1. What Are Your Weaknesses?

This is the most dreaded question of all. Handle it by minimizing your weakness and emphasizing yourstrengths. Stay away
from personal qualities and concentrate on professional traits: "I am always working on improving my communication skills
to be a more effective presenter. I recently joined Toastmasters, which I find very helpful."
2. Why Should We Hire You?
Summarize your experiences: "With five years' experience working in the financial industry and my proven record of saving
the company money, I could make a big difference in your company. I'm confident I would be a great addition to your team."
3. Why Do You Want to Work Here?
The interviewer is listening for an answer that indicates you've given this some thought and are not sending out resumes just
because there is an opening. For example, "I've selected key companies whose mission statements are in line with
my values, where I know I could be excited about what the company does, and this company is very high on my list of
desirable choices."
4. What Are Your Goals?
Sometimes it's best to talk about short-term and intermediate goals rather than locking yourself into the distant future. For
example, "My immediate goal is to get a job in a growth-oriented company. My long-term goal will depend on where the
company goes. I hope to eventually grow into a position of responsibility."
5. Why Did You Leave (Or Why Are You Leaving) Your Job?
If you're unemployed, state your reason for leaving in a positive context: "I managed to survive two rounds of corporate
downsizing, but the third round was a 20 percent reduction in the workforce, which included me."
If you are employed, focus on what you want in your next job: "After two years, I made the decision to look for a company
that is team-focused, where I can add my experience."
6. When Were You Most Satisfied in Your Job?
The interviewer wants to know what motivates you. If you can relate an example of a job or project when you were excited,
the interviewer will get an idea of your preferences. "I was very satisfied in my last job, because I worked directly with the
customers and their problems; that is an important part of the job for me."
7. What Can You Do for Us That Other Candidates Can't?
What makes you unique? This will take an assessment of your experiences, skills and traits. Summarize concisely: "I have a
unique combination of strong technical skills, and the ability to build strong customer relationships. This allows me to use my
knowledge and break down information to be more user-friendly."
8. What Are Three Positive Things Your Last Boss Would Say About You?
It's time to pull out your old performance appraisals and boss's quotes. This is a great way to brag about yourself through
someone else's words: "My boss has told me that I am the best designer he has ever had. He knows he can rely on me, and
he likes my sense of humor."
9. What Salary Are You Seeking?

It is to your advantage if the employer tells you the range first. Prepare by knowing the going rate in your area, and your
bottom line or walk-away point. One possible answer would be: "I am sure when the time comes, we can agree on a
reasonable amount. In what range do you typically pay someone with my background?"
10. If You Were an Animal, Which One Would You Want to Be?
Interviewers use this type of psychological question to see if you can think quickly. If you answer "a bunny," you will make a
soft, passive impression. If you answer "a lion," you will be seen as aggressive. What type of personality would it take to get
the job done? What impression do you want to make?
Do You Have the Skills to Do the Job?
According to Karsh, the employer must first determine whether you have the necessary hard skills for the position, e.g., the
programming knowledge for a database administration job or the writing chops to be a newspaper reporter. "By really
probing into what the candidate has done in the past, an interviewer can tap into hard skills."
But the interviewer is also looking for key soft skills you'll need to succeed in the job and organization, such as the ability to
work well on teams or "the requisite common sense to figure things out with some basic training," says Terese Corey Blanck,
director of student development at internship company Student Experience and a partner in College to Career, a consulting
firm.
Do You Fit?
"Every organization's first thought is about fit and potentially fit in a certain department," Corey Blanck says. That means the
interviewer is trying to pinpoint not only whether you match up well with both the company's and department's activities but
also whether you'll complement the talents of your potential coworkers.
Do You Understand the Company and Its Purpose?
If the organization fits well with your career aspirations, you'll naturally be motivated to do good work there -- and stay more
than a month or two, Corey Blanck reasons. "I don't want someone to take the position because it's a job and it fits their
skills," she says. "I want them to be excited about our mission and what we do."
How Do You Stack Up Against the Competition?
You're being evaluated in relation to other candidates for the job. In other words, this test is graded on a curve. So the
interviewer will constantly be comparing your performance with that of the other candidates'.
Do You Have the Right Mind-Set for the Job and Company?
"I'm always looking for someone who has a can-do type of attitude," Corey Blanck explains. "I want someone who wants to
be challenged and is internally motivated to do well.
Corey Blanck points out that an employer can't train for this essential trait. "But you can hire for it," she says. "And if you
don't, you'll end up with a lower-performing employee."
Do You Want the Job?
Most employers know better than to believe everyone they interview actually wants the position being offered. They
understand some candidates are exploring their options, while others are using an interview with a company they don't care
about to hone their interview skills.
So you have to prove you really want the job, says Al Pollard, senior college recruiter for Countrywide Financial. "I use the
ditch-digger analogy," he says. "Many of us can dig ditches, but few are willing to -- and even fewer want to."
The Most Popular Interview Q & As

