Chain Reading

96 Great Interview Questions is not quite what I had expected. But it may turn out to be more useful than I could have hoped for.

The book has a few sections of questions applicable to any job category, as well as groups of questions for specific purposes such as hiring sales people, secretaries, and college hires.

I was hoping to see unusual, unexpected questions. But that's not what this book is about (see the partial list of questions, below). Instead the author focuses on how to get the most value out of a candidate's responses. He lists the various 'red flags' and also generally identifies what to look for in 'good' responses to the questions. All very useful for a recruiter, I'm sure.

But it seems to me that this is even more useful for someone on the other side of the table. The author says various times that the questions are framed in such a way that a candidate would not be able to prepare a canned answer in advance. I'm not so sure. In fact, someone contemplating a job search would definitely benefit by reading this book, and preparing good answers to the relevant questions. I don't mean to suggest this in a cynical way. Having good answers to the interview questions really consists in doing a probing self-analysis to learn about one's actual accomplishments and failures, strengths and weaknesses.

It didn't solve the problem I need to solve - how to get best effect from a technical interview - but for recruiters and certain types of managers I'm sure this is a very useful book.

• Traditional Questions

• Tell me about your greatest strength. What is the biggest asset you will bring to our company?

• What's your greatest weakness?
• What was your favorite position and what role did your boss play in making it unique?
• What was your least favorite position? What role did your boss play in your career at that point?

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

• Achievement-Anchored Questions

• What makes you stand out among your peers?

• What have you done in your present/last position to increase your company's top-line revenue?
• What have you done to decrease your department's operational cost or save time?
• What has been your most creative achievement at work?

• What would your current supervisors say makes you most valuable to them?

• Holistic Interview Questions

• What are the broad responsibilities of a ( job title )?

• What aspects of your job do you consider most crucial?
• How many hours per week do you find it necessary to work to get your job done?
• How does your position relate to the overall goals of your department or company?
• What area of your skills do you need to improve upon in the next year?