Tong Family

The perfect prep book

Review of: Sweaty Palms : The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed

By: Rich Tong

Rating: 5

Read review on Judy’s Book.

It is amazing how many people don’t prepare for interviews at all. In any case, since I’ve probably done one a day for the last literally 15 years (yikes am I that old!) and I’ve also gotten jobs way above my head, I suggest that you pick up this book when you get a chance. It’s been out for close to 30 years now and is not out of date.

But since the interview is soon, I’ll leave you with the advice, the smartest guy I’ve ever met gave me about interviewing. Ken could literally get any job he wanted and here is the trick:

1. Before the interview, read the website. Figure out what the company is about. The number of people who never read the annual report if the company is public or the interviews by the CEO are amazing to me. It is all out there on google.

2. Know the three reasons why you are the only and perfect person for the job. Why are you uniquely prepared for it and why can you hit the ground running. No one really wants someone who just wants training, believe me. Nor does someone a person who is running away from something. They want someone who passionately believes in what the company is doing (the psychology of this should be pretty obvious).

3. Know the three reasons why this is the perfect company and job for you. That is, why after 4.5 billion years of evolution, this is really the only place for you. Where you want to grow old and have grandkids, etc. I know I’m being comical, but the point is, folks want people who will stick and if people sense it is a stepping stone, they have other choices.

Net, net, it all sounds kind of tough to do, but the main thing to remember is that it is easier if you actually want the job you are interviewing for. Maybe that’s the biggest lesson of all 🙂