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Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 5. Honour thy father and thy mother. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 10. Thou shalt not covet.

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"Tell me a little about yourself." When responding to this request, you should focus on both your personal and professional values. Always be honest, but talk about your best traits only, especially those that relate to the position for which you are applying. Highlight experiences and accomplishments you are most proud of. Here's an example: 4. "I'm an experienced communications specialist with extensive knowledge of public information tools and techniques. I've developed comprehensive communication plans for major public events, written dozens of articles accepted by worldwide publications, and created specialized educational programs for adults and students. I am always eager to learn new methods and procedures, and have implemented continuous improvement techniques in my past positions that saved money and increased productivity. I like working with people and enjoy group projects, but am also a self-starter who doesn't mind working on my own. I'm a volunteer with the local chapter of Special Olympics and enjoy participating in community events. My goals are to complete my Master's Degree and broaden my experiences with community relations." 5. Remember to tailor your response to the specific job. By studying the job announcement, you'll get a good idea of the skills and experience being sought. Work those into your response. 6. Consider this your own personal commercial. If the interview consisted of only this ONE chance to sell yourself, what would you say? 7. "What do you feel has been your greatest work-related accomplishment?" 8. Choose one example from your past that was important to you and helped the company you worked for. Give specific details about what you did, how you did it, and what the results were. Try to pick an accomplishment that relates to the position for which you are applying. Employers like to hear about accomplishments that reduced expenses, raised revenues, solved problems or enhanced a company's reputation. 9. "What is your greatest strength?" 10. This is a great chance to highlight your best skills. Don't pick just one, focus on your top three or four. Some examples are: leadership skills, team-building skills, and organizational skills. Determine which strengths would fit best with the position for which you are applying. For example, if the job announcement stresses the ability to handle multiple tasks, you could say: "I'm good at organizational skills, prioritization and time

management. But my greatest strength is my ability to effectively handle multiple projects and deadlines." 11. "What is your greatest weakness?" 12. Be careful with this one. Most interview guides will tell you to answer it with a positive trait disguised as a weakness. For example, "I tend to expect others to work as hard as I do," or "I'm a bit of a perfectionist." Interviewers have heard these "canned" answers over and over again. To stand out, be more original and state a true weakness, but then emphasize what you've done to overcome it. For example: "I've had trouble delegating duties to others because I felt I could do things better myself. This has sometimes backfired because I'd end up with more than I could handle and the quality of my work would suffer. But I've taken courses in time management and learned effective delegation techniques, and I feel I've overcome this weakness." IMPORTANT: Be sure the weakness you talk about is NOT a key element of the position! "How do you handle stressful situations?" Give some examples of stressful situations you've dealt with in the past. Tell how you use time management, problem-solving or decision-making skills to reduce stress. For example, tell them that making a "to-do" list helps. Site stress-reducing techniques such as stretching and taking a break. Don't be afaid to admit that you will ask for assistance if you are feeling overwhelmed. If it's true, say you actually work better under pressure. "What is the toughest problem you've had to face, and how did you overcome it?" Try to make this about a problem that faced your company and not just you or your particular work group. The bigger the problem, the better. Give specific examples of the skills and techniques you used to resolve this problem. Emphasize the successful results. Be generous in sharing credit if it was a team effort, but be sure to highlight your specific role. "Have you ever had to discipline a problem employee? If so, how did you handle it?" This is a likely question if the position for which you are applying requires supervisory duties. Explain how you used problemsolving skills, listening skills, and coaching skills to help the employee. If those techniques turned the employee around, be sure to say so. If those techniques failed, tell how you followed the company's policies and what the end result was. "Why do you want this position?" Here's where your research about the company will help you stand out among the other candidates. Explain how you've always wanted the opportunity to work with a company that... provides a vital public service, leads the industry in innovative products, whatever... find something specific about that company that you can tie in with your answer. Explain how your qualifications and goals complement the company's mission, vision and values (use specific examples). If you are applying for a position in a company for which you already work, explain how you'll be able to apply and expand on the knowledge and experience you've gained from your current position, and will be

able to increase your contributions and value to the company through your new responsibilities. 22. "Why are you the best person for this job?" 23. As with all other questions, be confident and enthusiastic when you answer this. Don't try to say you are the best qualified person, because you don't know the qualifications of the other applicants. Instead, emphasize several reasons why you should be hired. For example: "I've got extensive experience in [name the appropriate field] and have the specific skills you are looking for. I'm a fast learner who adapts quickly to change and will hit the ground running. I'm dedicated and enthusiastic about helping your company meet its goals, and will provide topquality results with minimal oversite. I'm an outstanding performer who takes pride in my work. You won't have any regrets when you hire me." What is Your Greatest Weakness? 24. When I'm working on a project, I don't want just to meet deadlines. Rather, I prefer to complete the project well ahead of schedule. 25. Being organized wasn't my strongest point, but I implemented a time management system that really helped my organization skills. 26. I like to make sure that my work is perfect, so I tend to perhaps spend a little too much time checking it. However, I've come to a good balance by setting up a system to ensure everything is done correctly the first time. 27. I used to wait until the last minute to set appointments for the coming week, but I realized that scheduling in advance makes much more sense. What is Your Greatest Strength? When I'm working on a project, I don't want just to meet deadlines. Rather, I prefer to complete the project well ahead of schedule. I have exceeded my sales goals every quarter and I've earned a bonus each year since I started with my current employer. My time management skills are excellent and I'm organized, efficient, and take pride in excelling at my work. I pride myself on my customer service skills and my ability to resolve what could be difficult situations. What Motivates You? I was responsible for several projects where I directed development teams and implemented repeatable processes. The teams achieved 100% on-time delivery of software products. I was motivated both by the challenge of finishing the projects ahead of schedule and by managing the teams that achieved our goals. I've always been motivated by the desire to do a good job at whatever position I'm in. I want to excel and to be successful in my job, both for my own personal satisfaction and for my employer. I have always wanted to ensure that my company's clients get the best customer service I can provide. I've always felt that it's important, both to me personally, and for the company and the clients, to provide a positive customer experience.

