301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Paperback)

by Vicky Oliver (Author) "An old adage tells us "there are no stupid questions..." (more)
Key Phrases: tough interview questions, interviewing game, recovery line, Smart Answers, Good Cop, Bad Cop (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions is packed full of the toughest interview questions and the savvy answers that today's managers are looking for.

While many interview books still focus on "What are your strengths?" and "What are your weaknesses?" 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions is the definitive guide to the real-and sometimes quirky-questions employers are using to weed out candidates.

What are the best answers to: - From your résumé 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?

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; 1 edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402203853
• ISBN-13: 978-1402203855
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,562 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Interviewing
  #3 in	Books > Reference > Job Hunting
  #22 in	Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Human Resources & Personnel Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

33 of 40 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)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 301 answers to tough interview questions, January 13, 2006

By	C. Habermann "recruiter, smyth assocs." (new york city) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i really enjoyed this book for the simple fact that it actually mentioned some new tricks instead of the same old ones, and it reiterated some old standbys that we all forget after time. there is a lot of good (un)common sense to it, for new comers and seasoned alike. as a recruiter myself, i would love it if everyone of my candidates would read this before coming to me, it would certainly impress me if they came up with just some of the answers in this book!