, "Common Interview Questions" are intended to ease this particular concern. These include, for example, a description of the various types of interviews you may encounter, various interviewing techniques frequently used by employers, and a comprehensive list of 427 common interview questions.
To help you prepare for the basic or traditional interview there are two chapters. Chapter 4, "Personal Inventory," will help you to systematically gather the necessary information you will need at your fingertips during the interview. And, finally, Chapter 6, "Basic Interview Strategy," will help you to formulate an effective interview plan that will serve you well in most common interviews.
Since there are currently some very dramatic changes taking place in the world of interviewing, I felt it important to make you aware of these changes and to prepare you to respond effectively to some of the new challenges presented by them.
There is a major cultural revolution now underway in American organizations, as they look for ways to stave off competition and restore competitive health and market preeminence. This has major ramifications for the employment interview process, requiring job candidates to take a much different direction in their interview strategies if they are to compete successfully in the new, emerging environment. Chapters 6 through 9 thoroughly explain these dramatic changes and offer some highly effective interview strategies to counter them successfully.
Chapters 11 and 12 provide additional techniques for helping you to gain a competitive interview advantage. Chapter 11 shows you how to ascertain what the employer considers to be the "ideal" qualifications for the job, while Chapter 12 focuses on the key problems and challenges the employer considers most important to successful job performance. Knowledge in these two important areas is sure to help you put together a "winning" interview strategy.
You are bound to find Chapter 13, "Avoiding Interview Disaster," particularly helpful in avoiding the major pitfalls most frequently associated with interview failure. This chapter provides helpful tips and techniques for effectively dealing with potentially "negative" information about yourself in the employment interview. The inability of a candidate to effectively describe weaknesses, development needs, performance improvement needs, and the like, is perhaps the single most significant cause of interview failure. This chapter will help you confidently share such information with a prospective employer in a way that will prove least damaging to overall interview results.
I believe that you will find Chapter 14 ("Organizational Compatibility") particularly unique. Here you are provided with a very practical approach to follow in measuring how well you are likely to fit into the new work environment-an important aspect of your employment decision.
Chapters 15 an 16 introduce you to the latest trend in interviewing approaches (i.e., the behavior-base interview), and provide helpful advice and tips on how to best prepare for this type of interview. This is a rapidly growing trend, and job seekers need to be fully prepared to answer behavioral interview questions well if they are to successfully compete in today's competitive atmosphere.
Chapters 17 and 18 will provide you with more practical information. This includes a list of questions for you to ask prospective employers as well as a number of practical tips for interviewing.
Finally, Chapter 19 deals with resume preparation and illustrates just how important the resume document is to interview success. Complete instructions for preparing an effective resume have been included and, if followed, should greatly enhance your overall interview effectiveness.
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Excerpted from The Five-Minute Interview by Richard H. Beatty Excerpted by permission.
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