Fearless Interviewing

194 Pages·2002·0.696 MB·English

by  Stein, Marky

FEARLESS
INTERVIEWING
How to Win the Job
by Communicating with
Confidence
Marky Stein
McGraw-Hill
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Copyright ©2003 by Marky Stein. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America.
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DOI: 10.1036/0071415726
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
INTRODUCTION Why Are Interviews So Scary? 1
Christine’s Story 3
My Story 6
CHAPTER ONE An Assault against Anxiety 9
The Most Common Interview Fears 11
Strategy versus Memorization 13
Interviewing Can Be Fun! 14
CHAPTER TWO Building Your Skills Arsenal 15
Assessing Your Skills 19
General Skills 20
Job-Specific Skills 27
Personal Traits 30
Competencies 33
Your Gift 35
Skills Summary Page 36
CHAPTER THREE Q Statements: Your Secret Weapon 39
What Is a Q Statement? 41
Quality or Quantity? 44
Let’s Get Specific 45
CHAPTER FOUR Research: What Separates the Hired
from the Not Hired 57
An Interview Is Like a First Date 59
Why Research a Company? 59
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Contents
All the Information Is Right at Your Fingertips 60
How to Get Your Hands on a Computer 60
Company Web Sites 62
Company Mission Statements 62
Company Culture 63
Targeting Your Skills to the Company’s Needs 65
Use Your Library Card as a Job Search Tool 67
CHAPTER FIVE Winding Up Your Strategy 69
Recommendations 71
References 74
The Presentation Packet 77
Punctuality 77
The Preinterview Checklist 78
CHAPTER SIX Managing the First Twenty Seconds
of the Interview 79
First Impressions 81
Facial Expression 83
What to Wear 83
Your Handshake 88
Your Greeting 88
Your Attitude 89
You Passed the Test! 90
CHAPTER SEVEN Answering Interview Questions 91
Straightforward Questions 93
Questions behind Questions 99
Stress Questions 108
Illegal Questions 114
Questions to Ask the Employer 115
Stalling and Accessing 116
Handling Questions in Nontraditional Interviews 117
Group Interviews 119
Body Language 120
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Contents
CHAPTER EIGHT Negotiating Your Salary 123
The Negotiating Challenge 125
Common Fears about Negotiating 126
One Job, Two Different Salaries 128
The Four Bargaining Factors 129
Open-Door Negotiating 133
The Salary Discussion 135
Benefits and Your Total Compensation Package 139
Creative Negotiations 140
CHAPTER NINE Following Up: Juggling Multiple Offers 141
Focus Letters 143
Follow-Up Calls 146
Multiple Offers 146
CHAPTER TEN Sample Interviews 151
Jerry Aronson, Marketing Manager 153
Sarah Auschansky, Information Technology Engineer 156
Kei Soto, Director of Launch Operations 158
CHAPTER ELEVEN Practice Questions 165
CONCLUSION Confidence 173
Index 177
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my first career counselor, Astrid Berg, who told me, “If it’s in
your heart, do it.”
To Jack Stein, Rusty Stein, Jill Stein, Melissa Greer, Krishna
Roman, and Saundra Ridel, whose love and gentle guidance
have shown me that for every challenge, there is a spiritual
solution.
Special thanks to Wilma Marcus, Steven Beasley, Kate Smith,
Maggie Smith, Michael Mersman, Jack Chapman, Debbie
Featherston, Carolyn Clark, Bill Shipley, and Mark Guterman
for helping me discover a great well of ideas, courage, and
creativity, and, most of all, the resolve to express them.
Finally, my deepest gratitude to my editor, Michelle Howry,
for her unwavering faith in me and my work.
Thank you.
Marky Stein
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One can never consent to creep when one
feels an impulse to soar.
—Helen Keller