The best 32 Interviewing books

We’ve all been in situations where rational discussions get quickly out of hand, and Crucial Conversations investigates the root causes of this problem. You’ll learn techniques to handle such situations and shape them into becoming positive and solutions-oriented, while preventing your high-stakes conversations from turning into shouting matches.

• Anyone whose job requires dealing with other people often
• Anyone who wants to improve conversations in their personal relationships
• Anyone who offers professional communications training

Pitch Perfect presents advice and principles that can help anyone to communicate more effectively. It teaches you how to present an argument or story with confidence, in a memorable way, and how to make your points with more precision. The author introduces seven principles that will help you to use exactly the right tone in both your professional and private life.

• Anyone who wants to improve their presentation skills
• Anyone who wants to communicate more effectively in their professional life
• Anyone who wishes to become a better conversationalist

Secrets of Dynamic Communication explains how to prepare and present a speech effectively. Through the author’s own SCORRE-method, we are guided through the six key components of a successful speech: subject, central theme, objective, rationale, resources and evaluation.

• Students and teachers
• Pastors, executives and coaches
• Anyone who wants to master public speaking

Humble Inquiry (2013) sets out the basic principles of the art of asking the right questions in the right way. It examines how your approach to inquiry affects your relationships at the office, your ability to get quality work completed and, ultimately, your success as a leader.

• Anyone who wants to improve how they communicate at work
• Anyone who wants to be a great leader
• Anyone who wants to learn how to ask the right questions

Just Listen (2009) combines time-tested persuasion and listening techniques with new methods to help you get your message across to anybody. By learning how to be a better listener, how the brain works and how people think, you’ll be able to motivate people to do what you want because you’ll better understand their needs.

• Anyone who wants to improve their communication skills
• Anyone working in therapy or mediation
• Anyone who wants to be more persuasive

Based on Forbes magazine interviews with some of Silicon Valley’s most successful tech entrepreneurs, You Only Have to be Right Once outlines how today’s tech wunderkinds achieved their successes.

• Anyone interested in how the world’s most successful entrepreneurs made their money
• Budding techies and business people
• The next Mark Zuckerberg

Talk Lean will teach you how to express your thoughts in a direct, candid, yet courteous manner. The author shares effective, easy-to-apply tips for having a productive conversation that helps achieve your goals.

• Anyone who has trouble communicating at work
• Anyone who has to confront difficult people on a daily basis
• Anyone who hesitates to express their true thoughts and feelings

Four Seconds (2015) gives precise examples of how to rid yourself of self-defeating habits at work, at home and in your relationships. A four-second pause helps slow down hasty, unhappy reactions and is the first step to reworking the way you communicate with others and receive feedback from them. You really can be prepared for anything if you just take a breath first.

• People with a sneaky feeling that their communication skills need improvement
• Anyone with bad habits that need to be broken
• Stress bunnies looking for a straightforward solution

Works Well With Others (2015) is a guide for professionals – both new and old – seeking tips and tricks for handling themselves in the modern workplace. From mastering the interview process to fitting in on your first day, these blinks teach you those crucial social rules that no one ever talks about.

• People looking for advice on hiring interviews
• Professionals preparing to enter the workforce
• Anyone interested in workplace etiquette

Brief (2014) is a guide to having more impact and influence by saying less. These blinks show the reader the power of brevity in the information age, explain the barriers to being brief and give helpful instructions on how to improve your communication while saving your own time and everybody else’s.

• Anyone interested in improving their communication skills
• Those wanting to grab the attention of others
• Business leaders whose ideas need to stand out

Got Your Attention? (2015) is the ultimate guide to grabbing and holding the focus of distracted people in today’s fast-paced world. You’ll learn how to overcome the impatience and chronic distraction of your audience to make yourself a compelling, engaging speaker.

