101 GREAT ANSWERS
TO THE
TOUGHEST
INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS
SIXTH EDITION
Ron Fry
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101 Great Answers to the
Toughest Interview
Questions, Sixth Edition
Ron Fry
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 10 09
About the Author
R on Fry is the bestselling author of new editions of 101 Smart
Questions to Ask on Your Interview and 101 Great Resumes.
An acknowledged authority, he is a frequent speaker and
seminar leader on a wide variety of job-search topics.
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Contents
Introduction
One, Two, Three . . . Green Light! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
Chapter 1
The Product Is You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2
It’s Still a Jungle Out There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Chapter 3
So, Tell Me About Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Chapter 4
Why Did You Major in Astrophysics and Minor
in Theater? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Chapter 5
Are You Experienced? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Chapter 6
Let’s Focus on Some Specifics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Chapter 7
What Have You Been Doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
vi
101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions
Chapter 8
So Why Us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Chapter 9
Innocent? Hardly. Illegal? Maybe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Chapter 10
That’s a Wrap! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Appendix
20 Smart Questions to Ask on Your Interview . . . . . . . . . .169
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Introduction
One, Two, Three . . .
Green Light!
In the nearly seventeen years since I wrote the first edition of 101
Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions, its relevance
to an ever-changing job market has continued to grow. That mar-
ket has certainly changed—from a seller’s (employee-friendly) mar-
ket to a buyer’s (employer-friendly) market and back again. But the
power this book has given interviewees, whatever their ages, skills,
or qualifications, has expanded every year.
I certainly couldn’t boast of my own interviewing skills before I wrote
this book. On the contrary, I had often not gotten jobs for which I was
eminently qualified. So I spent quite a lot of time learning all the mis-
takes you could possibly make, having made each one of them—
twice.
Now, as a veteran of the other side of the desk as well (I’ve hired hun-
dreds and interviewed thousands), I can tell you that interviewing is
more serious business than ever before.
Employers are looking for self-managing employees—people who are
versatile, confident, ready and able to work with a team, and not
afraid to roll up their sleeves, work long hours, and get the job done.
“That’s me,” you chortle. Congratulations. But you won’t get the
chance to prove yourself on the job without making it through the
interview process.
Interviewing was never easy, and right now it is harder than ever.
Companies are taking far longer to make hiring decisions, and then
only after putting prospective employees through more and longer
vii