"Fearless Interviewing" by Marky Stein

• It’s likely that you’re actually going to be more prepared for the meeting than the interviewer.
• The impostor syndrome presents itself as the feeling that, even though we have accomplished something, we somehow fell that we don’t deserve the recognition or prestige that goes with it.
• Taking an inventory of your skills is the beginning of being successful in any job interview. Ninety percent of employers say that the primary reason they do not hire a candidate is because the interviewee could not clearly state his or her skills.
• Introduce your three most salient strengths and then elaborate on one of the strengths.
• There’s nothing to be gained from being modest.
• Interviewers these days want to hear specific data.
• The more vivid the story, the more credible it will seem to the interviewer.
• Research will lower your anxiety level because you know with whom you’re dealing.
• How to make a good first impression:
• Wear a smile, no matter how you feel.
• Wear clothes that are appropriate to the occasion.
• Have a firm handshake, using the whole hand.
• Address the interviewer as Ms. or Mr. X
• Introduce yourself by your first and last names and say that you are happy to be there.
• Do not sit down until the interviewer suggests that you do. If he or she doesn’t, ask politely if you may sit down.
• Do not, at any time during the interview, put anything on the interviewer’s desk.
• Make your behavior in the waiting room impeccably professional and polite.
• It is almost impossible to overdress for an interview.
• Always bring a pad of paper and a pen or pencil for taking notes.
• Whether or not you normally wear a wristwatch, wear one to the interview.
• Your handshake signals to the interviewer that you are about to do business.
• You are interviewing the company, just as the company is interviewing you.
• The whole secret to answering a question behind a question is to understand the real intent of the question.
• Sharing any kind of negatives about a past employer is to be avoided at all costs, even if you feel that you were treated unfairly.
• If you were fired, you have no legal obligation to reveal it.
• The only information an employer can legally reveal about an ex-employee is the following:
• his or her start date
• his or her title at the time of leaving the company
• his or her last day with the company
• Stress questions are designed to gain information about how you behave under stress.
• The best way to deal with the stress question is to remain calm and answer it in the best way you know how.
• You are not obligated to reveal any disability that doesn’t directly impair your job performance for a particular job you are seeking.
• Leaning slightly forward -- even if you’re not interested in the interview -- sends a signal that you are energetic and enthusiastically involved in the discussion.
• Mirror your interviewer’s rate and style of speech.
• If the company really wants you for the job, you’ll get the job regardless of whether you do or do not try to negotiate, so you might as well try.
• Unless you’re applying for a job within the government or academia, your employer most likely has 15 to 20 percent more for you in the budget than he or she will originally offer. The trick is that you have to ask for it and prove that you merit the additional funds.
• Take the time to research your salary carefully and determine where you stand on these four bargaining points:
• Know the relative worth for your position in the marketplace.
• Clarify what qualifies you to make more than average and more than the employer’s initial offer.
• Determine your target salary and benefits.
• Forecast how long you are willing to wait until the negotiation resolves in your favor.
• Your target salary should always be 15 to 20 percent more than what the employer initially offers.
• Distinguish between the benefits you absolutely need and those you want.
• Try to postpone the salary discussion until a job offer has been made or until you are in a second interview.
• Do not be the first one to mention an exact amount of money.
• Speak in terms of ranges of salary rather than using exact figures.
• Remember that your base pay is not the only thing you’re negotiating for.
• Your objective in the first interview is to get to the second interview.
• You can negotiate for just about anything.
• It is all right to let one employer know about another offer providing it is a bonafide offer. This is called leveraging offers.