CAREER SPECIAL ..How to convert an interview into a job ..BOOK REVIEW

How to convert an interview into a job

    What has the giddy universe of showbiz got to do with the gritty world of the workplace? For one, it can be an inspiration to pen a book on how job seekers can ace interviews. Joyce Lain Kennedy, author of Job Interviews for Dummies, liberally sprinkles her book with anecdotes from movies. Some of these may seem irrelevant for a serious career book, but it’s Kennedy’s smart way to keep readers engrossed in a fat book on how to impress potential employers. Especially when a part of her audience is rookies, who will probably be either too confident about their skills, mostly borne of ignorance, or flustered about the first time they will face a panel of recruiters. Kennedy aims to gently guide her readers through the current jobseeking scenario, which is complicated by the latest technology, from video resumes to Skype interviews, as well as the growing levels in the process.

    Kennedy’s first advice to job seekers is to consider the interview as theatre, where you have to put in your best performance, including dramatic pauses in the dialogue and the correct dress code. The key to this successful pursuit is research and rehearsing. Before you walk into the interview room, you should know as much as possible about the company. This isn’t flattery, but a way to display your keenness regarding the job and the effort you are willing to put in to acquire it. All recruiters tend to test interviewees by asking them questions about the company, usually on how they can contribute to the firm or how they will handle the challenges facing the organisation.

    Whether you’re a newbie or a pro, go through chapter 5, ‘A chorus line of interviews’, to know the types of sessions you will be facing, such as screening, telephonic and stress interviews. Under each process, Kennedy lists the traits you should let shine and the ones you may have to subdue.

    If you’re confident about your conversational skills, you may like to skip right to chapter eight, which discusses how you should negotiate the salary. Before you bring up this topic, you should know your worth in the industry. Ask too low and you might end up disgruntled when you join the workplace and find peers earning more than you; ask too high and the employer might strike your name off the list. Kennedy also asserts that once you compute your worth, you should stick to it. Don’t let potential employers reduce your negotiated salary by sweet-talking you into ‘an overall increase of 30%’, which might translate to just a 5% cash compensation boost over your previous job, or ‘you ought to prove yourself this year and you’ll get a sizeable raise next year’. Her response to this: praise the company’s policy of rewarding performance while politely asking if the promised hike could be confirmed in writing. Check out more such samples under the head ‘Stalling money talk with smart replies’.

    Kennedy’s got tips for job seekers across the board, from those who want to switch careers to seniors whose potential boss is their kid’s age. Part four of the book focuses on questions that interviewers typically ask, such as your greatest strength/ weakness, the way you handle stressful situations or the reason he should hire you. She advises how to best answer these and the bloopers to avoid. The appendix too has a list of questions according to career fields, from receptionists and pilots to teachers and marketing managers.

    If you’re short on time, stick to the quickie fifth segment, simply titled ‘The part of tens’, where each chapter has 10 tips, from avoiding rotten reviews to tricky questions to watch out for. Essentials

Name: Job Interviews for  Dummies Author: Joyce Lain Kennedy Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Price: 725 Pages: 318   NAMRATA DADWAL E7120312