The job interview may be the most important career advancement step that you will ever take. You may think it's possible to sail up the ranks of corporate culture while being recognized for your ability and competence or never have to sell yourself or endure the rigors of a job interview. However, in today's competitive workplace, it is almost impossible to advance your career (even within your own firm) without learning how to interview effectively. With every step up the corporate ladder, there are job evaluations and interviews (formal or otherwise) which determines who moves up and whom stays put.

The purpose of the job interview is to win a job offer that you can accept. Job interviewing for any other reason isn't worth the risk of exposure if you are currently employed. It isn't worth the possibility of damaging your reputation if you are being perceived as using a good-faith, external offer in order to advance your career internally - or using it to gain information about external pay. If you are simply interested in learning about other firms and job opportunities, there are safer and better ways to do this. If you decide to interview, then you should decide to win at the interview and get an acceptable job offer.

As with most victories, winning at an interview means that you must be willing too work at preparation. You will need to develop skills and learn how to perform under a variety of circumstances - with a variety of personalities.

"The article above was written by construction recruiter Frederick Hornberger, CPC, president of Hornberger Management Company in Wilmington, Delaware (www.hmc.com), a construction recruiter specializing in senior level, executive search."

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