13 Next steps

 

Let’s check in on Clueless Clark. We’ve seen how his answers have not matched what the interviewers were looking for. It’s not surprising he has not been invited back for second interviews at any of the companies. Initially he blamed the companies and told himself that he didn’t want to work there anyway. Then he started wondering what he could do about it.

He complained to his friend, Ari, who had just been offered a new job. Ari suggested Clueless Clark read this Interview Speak book. Clueless Clark hesitated because he wanted to be himself in interviews and didn’t want to follow some lame script. Ari assured him that wasn’t what this book was about. Ari said, by following the ideas in the book, he prepared differently, adjusted his messaging, and was able to focus on what the interviewer was really asking. He said understanding the translations of the questions helped him dramatically improve his answers and then get the job offer. He suggested Clueless Clark give it a try.

Clueless Clark bought this book and started reading it (we made sure he received a version of the book that did not contain stories about his own interviews). He liked the idea of getting translations and thought about how much he relied on a translation app when he was on vacation in another country and wasn’t familiar with the language.

What Clueless Clark learned

Let’s look at how Clark used information contained in each chapter to improve his preparation and performance in job interviews.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Interview Speak

Chapter 2: Common questions and special situations

Chapter 3: Interpersonal skills questions

Chapter 4: Perseverance skills, failures, and negative situations questions

Chapter 5: Leadership, hiring, and motivating skills questions

Chapter 6: Problem-solving, time management, negotiation, and change questions

Chapter 7: Questions by job function

Chapter 8: Not doing your homework, not being real, or leaving without . . .

Chapter 9: Not hearing the question, the whole question, and the heart of the question

Chapter 10: Giving answers that sound good to you (but aren’t)

Chapter 11: Interview stages and translations before, during, and after

Chapter 12: How to deal with bad interviewers (and really good ones)

Chapter 13: Next steps

What’s next for you

What could hold you back

How to move forward