Please find attached your Interview Success Journal, which is an 85 page exercise book to help you do exceptionally well in your interviews. I attached a PDF and a Microsoft Word version of the same document (in case you wanted to type your answers to the 22 exercises in the Microsoft Word document).

Please only open and do the exercises in the attached Interview Success Journal when I mention to please do them in the course videos (I will explain how & when and much more detail in the videos). Thanks

As always, I am here to help if you have any questions.

Thanks a lot for your time and for your commitment. Please enjoy the course; let's begin!
Chris Haroun

In this lecture we will complete Exercise #1 in the Interview Success Journal" by selecting yes or no to weaknesses that you think you have that might hurt your chances of getting hired in an interview.

Please watch this video first before completing the exercise in the "Interview Success Journal," which is attached to lecture #1 in the first section of this course.

After completing this short exercise, we will work on turning these perceived weaknesses into strengths in Section 2.

Thanks

Now that you have identified your weaknesses, let's discuss how to address them and turn them into strengths.

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: your real weaknesses are (or perceived weaknesses).

Why: so we can discuss how to talk about your potential weaknesses and turn them into strengths.

*How: please watch the lectures in this exercise that address weaknesses that you might have and write down in your Interview Success Journal how to address the issues.

* Please note: feel free to skip the weakness lectures that might not apply to you.

This lecture explains how we can address your perceived weaknesses. Please watch this video first before completing the exercise in the "Interview Success Journal," which is attached to lecture #1 in the first section of this course. Thanks

Let's stress what is different about you and why your differences can help the company in your interview. We can look into overcoming potential issues of lack of experience by stressing how we are additive to the company given our unique and different background and life experiences.

Let's stress why your education or life experiences are additive to the company. For example, if you are interviewing for an engineering job but you don't have an engineering degree, mention how your liberal arts education (for example) is additive given you approach to solving problems from a different perspective. A great example is Steve Job's partial liberal arts education (he never graduated) that helped him approach user interface design from a different, fresh and creative perspective (per the description in this video).

Let's explain why you had multiple jobs for short periods of time. We will also introduce the concept of strength words to include while interviewing in this lecture (we will do a more in depth analysis of how and when to use strength words in an interview and why this will help you later in this course).

I will provide you with a menu of great inspirational answers to provide when dealing with this difficult topic. You will be surprised how you can answer this question and turn this into a strength per the examples in this video!

Giving a personal, honest, humble and right from the heart answer for this difficult topic per the video in this lecture so you can turn this into a strength.

The youngest people are the most innovative because they think differently. They grew up in the digital economy and they understand their demographic well, which is, of course additive to the company. They now do many courses online, which enhances their education and life experiences. Think about how all of these superb musicians did their best and most creative work in their 20's:

The Beatles' Abbey Road Album
U2's The Joshua Tree Album
Led Zeppelin etc........ya ya ya I am dating myself here : )

Did you know that the average age for someone in the US starting a company is over 50 now! I am a firm believer that the person that will live to be 150 years old is alive today (I have seen incredible innovations in biotech venture capital that proves that this is true). You are seasoned and not too old : ) You also take many online courses that helps you stay competitive etc....

Stress you are passionate about this role as a team player as you see it as a passion and not a job. We will cover the issue of people thinking they "might be hiring their assassins" later in the course and how to conduct yourself in interviews based on the seniority of the person interviewing you.

As a Canadian working in the US, I dealt with how to deal with this visa topic the right way in interviews, per this lecture.

Being different is a strength. Coming from a different background is additive. Your diversity will make the company more successful as you know how to sell to different markets etc.

You have a different skill set, so you are additive to the company you are interviewing at. You approach problem solving differently, etc.

Whether or not you think you can do it, you are right.

Confidence leads to perceived competence.

We will deal with how to address being nervous in this course and how to be more confident (as I used to get very nervous in interviews.....but now I enjoy them....you will enjoy them too as you will be incredibly well prepared); think of a time when you studied so so so so hard for an exam, that you actually ended up enjoying writing it! You will have this "aha" moment after taking this course.

Whatever it is that happened to/by you, I want to help and I will help. We will discuss great strategies to use and why interviewers and all people love betting on the underdog (David beats Goliath and everyone deserves a second chance). Be honest and personal and say what you have learned from what happened.

Think about how most Hollywood movies have the underdog or poor person etc win and beat those with more....your life story is incredibly inspiring given where you came from. Nature versus nurture is something we will cover and many other strategies in this lecture. Find something positive about whatever happened per this video.

Nothing that is worth fighting for ever comes easy. We will overcome these perceived weaknesses and turn them into strengths to the extent that not only will you get the job, but you will look back many years from now and think (in most cases), "thank God this was a perceived weakness of mine as it motivated me to work harder than anyone else and be the success that I am today. I am grateful that I was sent down a different path in life. Although I was worried about these weaknesses earlier in life, they actually shaped who I am today and I would not have gotten to where I am without addressing this perceived weakness the right way." : )

Now that we know how to deal with your weaknesses, let's discuss the best ways to discuss our strengths in an interview:

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: strengths or what strength words to mention in your interview.

Why: because interviewers look for certain strength words in interviews.

How: we will discuss 10 crucial strength words to mention or discuss (using examples of your work or school or other life experiences).

Please watch this video first before completing the exercise in the "Interview Success Journal," which is attached to lecture #1 in the first section of this course. Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: team player. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: passion. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: dedication/hard work. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: enjoy. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: exceed expectations. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: dependable. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: organized. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: customer focused. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength word: different. Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on the strength sentence: "Why Has Everything You Have Done in Your Life Lead You to Excel at This Job?". Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Learn how to answer questions based on these additional strength words:

1. humble
2. ethical
3. multi task
4. generous

Please remember to always ask yourself these 2 words before answering any question in an interview, which is "so what." Thanks

Don't use these words and don't say these things in an interview...

