Chemists are to be creative, careful, and productive.It is a career for people who think about the future. In the commercial sector, they find new uses and applications for it. In the academic sector, they study the implications of newly discovered chemical properties. Specific duties may include modeling, analysis, synthesis, research, limited fieldwork, or even sales and information management. Chemists should be challenged, excited and satisfied with the profession in which the majority spend their entire careers.

As in all matters of your interview, never fake familiarity you don't have. Yet you don't want to seem like a dullard who hasn't read a book since Tom Sawyer .

BEST ANSWER:  Unless you're up for a position in academia or as book critic for The New York Times, you're not expected to be a literary lion.  But it wouldn't hurt to have read a handful of the most recent and influential books in your profession and on management.

Consider it part of the work of your job search to read up on a few of these leading books.  But make sure they are quality books that reflect favorably upon you, nothing that could even remotely be considered superficial.  Finally, add a recently published bestselling work of fiction by a world-class author and you'll pass this question with flying colors.