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Okay, so I love reading “How to Impress For Success at Job Interviews”. Each time (3x) I read the book it sucked me in. The first
time I did not realize it until I broke for the bathroom. I felt guilty as if I had interrupted my interview.
Even stranger, during another reading, all of a sudden I found
myself walking the hallways with the interviewer, evaluating my surroundings.
It’s called
immersion. We do it with fantasy, romance or science fiction books as an
escape.
Why is this important? Because if you let yourself get sucked
into the book, you’ll find yourself walking in the author’s shoes, seeing things through his eyes, and reflecting on his philosophy of the
imaginary interview’s moment.
Immersion.
It is best experienced with a vivid imagination. While fantasy and romance books create
escape, walking an imaginary series of interview scenarios may be your best “kick-in-the-pants” in preparing you to tackle your most important
step in your life, a career changing interview.
REVIEW:
Author:
Written by Vaughan Vandenberg, comparing his book experiences
with my own, he has walked the walk.
The EBook is “only” 77 pages but the brevity of the book is
partly due to the use of smaller fonts. While some authors try to make a book’s content more than it is by increasing font size and white
space, I never felt overwhelmed by the content. I found it covers the job interview process from “A to Z”. Additional Bonus chapters smartly
fill-in important interview related issues (see More Interesting Stuff).
I think the average reader can peruse the book in one evening.
But to be truly prepared for your job interview, be ready to spend more time implementing and practicing what the author suggests.
Subject
Matter:
The book is tightly
focused book. It was written to help you prepare for your job interview,
nothing else. There is no side tracking or distraction with cover letters, resumes or even how to find a job issues. The author presumes you
executed these well because you were worthy of an interview.
It’s a pure job interview prep book.
Presentation:
Very practical. Easy reading but not dummied down.
Examples are easy to follow and where needed, the author knows
when to clarify issues by digging deeper with important insights.
Just imagine yourself into the book and walk along deciding
what you would or should do. Walk the interview process as the book “talks” to you.
While it underscores the need for you to prepare proactively
by offering a large checklist of do’s and don’ts and the why and why nots, yet…
It emphasizes the “art” of interviewing by reminding you that
of the 3 of 4 interview areas on which an interviewer assesses your performance, 3 are subjective and leaving you at the whim of the
interviewer’s opinion. What are the 3 out of 4 areas? That would be cheating. To discover these secrets, you’ll find them early in the book on
page 6. That should tell you something about their importance.
Any
Downsides?
No book is perfect. It’s not meant to be. The idea behind
reading is to trigger your ideas by brainstorming and to help make you aware of those areas you lack preparedness for the
interview.
Complaint? Some of the 135 questions are weakly supported by
their sample answers. Realistically had the author given more detailed answers, the book would have been unwieldy. To be truly prepared, who
uses only one resource to prepare for their job interview? Resources discussing interview questions and answers can fill a library.
To his credit, author Vandenberg saves the day by dividing the
questions into 14 practical, topic specific subsections, all brainstorm ready.
More Interesting
Stuff:
Here is a list of teasing topics found in “How to Impress For Success at Job
Interviews”. Space does not allow for me to do them justice but then that’s why they are teasers. To satisfy your
curiosity you’ll just have to explore the book.
- Discover
why the author goes against the grain when he recommends the use of memorization in being well prepared for selected areas of your
interview.
- Discover
tips on “How to conduct yourself”, a section which may be your most important preparation for your interview.
- Discover
135 potential questions you may face with answers, divided into 14 topic specific subsections.
- Now it’s your turn! Discover 89
questions divided into 9 topic specific subsections YOU can ask with tips on which type of interviewer to target. Topping these off are 6
juicy questions for you to ask and how to interpret the answers. Your entire interview may hinge on these answers. (page 52)
- Discover
tips on how to behave when ending an interview. You can loose it all here.
- There a
number of BONUS chapters. One you should not miss discusses how to handle 2 types of phone interviews. Handle these badly and you’ll
never see a face-to-face.
- Stealth
tips on asking for a job. Tips to see if you’re being skunked. Do you really want this job?
SUMMARY:
I think by immersing yourself in “How to Impress For Success at Job Interviews” and exploring the author’s tips, you may just find yourself well
prepared for your next job interview, both technically and emotionally.
I don’t read a book 3 times unless the content and the spirit
of it captures my imagination.
Remember,
the night before your next job interview, reread the book for a quick review to set your
job interview mindset then get a good night’s sleep.
About the Author:
Charles Ethos is an experienced,
motivational educator, consultant and author. His audiences have come from all walks of life. For more eye-opening interview tips to help
fine-tune your job interview techniques visit http://www.eyeopeninginterviewtips.com
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