• Anyone who wants to get the attention of distracted minds
• Job seekers looking for advice on how to stand out
• People who want to create meaningful connections

Getting More (2010) lays out precisely how to negotiate your way toward a fuller, more satisfying life. The strategies and tools described in this book can be used in any situation, from finding a happier outcome when sparring with a partner to convincing your boss that you’re long overdue for a raise.

• People looking to improve their negotiating skills
• Sales managers, sales reps or anyone involved in cutting business deals
• Anyone who feels they never get what they want when negotiating

The 11 Laws of Likability (2011) is a guide to networking built on one simple fact: people do business with people they like. These blinks will explain how to discover your most likable characteristics, start conversations and keep them going, and make a lasting positive impression on people.

• Anyone who wants to build a lasting professional relationship
• Anyone starting a new job
• Recent graduates looking for a job

Case Interview Secrets (2013) is a practical guide to nailing your interview at a big consultancy, such as Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey or Bain and Company. These blinks offer a crash course on the questions you’ll be asked and how you should answer them.

• Anyone aspiring to be a consultant
• People in all professions hoping to boost their brainpower
• Any reader interested in what consultants actually do

Radical Collaboration (2004) offers invaluable methods to help you build effective and high-functioning collaborative relationships, as well as strategies to manage any kind of conflict that you might run into. At the heart of these methods are five skills that can turn anyone into a better teammate and turn any organization into an efficient and productive partnership.

• Business leaders
• Managers and teammates
• Readers interested in becoming better collaborators

60 Seconds & You’re Hired! (1994) is your guide to nailing your next job interview. These blinks are packed with actionable advice on how to grab a potential employer’s attention, sell yourself and land the job of your dreams.

• Job seekers
• Career counselors
• Students looking for their first job

How To Talk to Anyone (1998) is an indispensable guide to improving your conversations and becoming more graceful and effective in your social interactions – no matter the situation. Leil Lowndes offers readers a treasure trove of techniques and tips that will help any socially awkward individual gain more confidence in workplace environments, meetings, their private lives and at parties.

• Businesspeople who want fantastic working relationships
• Readers looking for better ways to communicate with their partners
• Awkward folk who’d like to improve their social skills

Neuro-linguistic Programming for Dummies (2015) is an introduction to the basic principles behind NLP. If you’ve ever struggled to say what’s on your mind, NLP may be of use to you. Discover the human traits that can keep us from understanding each other and the helpful methods that can lead to clear and effective communication.

• Readers who strive to communicate clearly
• Students of neuroscience and linguistics
• Anyone open to new ideas and techniques for improvement

Captivate (2017) is your guide to human behavior and social success. Whether you’re trying to connect with others at home, at work or out in the world, Van Edwards set about breaking down the mechanics of how to capture people’s attention and engage in meaningful interaction.

• Young people who want to improve their social skills
• Singles looking to become dating pros
• Managers and entrepreneurs who want their employees to do their best

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management (2018) is a hands-on guide designed to help team leaders diagnose and solve people problems in today’s increasingly horizontal workplaces. The fruit of years of first-hand experience, Zachary Wong’s playbook for effective leadership is packed full of actionable advice on how to boost motivation, confront underperformers and push through fear of failure.

• Entrepreneurs
• Leaders and managers
• Anyone fascinated by workplace psychology

Difficult Conversations (1999) takes a look at what makes a conversation difficult and why we often try to avoid them. It outlines how to correctly approach and maneuver through tough topics to build positive and meaningful relationships.

• Politicians and business leaders
• Teachers
• Parents

The Fine Art of Small Talk (2005) offers practical advice for cultivating conversation skills. Drawing on anecdotes from the author’s own journey to becoming a confident small-talker, these blinks will teach you how to initiate, sustain and exit conversations with ease and grace.

• Professionals looking to sharpen their networking skills
• Introverts seeking confidence in social situations
• Parents who want to strengthen their relationships with their children

From small talk with the barista to water-cooler chat with colleagues, we spend a lot of our time talking — yet very few of us understand the science that underpins how we talk. Talk (2018) breaks down the fundamental building blocks and typical patterns of conversational encounters to reveal the structures and strategies behind what we say, and offers a blueprint for how we can learn to talk and listen more effectively.

