301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions [Paperback]

Vicky Oliver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005

"As valuable for the executive going into her umpteenth interview as for the college grad seeking his first real job."
-Richard Zackson, Business Coach, Professional Coaching Network

In today's job market, how you perform in an interview can make or break your hiring possibilities. If you want to stand a head above the rest of the pack, 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions is the definitive guide you need to the real, and sometimes quirky, questions employers are using to weed out candidates.

Do you know the best answers to:

--It looks like you were fired twice. How did that make you feel?
--Do you know who painted this work of art?
--What is the best-managed company in America?
--If you could be any product in the world, what would you choose?
--How many cigars are smoked in a year?
--Are you a better visionary or implementer? Why?

Leaning on her own years of experience and the experiences of more than 5,000 recent candidates, Vicky Oliver shows you how to finesse your way onto a company's payroll.

"Everything I always wanted to know about job interviews but was afraid to be asked."
-Claude Chene, Senior Vice President, Head of Business Development, U.K. and Europe, Sanford Bernstein & Co.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Vicky Oliver is an award-winning copywriter with X years of experience at brand name, top tier advertising agencies in Manhattan. She would confess how long she's been in the field, but that would go straight to her age-something she feels strongly that one should never reveal on a job interview. As a freelance writer, Ms. Oliver has written extensively about unemployment and the job search, appearing on the front page of the New York Times Job Market Section, in Adweek magazine, and on Crain's New York Business website. Ms. Oliver has also worked with more than 5,000 professionals who have emailed her for advice on their job hunt and has given seminars on the topic at The Writer's Voice in Manhattan.

About the Author

Vicky Oliver is an award-winning copywriter with several years of experience at brand name, top tier advertising agencies in Manhattan. Ms. Oliver's numerous articles have appeared in the New York Times "Job Market" section, Adweek magazine, and on Crain's New York Business website. She lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; 1 edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402203853
• ISBN-13: 978-1402203855
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Job Hunting

More About the Author

Vicky Oliver writes books that give people the confidence they need to succeed on the job hunt as well as on the vital quest for prospects. She also gives seminars on job-hunting, networking, and the art of branding yourself. Today her first book, 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions, is available in the U.S., England, France, Australia, Canada, Japan, and Turkey. Her second book is called Power Sales Words, How to Write It, Say It, And Sell It with Sizzle. Her third business book will be published in the fall of 2008. (All Sourcebooks)

Vicky has been featured on the front page of the New York Times 'Job Market' section and on over 100 local and national radio programs. She was designated in-house job-hunting expert at the Shomex Diversity Fair at Madison Square Garden. Her articles have appeared in Adweek magazine and on Crain's New York Business website; and she was interviewed for Esquire magazine's 'Answer Fella' column.

In 2007, Vicky hosted a Business Etiquette Dinner for 142 graduating seniors of Brown University. She also presented an Effective Interviewing seminar to 200 sophomores, juniors, and seniors up at the Brown campus during Career Week.

Vicky was recently elected President of the Brown University Club in New York. Vicky is also a newly minted Vice President of her class at Brown and a member of the Brown Alumni Association Board of Governors.

Vicky believes that job-hunting can be a lonely endeavor and encourages job seekers to contact her via email for advice on their searches. She is in constant touch with over 5,000 recent candidates in all different professions and in all different walks of life: the employed, the unemployed, entrepreneurs, freelancers, retirees, college graduates, and people returning to the job market.

A Brown University graduate with a degree in English Honors and a double major in Political Science, Vicky lives in Manhattan, where she has dedicated herself to helping others turn around their careers and their lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Infuriatingly narrow focus, August 12, 2006

By 

Nicholas Xylas (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Paperback)

Vicky Oliver is a woman, lives in New York, and works in the advertising industry. Nothing wrong with any of that, except that she tends to forget that not everyone is exactly like her. The result of this is that if, like me, you are a man, live in South Carolina, and borrowed this book from your local library in order to prepare for an interview for an administrative position with the state Highway Patrol, much of the book might as well have been written in Chinese. Good for urban professional women seeking executive positions, but of limited use to anyone else.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading before going into an interview, July 18, 2005

By 

Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Paperback)

Now, we all know that after the interview we all come up with what we could have, and should have said. This book makes it easy to answer questions the right way. One theme this book really presses is "never unsell yourself". When given questions that you have the opportunity to show negative qualities, or situations that didn't turn out well, Vicky Oliver gives you ideas on how to work around these questions.
Sometimes interviewers do a poor job, and may ask leading questions that area against EEOC laws. Once again Oliver has you stay on target and guide your answers to what is job related. She will often have a question, the good answer, and then ways you can add to the good answer to make it more personal.
If you are going on a job interview, this book may be one that you want browse through simply to get a bit of a refresher. She lays these questions out in non-threatening ways, and gives you strategies in how to work around them. I like the central theme "do not unsell yourself". This insight alone may help you pause long enough to get the right answer out of your mouth before something that may knock you out of the potential hire pool.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great help for real-world interviews., August 18, 2008

By 

Geoffrey Dunn (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Paperback)

This book is extremely helpful and, I think, unique among books about job interviewing. Most job interviewing guides tell you to straighten your tie, smile and comb your hair before going on an interview. Once you reach a certain point in your career, you really don't need to be told these things. What this book does is it helps you with real-world job interview problems, such as, in my case, how to explain the two years I took off in my late 20's; and why I stayed in the same job for seven years without getting a promotion. If you have a tricky issue in your job history that you want to cast in the best light on an interview, this is the only book for you.