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Brilliant Answers to Tough Interview Questions: Smart Answers to Whatever They Can Throw at You
You’re going for an interview. You know that the interviewer will throw some tricky questions your way – and you know you’ve got to stay calm and respond well to impress them. With over 200 of the most commonly asked questions and ideal answers, this is the book that will make sure you are ready to handle anything. Learn how to recognise your strengths and how to play to them, how to deal with your weak spots and how to avoid panic and clichéd answers. Discover the art of turning every question to your advantage, and learn the secrets behind a brilliant answer, so you will always know the right things to say. This new edition has been refreshed and updated , contains even more questions than before, and provides specific focus on bringing the equal opportunities section in line with current practices. DON'T BE GOOD, BE BRILLIANT.
273 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 15, 2016
The blurb says this book will “banish your nerves”. Well I don’t think it will banish them completely but this book, being thorough, will certainly aid you in being as prepared as possible.
The author “was head of the careers service at London South Bank University” and she “worked with a wide range of employers to ensure that she knew exactly what they were looking for.” Basically she has lots of knowledge and she’s put a lot of work into getting the best advice possible, and it is all here in this book.
If you are preparing for interviews then just reading through this book will get you into the mind-set to do well. It covers everything you could think of, although you obviously have to tailor the answers to your situation.
Chapters typically start with a few questions at the beginning with some detailed guidance of how to build and plan your answer for these types of questions, followed by lots of other questions with suitable answers following the same approach. It’ll help you develop your own answers related to yourself.
There is even a chapter covering competency based interviews, which is useful for me if I want to progress where I currently am, and how to interpret these types of questions (which isn’t always obvious). Furthermore things you wouldn’t consider to be covered in this book are, like illegal questions because of discrimination laws, how you should approach the “do you have any questions?” question at the end, and how to deal with Skype and telephone interviews. Even interviews you might conduct yourself to gather information about an industry you are interested in to see whether it would suit you are covered.
Even if you think the material might be a bit dry it isn’t as it is broken up with a bit of humour, e.g. “your answer might provoke a follow-up question – or even the need to reach for a sick bag” and some “Never Never” boxes giving you real examples of where interviews have gone wrong, which may help relax you (at least my interview won’t be that bad). If you still don’t feel like reading the book in detail then you can refer to the index and pick and choose the questions you want to read.
Maybe if you are critical you might say there is a little bit of repetition, especially in the introduction of the book which seems to have been hastily put together at the end. But the rest of the book is excellent (although with the caveat I have yet to put it to test in actual interviews).
The author “was head of the careers service at London South Bank University” and she “worked with a wide range of employers to ensure that she knew exactly what they were looking for.” Basically she has lots of knowledge and she’s put a lot of work into getting the best advice possible, and it is all here in this book.
If you are preparing for interviews then just reading through this book will get you into the mind-set to do well. It covers everything you could think of, although you obviously have to tailor the answers to your situation.
Chapters typically start with a few questions at the beginning with some detailed guidance of how to build and plan your answer for these types of questions, followed by lots of other questions with suitable answers following the same approach. It’ll help you develop your own answers related to yourself.
There is even a chapter covering competency based interviews, which is useful for me if I want to progress where I currently am, and how to interpret these types of questions (which isn’t always obvious). Furthermore things you wouldn’t consider to be covered in this book are, like illegal questions because of discrimination laws, how you should approach the “do you have any questions?” question at the end, and how to deal with Skype and telephone interviews. Even interviews you might conduct yourself to gather information about an industry you are interested in to see whether it would suit you are covered.
Even if you think the material might be a bit dry it isn’t as it is broken up with a bit of humour, e.g. “your answer might provoke a follow-up question – or even the need to reach for a sick bag” and some “Never Never” boxes giving you real examples of where interviews have gone wrong, which may help relax you (at least my interview won’t be that bad). If you still don’t feel like reading the book in detail then you can refer to the index and pick and choose the questions you want to read.
Maybe if you are critical you might say there is a little bit of repetition, especially in the introduction of the book which seems to have been hastily put together at the end. But the rest of the book is excellent (although with the caveat I have yet to put it to test in actual interviews).
March 10, 2017
I picked this up on a whim, expecting to be somewhat underwhelmed as I'm often the go to friend for interview practicing and ideas on how to answer interview questions. I also thought that it was a lofty premise - how could they possibly undertake making something relevant to people in all professions and within a variety of career levels? That said, I was suitably impressed. The example answers are thoughtful, well phrased and aptly point out strategies for pulling bits of what they have written and "making it your own". The stuff I knew already was presented in such a way that it was a delightful refresher. This was paired with parts that were new and so well done that I copied them out for myself for later consideration. I would absolutely use this book in the future for reference and would recommend it to friends. Note to US readers: It is British in origin so some of the school questions (A-levels, etc) might not be quite equivocal but that did not detract in any way from the usefulness of the information.
December 17, 2014
A very in depth book which aims to guide job seekers through the interview process with a huge wealth of questions that could possibly be asked at interview. This book is probably more than most people will read as not all sections are relevant to every person, but all of the questions are listed in a handy index at the back of the book and on subjects such as career change, climbing the ladder and your Achilles' heel, as well as a chapter dedicated to helping the job seeker to prepare questions to ask the interviewer.
This is not a subject I particularly enjoy reading a book on, but the book is written in a way that makes the whole experience a little less unappealing. Worth a look if, like me, you tend to stumble over questions in interviews a lot.
This is not a subject I particularly enjoy reading a book on, but the book is written in a way that makes the whole experience a little less unappealing. Worth a look if, like me, you tend to stumble over questions in interviews a lot.
January 29, 2016
A very in depth book which aims to guide job seekers through the interview process with a huge wealth of questions that could possibly be asked at interview. This book is probably more than most people will read as not all sections are relevant to every person, but all of the questions are listed in a handy index at the back of the book and on subjects such as career change, climbing the ladder and your Achilles' heel, as well as a chapter dedicated to helping the job seeker to prepare questions to ask the interviewer.
This is not a subject I particularly enjoy reading a book on, but the book is written in a way that makes the whole experience a little less unappealing. Worth a look if, like me, you tend to stumble over questions in interviews a lot.
This is not a subject I particularly enjoy reading a book on, but the book is written in a way that makes the whole experience a little less unappealing. Worth a look if, like me, you tend to stumble over questions in interviews a lot.
Read
July 20, 2012Read half of the book because a lot of it doesn't apply to me. That being said, it covers a wide range of questions for people who has been through various situations.
I got a good overall view of how to answer some tough questions.
I got a good overall view of how to answer some tough questions.
March 11, 2015
Um livro muito útil sobre um assunto bem pertinente que pode passar ao lado de muitas pessoas que procuram ou pretendam mudar de emprego. É um excelente guia orientador para melhorar a nossa prestação em entrevistas profissionais.
Read
June 28, 2007Since i read the Indonesian version, i found it very much usefull book to develop our mind. And help me to find what words apropriate for what moment. It is very good and cooperative book.
Want to Read
December 31, 2010good
April 10, 2015
I thought the title over sold the content. It was just okay for me.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews