By: Mary Greenwood
Publisher: iUniverse
Publication Date: December 2010
ISBN: 978-1450270892
Reviewed by: Eloise Michael
Review Date: February 2011

How To Interview Like A Pro: Forty-Three Rules For Getting Your Next Job begins with “Rule 1. Getting a Job is a full-time job” (pg. 1). It may be disappointing to realize that it takes work to find work, but the good news is that this book will make the job easier. How to Interview Like a Pro includes all the information you will need with nothing extra to take up your time. Author Mary Greenwood writes clearly. The rules are numbered, arranged in a logical order, written in bold, and divided into chapters, making the book exceptionally easy to navigate.

Greenwood allows readers to tailor her advice to their own situations. Of course there are many different jobs out there, and readers will have diverse backgrounds. Greenwood has considered the job-seeker just out of school, the person moving from one high-level managerial position to another, and everything in between. She advises on using your credentials to gain a higher salary at a new job. She also gives ideas on how to explain the fact that you have a criminal record. In short, if you are looking for a job, whoever you are, this book is for you.

Readers will not find, however, that they are wading through lots of information that does not apply to their own situation. Greenwood has isolated forty-three rules that are almost universal. Below each rule are lists of sample questions, answers, or scenarios. Readers can easily scan through the list and pick those that are a good match.

We have all encountered “How to” books that repeat good advice we have heard already. This is not one of those books. How to Interview Like a Pro will have some new information for anyone, whether you are just out of school and interviewing for a first job or have changed jobs several times. Greenwood does not leave out the conventional wisdom; she offers new insight into the old rules.

One section that will be particularly useful is a list of twenty-six common interview questions. Greenwood follows each with some suggested answers. The list of questions allows job-seekers to think about the best response and to rehearse it in advance. Readers have the opportunity to develop their own style and presentation around the framework of Greenwood's suggested answers, which will allow them to be more focused and more confident later at the interview.

Realistically there are some jobs that you will not get, even if you interview like a pro. Greenwood explains the hiring process from the inside, pointing out that sometimes, for legal reasons, companies interview candidates they have no intention of hiring. Sometimes they do not hire anyone. Though it is helpful to remember that there are many reasons why a company does not hire candidates, rejection is still hard to take. How to Interview Like a Pro can help with this, too. Greenwood offers encouragement and a positive spin on the jobs you don't get. She suggests practical ways to gain from each interview experience and to apply that new knowledge to the next interview.

These forty-three rules are not a one-size-fits-all program for getting hired. Instead they are a framework to help readers identify their own strengths and think about how best to present them. Reading the book is an interactive process. Greenwood provides choices, and gives readers the opportunity to put the pieces together, following the forty-three rules, so that they may obtain a job that will fit with their skills, experience, and interests.

Quill says: How to Interview Like a Pro provides practical advice in an easy-to-use format. If you are looking for a job, this book is for you!

For more information on How To Interview Like A Pro: Forty-Three Rules For Getting Your Next Job, please visit the author's website at: www.MaryGreenwood.org