Most people don't know certain things about job hunting and interviewing because they don't do it for a living like a agent does. (If you've been out of a job for a long time, you might think hunting for a job is a full-time job. It's not. Don't let it become one.) The first thing the agent knows that you don't is this: interviewing is not about what you think it is about. Interviewing is not about being asked questions about yourself. It is not about your credentials or your past jobs. It is not about salaries. It is not about job descriptions. It is not about titles.

Interviewing is not about where you see yourself in five years. It is not about your weaknesses or your strengths. It is not about your most challenging experience or greatest accomplishments. It is not about wearing the right clothes or about being aggressive. It is not about answering questions or getting an offer. Interviewing is about the job.

The Four Vital Questions

You can judge every job opportunity by applying the Four Vital Questions. The Four Vital Questions will reveal your knowledge, attitude, and' ability regarding a specific job. These are the true sources of success in any interview, because they are the things an employee needs to know.

If you can answer yes to each question and do so honestly, your chances of winning the job offer will be excellent.* Yet, one of the most frequent responses I hear from job hunters is, "Are you kidding? Answering those questions about every job I apply for would be a lot of hard work!" My reply is always the same: "So is any good job, isn't it? Why should anyone offer you the job if you won't do the hard work necessary to prove you're right for it?"

If you can answer yes to the Four Vital Questions for a particular job, you will eliminate almost all doubt and anxiety from your mind when you enter the interview. You will be powerful, you will be relaxed, and you will be one of the best candidates the employer will meet because you will know there is a match between you and the job.

The Power of the Four Vital Questions

The Four Vital Questions will serve as your guide to many aspects of work, including finding work, winning the right job, doing your job, becoming better at your job, and keeping your job.

The Four Vital Questions will help you find the right job by helping you to avoid the wrong jobs - as well as potentially disastrous interviews. Always keep in mind that if you are considering a work opportunity but cannot answer the Four Vital  Questions, you probably have not done your homework. My suggestion is, don't go on the interview at all - you'll bomb. If you've asked and answered the Four Vital Questions and all the answers aren't yes, the job is not right for you or you're not right for the job.

Because the Four Vital Questions will give you an in-depth understanding of every job opportunity you consider, you'll be able to select only the jobs that are right for you. In turn, that understanding will give you an incredible edge over every other candidate.

1. Do you understand the job that needs to be done?

2. Can you do the job?

3. Can you do the job the way the employer wants it done?

4. Can you do the job profitably for the company?

(You may have noticed that a very important question seems to be missing: Is this a job you want to do? It's missing for a very good reason: you should already know whether you want the job before you go on the interview.)

How will the Four Vital Questions help you win the right job? Because in the course of answering them all with a yes, you will:

	Mold your knowledge about the job and the employer's business into a compelling tool that will help you win an offer.
	Form an impressive attitude which, because it is soundly based on your knowledge about the job, will tell the employer that you're there to help solve his problems and to make his business more profitable if he hires you.
	Be prepared to demonstrate the relevant talents, skills, and abilities that will make you the most powerful candidate the employer meets.

Finally, the Four Vital Questions will help you do your job, become better at it, and keep it by helping you to better understand how to:

	Fulfill the requirements of your job.
	Hone your skills and determine what if any new skills you'll need to acquire.
	Pinpoint what makes your work valuable to your employer.
	Measure how your work affects profitability.
	Present yourself as a talented worker who is promotable.
	Build and develop your confidence.
	Pave the road for your growth.

Establish Your Value

Here are the Four Vital Questions again, but in new terms, to help you establish your value:

	What exactly is the work I do (or want to do), and how do I apply my skills to it?
	What work does a specific employer need to have done? How does it fit with my skills? How would I do that work?
	How would I communicate the way I would do the work to the prospective employer? How would I demonstrate it?
	How would I enable the employer to profit from my doing the job?

This version of the Four Vital Questions focus on you, rather than on the job. They help you define the value you offer to an employer. This gives you control in an interview.

Think about the questions for every job opportunity you consider. Gather the information you need to address each point thoroughly. After a while, you will be able to quickly weed out the wrong jobs, because you won't be willing to waste your time answering these questions about them.

You'll get good at the process of elimination. You will avoid bad interviews. If you focus on jobs where you can offer your best, you will become the powerful answer to a specific employer's needs. And having something that someone needs gives you control like nothing else.

Click here for some tips on how to gather preliminary information