Introduction

Have you ever thought what an ideal life might look and feel like?

Dear Reader,

‘Why do some people almost always get the job they want?’

Because they know precisely how to truly excel at interview!

Once your CV has been prepared and you have sent off your applications, the next stage on which to focus in securing the job you want is the interview phase.

I successfully coach my clients day in day out to truly excel at interview. This enables me to bring you the very best of what I have learned – helping you to excel at interview yourself.

So you’ve been invited for interview?

Your CV has been successful and you have been invited for interview; what next? People often think: ‘Well, I’ll just turn up and be myself,’ which is fine, but it won’t get you the job. You still have competition from the other applicants, so it’s vital to plan and prepare for an interview; it’s your key opportunity to make an impact. Your CV has helped get your foot in the door; you need to do the rest.

Why is it so important to plan and prepare?

The best person for the job, in terms of the right skills, experience and achievements, doesn’t always pass the interview. The best person for the job doesn’t always get the job. Sometimes the most able candidates on paper can really shoot themselves in the foot when they actually get to the interview.

The interview is one of the most critical points in the job search process. Whilst you might look great on paper, you need to subsequently prove that in front of a recruiter. Many other factors that are not directly related to the person’s ability to do the job are going to be picked up in the interview.

You’ve got the skills; now you need to demonstrate clearly that you’ll be a good fit with your future co-workers and employers – and it’s so easy to sabotage this valuable opportunity if you’re unprepared.

On average, there are likely to be at least five other candidates being interviewed for the same vacancy. So, everything else being equal, that gives you, at the most, a 20 per cent chance of getting the job. But there’s so much you can do to improve your odds of success and, in The Interview Question & Answer Book, I’ll help to give you that winning edge.

What can this book do to help you?

In The Interview Question & Answer Book I will show you how to develop a winning strategy. I will show you how to plan and prepare for a multitude of different interview questions, how to avoid cliché and how to really make an impact when handling both the classic questions and the really tough ones that interviewers can throw at you.

Once you are familiar with an interview question you can never again be stumped or surprised by it – and being surprised in an interview is the last thing you want to happen. Surprise leads to pressure, pressure leads to stress, stress leads to panic – and panic can ruin your interview very quickly.

You’ll find this book useful whether you are trying to land your first job, returning to the workplace after a career break or simply looking to take another step up the career ladder. The Interview Question & Answer Book condenses the same proven methodology I use every day with my clients and contains everything you need to handle all the questions you are likely to encounter.

The CV Centre website

On our website www.ineedacv.co.uk I have provided some additional resources you can use to excel at interview, which include:

• The CV Centre Forum: Here you can exchange comments and ideas with other readers and also pose specific questions directly to members of The CV Centre team, including myself.
  www.ineedacv.co.uk/forum
• The CV Centre Blog: A regular column, drawing on specific questions, topics and problems raised in the forum and elaborating on them in detail.
  www.ineedacv.co.uk/blog
• The CV Centre Tools: Free CV review, job vacancy database, templates download, etc. etc.

As a reader of The Interview Question & Answer Book, access to all these tools and facilities is free. If, after reading this book, you decide you would like a coaching session with myself or a member of my team, you are entitled to a 25 per cent discount on the first 30-minute session. Take advantage of this offer at www.ineedacv.co.uk/9780273763710.

Thank you for choosing The Interview Question & Answer Book. I have set out to write the most complete and up-to-date guide to interview questions (and how to answer them) on the market today – a definitive guide. I trust you will both enjoy it and find it useful. And I look forward to meeting you on our forum should you have any further questions. Or maybe I’ll have the opportunity to coach you one-on-one myself.

I really want to help you get the job – and the future – that you want.

Kind regards,

James Innes

Chief Executive, The CV Centre