Books › Best Job Interview Books
Best job interview books for every level
Most interviews are won in preparation, not on the day. The best books here cover the basics of getting ready and handling nerves, the technical and product rounds for specific roles, and the offer conversation at the end, where many people lose ground without meaning to.
Start with a general guide, then choose the book that matches the interview you have booked. The negotiation books are for after the offer arrives.
Interviews are mostly preparation
Strong candidates usually do less improvising than people expect. They know the role's main problems, they have three or four stories ready that show how they handled similar ones, and they have questions that show they understood the business. Most of the books here build that preparation rather than offering a list of clever answers.
Start with a general guide, then read the book for the kind of interview you have booked. A technical round, a product case and a hiring-manager conversation need different preparation, and the books are written for those differences.
Plan the answers, not the script
Behavioural questions reward specific stories with a clear outcome. Write down two or three experiences from your work, what the situation was, what you did and what changed. Then practise telling them briefly. Reading a memorised answer is noticeable; a clear story told in your own words is not.
Expect the interviewer to ask follow-up questions. The best preparation is to know your own story well enough to answer a question you did not expect.
The offer is part of the interview
Many people relax once an offer arrives and accept the first number without a conversation. The negotiation books at the end of this list are about that moment. They cover how to ask for more without damaging the relationship, and how to decide what matters most before the call starts.
Know your own priorities before the offer comes in: pay, title, scope, flexibility and start date. A clear list makes the conversation easier and fairer for both sides.
Getting started
Knock 'em Dead Job Interview
by Martin John Yate · 2012
A practical guide to preparing for interviews, with answers to the questions employers ask most and a plan for the days before the meeting.
View book →I Hate Job Interviews
by Sam Owens · 2024
Aimed at people who freeze in interviews. It helps you prepare for the conversation and manage nerves on the day.
View book →60 Seconds & You're Hired!
by Robin Ryan · 2016
Short, focused advice on the first minute of an interview and the points that decide it. Useful when you have little time to prepare.
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Doing the job
Cracking the Coding Interview
by Gayle Laakmann McDowell · 2010
The standard preparation guide for technical interviews: how the process works, and how to practise problem-solving under time pressure.
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Cracking the PM Interview
by Gayle Laakmann McDowell, Jackie Bavaro · 2013
~360 pages~9 hrs to read
How product manager interviews work, from product sense and metrics to behavioural questions and mock sessions.
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Hire with Your Head
by Lou Adler · 1998
~320 pages~8 hrs to read
Looks at interviewing from the employer's side, and how a candidate can show what they will do in the job rather than what they have done.
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Senior and leading
Never Split the Difference
by Chris Voss, Tahl Raz · 2016
~290 pages~7 hrs to read
A former FBI negotiator's methods for handling tense conversations, with principles that apply to salary and offer talks.
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Getting to Yes
by Roger Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton · 1981
~200 pages~5 hrs to read
A method for negotiating terms based on interests rather than positions. Useful when an offer needs to move without the relationship suffering.
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Reading for a specific role?
Each of these roles has its own books page, with the books that matter most for that job.
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