You should read this book before you starting writing any C++. The info is also quite useful to know before a job interview. C++ gives you enough rope to hang yourself, but this book describes the way you SHOULD be doing things.

The third edition is great. It includes relevant information about TR1, and is very up to date. I also found it useful when the author would compare C++ features to those in Java or .Net.

Before your programming skills actually improve, you might be asked what a member initialization list is in a phone interview…