Review: 4.5 Nicely Priced, Short, Sweet How-to on Preparing for a Job Interview
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 1, 2014
Disclaimer: At the time of reading this book, I was not a job hunter, so I can't say that it's a surefire step to success in that regard. That said, I can say it's reasonably well-written, thoughtfully arranged, and useful.I guess free would be a nicer price, but I think people would de-value it if they got it for free. This is a short manual that walks through a lot of the practicalities about preparing for and executing a job interview. It teaches you how to avoid the common pitfalls that could be the difference between a call back and a "we're moving forward with other candidates" message.1st half (5 stars) To be honest, I found the first half of the book way more practical than the second half. Guess I'm not sold on the bioenergetics side of things yet, but then again, I don't suffer from the sort of sleepless anxiety the author was trying to address. I enjoyed how he clearly pointed out that one should do the bioenergetics exercises in private. I was curious about the point until I read on and saw the descriptions and cute little stick figures that helped me understand what the descriptions were talking about. Whole heartedly agree - try the exercises in private. Otherwise people will think you're quite insane. (Try the Flamingo thing he describes and you'll know what I mean.) I was in public at the time I was reading the book, but I did try one of the breathing exercises. Note: it doesn't work if you have a stuffy nose.2nd half (4 stars) - Interesting. The exercises described sound useful in general, even if you're not prepping for an interview.Appendix questions and answers (4.5 stars) - Good rundown of the standard interview questions. His examples didn't mean much to me personally, but they were general enough to get his point across.The length is great. The book has enough detail to make it worth the price of admission, yet it's short enough to take in an afternoon or two. Job hunting is stressful stuff. You wouldn't want to drown in a 300 pg manuscript. The author provides a short introduction to his own life, which is relevant because it establishes his credibility in being able to dispense such advice.A lot of the advice given herein is common sense, but it's nice to have it all listed in one place.Nothing in life is a guarantee. Having this book and the advice within isn't an automatic job cincher, but it may help. Even if you're not job hunting but you're super-stressed, you may find something useful in the book.Sidenote: The cover's kind of melodramatic, but that's neither here nor there.Conclusion: Excellent purchase for yourself or a friend. Good advice in general if you get nervous easily or want to improve your energy and confidence.