Crazy Good Interviewing: How Acting A Little Crazy Can Get You The Job

Praise for Crazy Good Interviewing "Top Ten Career Books for 2012!" —The Wall Street Journal "Interviewing is a critical skill. Whether you want to get into business school, land your dream job, or separate yourself from the pack, grab this book and enjoy the ride!"—Michael Desiderio, MBAExecutive Director, EMBA Council "This hard–hitting handbook is full of useful, practical strategies to ensure you don′t get overlooked for that next big opportunity. Buy this book, incorporate the ideas, and take back control of your career."—RORY VADEN, MBACofounder, Southwestern Consulting, and New York Times bestselling author of Take the Stairs "This book is an invaluable resource for mastering the challenges of theinterview. Get it, use it, benefit from it, and enjoy it!"—Susan A. MaxwellExecutive Director, National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, Inc. Sometimes acting a little crazy can get you the job you want. Crazy Good Interviewing shows how crazy good behavior can make you stand out favorably in a sea of mediocrity. Take the candidate who created a keynote presentation on his iPad to illustrate his strengths or the one who created a DVD highlighting her abilities. An unconventional handbook to job seeking in a tough economy, Crazy Good Interviewing delves into how to access your three key strengths, use body languageeffectively, prepare a five–sentence history that builds a bridge to the interviewer, and much more! Turn just plain crazy into crazy good, and land the job at your next interview.

Foreword Roxanne Emmerich xv Acknowledgments xix Chapter 1 Job Hunting in a Crazy Economy 1 Job Market Overview 2 Why Is the Interview So Important? 5 What Makes Me an Expert? 7 Chapter 2 Go Crazy—In a Good Way 9 How Do You Rate? 10 Introducing the ‘‘Psychotron’’ 10 What’s Crazy Bad Behavior? 12 What’s Crazy Good Behavior? 14 Chapter 3 First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions 19 Look at the Research 20 Exceptions to the Rule 21 The Rating Game 23 Preparation Is Key 25 Get Ready to ‘‘Act Out’’ 27 PART I ACT Out: Assess 29 Chapter 4 Everything from Soup to Nuts 31 Your Strengths and Limitations 31 Assessment Instruments 32 What’s Your Weak Spot? 37 Human Interaction: Where the Action Is 40 Education: Know Your Own Strengths 42 Jobs that Don’t Require College Degrees 42 Skills and Work Experience 44 Areas of Improvement 47 The Best Policy 48 Chapter 5 Wild, Wacky, and Wonderful You 51 Biology 101 52 Personality 101 54 Introversion versus Extraversion: Are You In or Out? 55 Interpersonal Skills: Can You Relate? 59 Your Assignment 61 Enthusiasm and Motivation: Rah–Rah, Sis–Boom–Bah! 61 Problem Solving: What’s Your Problem? 63 Creativity: Thinking Outside the Box 64 Life Experiences 101 66 Hobbies and Interests: What Do You Do in Your Spare Time? 68 Netting a Job Offer 70 Chapter 6 Selling ‘‘Crazy’’: Your Unique Value Proposition 73 Think ‘‘Log Line’’ 74 Create Your Unique Value Proposition 76 Your Five–Sentence Personal History 78 Why Anecdotes Work 80 The Power of Three 82 Mad About Metaphors 85 Chapter 7 Your Worldview on Work 87 Applying Your Worldview to Work 88 Work Makes the World Go ’Round 88 Worldview Provides Career Direction 90 Mapping a Career Plan 92 When Job and Worldview Don’t Align 94 Square Peg, Round Hole 95 PART II ACT Out: Communicate 97 Chapter 8 Bridge the Generational Gap with Crazy Good Behavior 99 Defining ‘‘Generation’’ 99 The Sound of ‘‘Silents’’ (Born 1924–1945) 101 Big, Bad Baby Boomers (Born 1946–1964) 104 Old and New 107 The Internet Generation X (Born 1965–1983) 108 High–Tech Generation Y (Born 1984–2002) 111 Chapter 9 Types of Interviews 115 Phone Interviews: Can You Hear Me Now? 115 Before the Interview: Ready and Waiting 119 During the Interview 120 Skype: Smile for the Camera! 120 FaceTime 123 One–on–One Interview: Up Close and Personal 123 It’s Showtime! 125 Play Nice 128 All Ears 128 Panel Interview: All Eyes on You 129 Make One–on–One Connections 130 Turning ‘‘You’re Fired!’’ into ‘‘You’re Hired!’’ 133 Group Interview: When You’re One Among Many 135 Chapter 10 Head Games 137 Games Interviewers Play 138 Tension Relievers 140 Chapter 11 Looking Good . . . Crazy Good 143 Perceiving Is Believing 144 Putting It All Together 146 For Men Only 146 For Women Only 149 Chapter 12 Use Body Language to Make a Crazy Good Impression 161 Make Crazy Good Eye Contact 162 Posture Perfect 165 Gestures and Facial Expressions 170 Chapter 13 Voiceovers: Your Voice Speaks Volumes 173 Sound Off: Elements of Voice 175 PART III ACT Out: Thank 183 Chapter 14 After the Interview: Thank ’em Like Crazy 185 The Waiting Game 186 Crazy Bad Follow–Up Efforts 194 Chapter 15 Post–Interview Self–Evaluation: How Did You Do? 197 Rate Yourself; Don’t Berate Yourself 198 Do You Really Want to Work There? 202 Moral Dilemmas 204 Chapter 16 Putting It All Together in a Crazy Good Way 205 Establish Your Power Base 207 Use a Crazy Good Interview Strategy 208 Use Crazy Good Behaviors to Get the Job 208 Sell Yourself Like Crazy 209 Be Yourself, in a Crazy Good Way 209 Research the Employer Like Crazy 209 Research the Interviewer(s) Like Crazy 211 Practice Like Crazy 212 Take the Stage 213 Appendix 150 Frequently Asked Questions 215 Index 229

JOHN B. MOLIDOR, PhD , is CEO/President of Michigan State University Flint Area Medical Education and a Community Assistant Dean and Professor of Psychiatry at MSU College of Human Medicine, who helps people understand how their brain, communication styles, and interviewing skills can function well together. BARBARA PARUS is Director of Publications for the National Speakers Association in Tempe, Arizona. A Chicago native, she is a versatile and well–established writer, ghostwriter, editorial consultant, and the author or coauthor of three books on human resources–related topics.