Guest Author: Three Keys to Interview Success

By Michael R. Neece, CEO of Interview Mastery

"In job search, the interview is everything."

1. Interviewer Questions

Write down and practice your response to typical interview questions.

Typical interviewer questions include;
- “Tell me about yourself.”
- “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
- “What are your salary requirements?”
- “Why did you leave your last position?”
Be sure you're ready to respond to these and other Frequently Asked Interview Questions (FAiQ). Each question is an opportunity. You need to know how to structure your answers. Having a template (or framework) helps you respond to any FAiQ.

Interview Mastery shows you exactly how to handle FAiQs with fill-in-the-blank templates and structured response strategies.

2. Your Questions

Interviewers are more impressed with your questions than any selling points you try to make. Create questions before each interview that you'll ask. When the interviewer asks if you have any questions just take out your list. Your questions should start with “What” or “How”. The following are examples of questions you can ask. Be as company and industry specific as possible when creating your own questions.
- What are the reasons driving the need for this position?
- What are the three top challenges that I'll face in this job?
- What are the key metrics for measuring success in this position?
- How do the position's responsibilities align with the department's goals?

3. Opening Questions

Ask one “opening“ question at the start of every interview.
Interviewing is like playing darts in the dark. The target is each interviewer's screening criteria. Each dart represents a dimension of your talents. To win this interviewing "dart game" you have to locate the target and decide which three “talent darts” to present. Asking the right questions at the start of the interview is the key. Examples of effective "opening" questions you'll ask include;
- “What are the key skills you feel are required for success in this position?”
- “What parts of my background are you most interested in learning about?”
- “What did you see in my resume that created your interest in my background?”

-- Interview Mastery is the job interview program for candidates covering more than 50 interview topics and situations. The program is based on 20 years of research and authored by Michael Neece, the “Interview Master” from Monster.com who has written extensively on interviewing for both companies and job seekers. Interview Mastery is the most widely used program of its kind and used by job seekers in 66 countries.