Now that we have covered your strengths and weaknesses, let’s move on to what to discuss what to bring to the interview. In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: to do, create and bring to the interview to materially increase your chances of getting hired.

Why: because getting your dream job is competitive and if we are preemptive and bring items others won't, then our chances of getting hired increases a lot.

How: I will show you what to create, document and bring with you to the interview to impress the heck out of the interviewer(s).

Think "how can I impress and help the interviewer?" Go into all interviewers thinking "what can I bring or do to help the interviewer's career." Give and you always receive; this is the crux of our networking strategy, which we will discuss in Part 3 of this course. If you help someone, they will help you.

Please watch this video first before completing the exercise in the "Interview Success Journal," which is attached to lecture #1 in the first section of this course. Thanks

Here are ways to very politely disagree with your interviewer.

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: to look for to let you know that the interviewer likes you

Why: because you must please speak a lot less when you see that they like you (I will explain why in more detail)

How: by understanding that we must never sell past the close!

Now that we know how to deal with your strengths and weaknesses and what to bring to the interview that will make you look brilliant, let's discuss how to answer questions when you have no clue what the answer is, how to buy time or if you freeze (which you won’t):

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: frameworks to use when answering questions

Why: because it makes us look organized in our thought process and it buys us time if we have no idea how to answer the question

How: we will discuss examples of qualitative, quantitative and other frameworks you can chose to use in an interview.

If you can't answer a question in an interview or if you need to buy time or if you want to show that you think clearly and are well organized, this lecture will be very helpful.

We will discuss an incredible template that is attached that you can use to think about answering questions in an interview, or even complete and send to your interviewer a few hours after your interview to address a business problem that you discussed with the interviewer or that you had some issues addressing in your interview.

How to structure your answers in an interview using this framework: S.W.O.T.: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

How to structure your answers in an interview using this framework: Boston Consulting Group Matrix.

How to structure your answers in an interview using this framework: Product Lifecycle.

How to structure your answers in an interview using this framework: Porter 5 Forces Framework.

This framework that I created will help you a lot if you can't answer a question.

This framework that I created will help you a lot if you can't answer a question.

Please watch this video first before completing the exercise in the "Interview Success Journal," which is attached to lecture #1 in the first section of this course. Thanks

This framework contains many qualitative frameworks on 1 page.

Please watch this video first before completing the exercise in the "Interview Success Journal," which is attached to lecture #1 in the first section of this course. Thanks

Now that you know how to answer questions using more structure, let's move on to what you need to know about the company you are going to interview with. In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: you need to know a lot about the company you are going to interview with.

Why: because it makes you look smarter and more proactive if you have done your research as most candidates won't do what I am about to teach you. You will look amazing when you mention how you prepared if asked.

How: I am going to briefly show you some Wall Street Analyst tricks on how I used to analyze companies from scratch when I worked at Goldman Sachs and in the Hedge Fund and Consulting Industries and currently in the Venture Capital industry. We will assume you are interviewing at Tesla for this section (as an example).

How to use online resources to analyze the company you are interviewing with, including navigating investor relations, annual reports, etc.

More ways to research the company you are going to be interviewing with (for private and public companies).

In this section, we will discuss bonding with the interviewer (crucial topic).

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: it means to be personable in an interview.

Why: because people like hiring people they like.

How: we will discuss how to conduct yourself in the first 10 minutes or so of the interview (before discussing business).

Let's take a step back now for a bit and discuss the personal aspect of doing well in interviews.

4 crucial questions you must answer before thinking about talking about business!

Search on LinkedIn before the interview to learn more about the person you will or might be interviewing with. Find something in common with them before the interview per this video.

This exercise reinforces the 4 O'Hare Test questions we must keep in mind prior to our interviews.

In this section, we will discuss optimizing and structuring our delivery in an interview.

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: transition words are, what words to use and what words can buy you time.

Why: they help you to communicate information much more clearly and help you out if you need more time to think of the appropriate answer to give.

How: we will take a look at transition words, how and when to use them and examples of words we should say and just how exactly can we buy time so we can answer questions more clearly.

Be personable in an interview when you answer questions to sound more personable, by starting answers with these words and use these strategies:

1. When I grew up, my mother used to tell me...
2. My brother is also...
3. My younger sister did that also...
4. My grandfather used to tell me that...
5. In Canada we also did that.....
6. Make it personable so you aren't a robot.
7. You want them to remember you as a person with character and diversity and interesting. Be interesting.
8. Also use their name a lot! People love the sounds of their name.
9. Ask them questions too like where are you from. People also love talking about themselves and they appreciate it and I always enjoy hearing their life stories.
10. Of course always be upbeat.

Body language to tell if they like you!

Stop talking once you sense that they really like you!

In terms of the What, Why and How of this section, by the end of this section you will know:

What: it means to answer questions in a certain way that you know what the interview is going to ask you next.

Why: so you can really impress the interviewer.

How: we will keep our answers short and very strategic.

I will mention very tough questions that I have been asked and friends of mine have asked or been asked. Please see if you can answer these questions by pausing the videos in this section. Thanks

Please don't say anything negative about the company you want to leave (if you get the offer). Here is the best way to address the question about leaving the company you are currently working at.

How best to answer a question on whether or not you are qualified enough to get this job!

How best to answer a question on why you were let go or fired.

How best to answer a question on your weakness by turning it into a strength....remember the "straw dummy" weakness strategy we spoke about earlier in the course.