• Anyone who’s ever had trouble getting a point across
• Anyone who’s ever suffered a communication breakdown
• People who want to take their conversational skills up a notch

The Bullseye Principle (2018) is a practical guide to confident, clear communication in contemporary business settings. Covering everything from personal branding to inspiring others and running meetings effectively, these blinks will show you how to deliver your lines with style and win over your audience.

• Leaders looking to find their voice
• Public speakers with stage fright 
• Interviewers and interviewees

The Job-Ready Guide (2019) is a helpful roadmap for anyone seeking to get themselves on the first rung of the career ladder. In addition to offering advice on job-searching, writing a compelling resume, and performing well in interviews, it provides insight into what modern employers are really looking for.

• Students leaving college
• Teachers or mentors wishing to give young people up-to-date career advice
• Young professionals seeking a change in career

You’re Not Listening (2020) casts a spotlight on the undervalued skill of listening. It’s filled with examples of talented professional listeners, as well as practical advice for getting more out of conversations with others – not by saying more yourself, but by listening more closely to others.

• Couples looking to improve their communication skills
• Professional listeners, from journalists to business negotiators
• Everyone who wants to have better conversations

It’s the Manager (2019) outlines the latest workplace research from Gallup. It explores what good leadership looks like in the modern age, and how managers can get the best out of the people they lead.

• Human Resources professionals seeking a fresh perspective
• Managers looking to the future
• Team leaders wanting to know what makes people tick

Doesn’t Hurt to Ask (2020) teaches the subtle art of persuasion through one unconventional tool: asking questions. Former congressman Trey Gowdy explains how thoughtful questions can help you reach your audience, communicate your message, and win people over – whether that’s in a courtroom, a business meeting, or at the dinner table.

• Exhausted parents looking to win their kids over in arguments
• Politically engaged people who want to advocate for their beliefs more effectively
• Anyone looking to improve their negotiation skills in their private or professional lives

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2021 (2021) is a fresh edition of a book that’s widely regarded as the job-hunter’s bible. It’s packed with classic exercises and time-tested strategies that empower prospective employees to find, and secure, the role they want. This new edition contains essential updates that speak to the contemporary job market.

• Job-seekers wondering if they’ll ever land a coveted role
• Fed-up employees who are ready to take on a new career challenge
• Prospective entrepreneurs who need a kick start

Interviewology (2024) introduces a groundbreaking approach to mastering job interviews. Offering four practical strategies to interviews based on personality type, it presents expert-validated methods that help both interviewers and interviewees perform better. By guiding readers through their own unique type and strategies, it emphasizes building confidence, effectively communicating strengths, and navigating social dynamics to increase the chances of acing an interview.

• Job seekers looking to improve their interview performance
• Recent graduates entering the job market for the first time
• HR professionals aiming to enhance their hiring processes

I Hate Job Interviews (2024) provides a comprehensive system for mastering job interviews, offering frameworks and techniques to tackle a wide variety of questions with confidence. It equips you with tools to craft compelling examples, practice effectively, and negotiate salary, all aimed at helping you stand out and secure your desired positions.

• Recent college graduates entering the job market
• Job seekers preparing for important interviews
• Mid-career professionals seeking new opportunities

I Need a Job! (2025) addresses the reality of modern job searching, where simply updating and distributing your resume no longer works. It outlines a comprehensive strategy for success in today’s competitive hiring environment, balancing practical tools with timeless principles centered on authenticity, targeted networking, and genuine human connection. It equips you with actionable guidance – from understanding yourself to mastering interviews – so you can stand out and land the opportunity you want.

• Job seekers at any career stage or level
• Professionals seeking career advancement or industry change
• Anyone frustrated by traditional job search methods