Funny how we know we always get the same questions in interviews, but how many of us actually anticipate the
questions and prepare stock answers? By anticipating these simple but very engaging questions you will not only
come across and confident but professional and prepared.
What are your weaknesses?
This is not the time to be telling your future employer whats wrong with you, but an opportunity to sell yourself.
By turning this potentially negative question into a positive you will protect yourself confidently and positively
therefore making potential weakness into strengths.

Being organized wasnt really one of my strong points, but implemented a time management system that improved
me to organize my day and ensured that priority tasks were completed. That way I found that I had more time in each
day instead of less and I was more productive as a result.

How do you Handle Stress and Pressure?

This again is a typical interview question, asked to get a sense of how you handle work load and pressure in the job.
Examples of good responses include:

I actually work better under pressure, I find it motivates me

By prioritizing my responsibilities so that I have a clear idea of what needs to be done and how in this way being
organized helps to minimize potential pressure

Tell Me about Yourself

This is a great one, the most common question, often thrown in at the beginning of an interview and it never fails to
un nerve the candidate. No one feels comfortable talking about themselves, but this is your golden opportunity to sell
yourself. Here what they really want to see is how you articulate yourself. Interviewers use this moment in the
interview to study your body language and posture, your level of eye contact. During this moment they can really get
a sense of who you are so be prepared for this moment in the spot light. Do not wing it prepare in advance, they do
not want chapter and verse or your life story but a few confident examples that describe who you really are that will
set the tone for the rest of the interview.

I have 100 applicants for this position -Why Should I hire you?
Bam! You know the question is coming but are you ready for it? If you cannot answer this question then exactly why
are you even in the interview? Because I am good just wont cut it I am afraid. Think about this question carefully
and prepare the answer in advance. Think about your unique selling points, your strengths, all the skills that and
experience that you have that will set you apart from the rest. Often recruiters try a different way to ask the same
question such as If I asked your previous employers or your previous staff what they thought of you what would
they say about you?
What motivates you?
Here there isnt a right or a wrong answer for this one but what the recruiter is trying to understand here with this
question is what would be key to you being successful in the job you are being interviewed for. Again anticipate this
question and prepare for it. Consider what really does motivate you and give some examples during your interview.
Emphasize your enthusiasm when answering this question:

I was responsible for several large scale projects where I directed development teams and implemented new
structured processes. The teams achieved 100% productivity and reached their deadlines. I was highly motivated by the
challenge of completing the project ahead of schedule and in budget and by managing the teams who achieved their
goals and targets.

What are your salary expectations?

Before you start talking about pay and negotiating salary with a prospective employer you need to find out what the
industry standard for pay is for that role and consider also more importantly your worth and value to your prospective
employer. In order to do this you will need to spend some time researching salaries so that you are prepared to get
what you are worth, not to mention a job offer that is reasonable and realistic.

Basic Interview Questions:

Tell me about yourself.

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

Why do you want this job?

Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?

What's your ideal company?

What attracted you to this company?

Why should we hire you?

What did you like least about your last job?

When were you most satisfied in your job?

What can you do for us that other candidates can't?

What were the responsibilities of your last position?

Why are you leaving your present job?

What do you know about this industry?

What do you know about our company?

Are you willing to relocate?

Do you have any questions for me?

Behavioral Interview Questions:

What was the last project you headed up, and what was its outcome?
Give me an example of a time that you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.
Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
If I were your supervisor and asked you to do something that you disagreed with, what would you do?
What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
Give me an example of a time you did something wrong. How did you handle it?
What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
If you were at a business lunch and you ordered a rare steak and they brought it to you well done, what would
you do?

If you found out your company was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you do?

What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?

What's the most difficult decision you've made in the last two years and how did you come to that decision?

Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day,
and there was no conceivable way that you could finish them.
Salary Questions:

What salary are you seeking?

What's your salary history?
If I were to give you this salary you requested but let you write your job description for the next year, what would
it say?