In preparing for an interview, it's useful to understand what organizations are looking for in a candidate. Ultimate Interview offers insight into how employers decide what they are looking for in a job candidate, how they use this to draw up the questions, how selection procedures work, why employers conduct interviews and what's likely to happen at the average interview.

Includes indexes.

1.Know your enemy -- Understanding interviewers -- What do they want? -- What sort of things are they looking for? -- What will happen at the interview? -- What sort of questions will they ask? -- How do they know what they're looking for? -- 2.Prepare yourself -- What you need to know before the interview -- What should you prepare? -- Exhibit 1 Evidence that you meet their needs -- Exhibit 2 Reassuring answers and explanations -- Exhibit 3 Industry knowledge -- Exhibit 4 The reasons you want this job -- 3.Standing out -- How to be an outstanding candidate -- Why are these qualities so important? -- 4.Answering questions -- What the interviewer will ask and what you need to tell them -- Make a good impression -- Three cardinal rules -- 5.Starting the interview -- What to expect from the interview and how to begin confidently -- 6.Questions they ask everybody -- Standard questions you should prepare for -- 7.Behavioural questions -- Some questions dig deeper than others -- What are the important points? -- 8.Questions for practical jobs -- Core question, 'Are you reliable?' -- Professional knowledge -- 9.Questions for creative jobs -- Core question, 'Will you deliver' -- Professional knowledge -- 10. Questions for clerical and administrative jobs -- Core question, 'Are you efficient?' -- Professional knowledge -- 11. Questions for sales and marketing jobs -- Core question, 'Can you sell?' -- Professional knowledge -- 12.Questions for technical jobs -- Core question, 'Can you do the job?' -- Professional knowledge -- 13.Questions for management jobs -- Core question, 'Will you get results?' -- Professional knowledge -- 14.Questions for customer relations jobs -- Core question, 'Are you customer focused?' -- Professional knowledge -- 15.Questions for school and college leavers jobs -- Core question, 'What to do if you don't have experience' -- Transferable skills -- Professional knowledge -- 16.Tackling the difficult questions -- Handling questions about perceived areas of weakness -- Inappropriate and illegal questions -- 17.Dealing with tricky questions -- What to say when there's no clear answer -- Dealing with critical or negative questions -- questions about salary -- Answering closed questions -- 18.Answering off-the-wall questions -- What is the interviewer really asking -- Questions asking you to work something out -- 'Psychological' questions -- 19.Your questions for the interviewer -- What to ask at the end of the interview -- 20.Variations on the theme -- Different types of interview and how to deal with them confidently -- Screening interviews -- Telephone interviews -- Video interviews -- Panel interviews -- Serial interviews -- Assessment centres -- Informal interviews -- Second interviews -- 21.The interview: future trends -- Tasks and tests that are already in use and how to prepare for them -- The interview -- future trends -- Making a presentation -- Showing your portfolio -- Technical and attainsment tests -- Physical tests -- Job-replica exercises -- Group exercises -- Psychometric tests -- Future possibilities -- 22.Looking the part -- Making a good impression from the start -- appearance -- Behavior -- Overcoming nerves -- 23.What happens next? -- What to do after the interview -- While you're waiting for their decision -- If they don't make you an offer -- If they do make you an offer -- 24.Interviews in a nutshell -- The three essential questions you need to know about -- Can you do the job? -- Will you do the job? -- Will you fit in?