Many people agonize over writing a résumé, and often for good reason. It is challenging and difficulty to write an effective, creative résumé that gets results. Most prospective employers decide after reading the first few lines whether or not they want to interview you. Add to that the vast sea of competitive candidates with whom you're going head to head, and suddenly the entire process of crafting a winning résumé can seem daunting, if not impossible.

By Arlene Hirsch

(Article from CareerJournal.com: The Wall Street Journal Executive Career Site)

Many job hunters are poorly prepared to interview. They believe that since they're smart people who can think on their feet, they can "wing it" in interviews and still make a great impression on hiring managers. In most cases, they're wrong.

Unless you've spent a lot of time job hunting (successfully) in recent years, you're probably not ready to convince company interviewers to extend you an offer. Once you're willing to admit that you need help to become more effective in interviews, your education can begin -- with the following 10 proven rules to interviewing success:

There are no magic questions and no magic answers during an interview. So says R. Wendell Williams, managing director of the Emergenetics Consulting Group in Atlanta.

But there is a method to most interviews, says Williams. Understand the method and strategy and you're more likely to deliver killer answers that will leave your competition in the dust. "You should go into interviews knowing there are four broad personal skill areas that can influence your chances of being hired," he says. "These are your ability to: 1) learn and solve problems; 2) plan and organize work; 3) get things done through people; and 4) show evidence of your motivations and interests. Williams offers, 10 hypothetical questions: