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How to ace a job interview? We asked a manager

Hayley Hershman Apr 21, 2017
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Prepare for the one interview question you're dreading the most. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

How to ace a job interview? We asked a manager

Hayley Hershman Apr 21, 2017
Prepare for the one interview question you're dreading the most. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Want to work? Chances are you’ll need to interview. Trying to charm a potential employer isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but Yale professor Jason Dana questions whether job interviews are useful at all.

Some of you reached out to Marketplace Weekend with your thoughts:

Sadly, the job interview isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So what to do when you put in an application and then get the call for “a chat?” 

We’ve got you covered. Alison Green from the popular blog Ask a Manager, joins the show to answer all the questions you wish you could ask your boss — or potential boss.

Here are her takeaways to ace that next job interview:

Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes: “If you were looking at yourself as a candidate, what’s the evidence you’d look for to prove you can excel at this job?”

Prepare for the question you’re most afraid of: “Most people have an interview question that they dread being asked … whether it’s salary, or why they left their last job. It’s so much better to figure out what the thing is that you’re worried about so you can plan an answer and practice delivering it in a way that you’re comfortable with.”

Ask about salary (if you want): “It is important to realize that some people still buy into [thinking it’s rude to ask about salary], and you do take a risk if you ask about salary during an interview. I do think it’s changing, and I do think people are becoming more reasonable and realistic about this. I also think it’s safer to ask about salary later in the process if it’s turning into multiple interviews or … if you’re being asked to invest serious time or even money in taking part in the interview process, it becomes more understandable.”

 For more tips from Alison Green, click on the media player above.

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