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I have spent my career in sales, typically in commission-based positions, and compensation has always been a strong factor in motivating me to be the top salesperson at my prior employers.

talents. Be sure to put a monetary value on your work if at all possible and be ready with details when you're called upon. Give an estimated value to the $$ you've either helped to make or save for your employer. Be Prepared When you walk into an interview, remember to always expect the "tell me about yourself" question. Prepare ahead of time by developing your own personal branding statement that clearly tells who you are, your major strength and the clear benefit that your employer received. The advantages of this approach are that you'll quickly gain their attention and interest them in knowing more. You'll separate yourself from your competitors. You'll also have a higher chance of being positively remembered and hired. ===============

Tell Me About Yourself You walk into the interview room, shake hands with your interviewer and sit down with your best interviewing smile on. Guess what their first question is? "Tell me about yourself." Do you "wing it" and actually tell all manner of things about yourself? Will you spend the next 5 minutes rambling on about what an easy-going, loyal, dedicated, hard working employee you've been? If this is the case, you stand a good chance of having bored your interviewer to death thus creating a negative first impression. Because it's such a common interview question, it's strange that more candidates don't spend the time to prepare for exactly how to answer it. Perhaps because the question seems so disarming and informal, we drop our guard and shift into ramble mode. Resist all temptation to do so. Your interviewer is not looking for a 10-minute dissertation here. Instead, offer a razor sharp sentence or two that sets the stage for further discussion and sets you apart from your competitors. Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Give them "your synopsis about you" answer, specifically your Unique Selling Proposition. Known as a personal branding or a value-added statement, the USP is a succinct, one-sentence description of who you are, your biggest strength and the major benefit that a company will derive from this strength. Here is an example of a Unique Selling Proposition: "I'm a seasoned Retail Manager strong in developing training programs and loss prevention techniques that have resulted in revenue savings of over $2.3Million for (employer's name) during the past 11 years." What a difference you've made with this statement. Your interviewer is now sitting forward in her chair giving you her full attention. At this point, you might add the following sentence: "I'd like to discuss how I might be able to do something like that for you." The ball is now back in her court and you have the beginnings of a real discussion and not an interrogation process. Be Specific The key is that you must lead with your strongest benefit to the employer. Be specific and don't wander about with some laundry list of skills or

Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? I am equally comfortable working as a member of a team and independently. In researching the LMN company, your mission statement and the job description, I could see similarities to my previous position where there were some assignments that required a great deal of independent work and research and others where the team effort was most effective. As I said, I'm comfortable with both. In high school, I enjoyed playing soccer and performing with the marching band. Each required a different kind of team play, but the overall goal of learning to be a member of a group was invaluable. I continued to grow as team member while on my sorority's debate team and through my advanced marketing class where we had numerous team assignments. I'm very comfortably working on a team, but I can also work independently, as well. Why Do You Want This Job? This is not only a fine opportunity, but this company is a place where my qualifications can make a difference. As a finance executive well versed in the new stock options law, I see this position as made to order. It contains the challenge to keep me on my toes. That's the kind of job I like to anticipate every morning. I want this job because it seems tailored to my competencies, which include sales and marketing. As I said earlier, in a previous position I created an annual growth rate of 22 percent in a flat industry. Additionally, the team I would work with looks terrific. I well understand that this is a company on the way up. Your Web site says the launch of several new products is imminent. I want be a part of this business as it grows.

Having worked through a college business major building decks and porches for neighbors, this entry-level job for the area's most respected home builder has my name on it. As a dedicated technician, I like doing essential research. Being part of a breakthrough team is an experience I'd love to repeat. This job is a good fit for what I've been interested in throughout my career. It offers a nice mix of short- and long-term activities. My short-term achievements keep me cranked up and the long-term accomplishments make me feel like a billion bucks. I want this job selling theater tickets because I'd be good at it. I'm good at speaking to people and handling cash. I would like a job with regular hours and I'm always on time. Although some companies are replacing Americans with imported low-wage workers, you are standing tall. This company's successful strategies, good reputation and values make it heads and shoulders above its competition. I'd fit right in as a counter clerk in your fine drycleaners. I have observed that the counter clerk position requires competence at handling several activities in quick order -- customer service, payments, bagging and phones. I like multitasking and, as a homemaker, I have a lot of practice in keeping all the balls in the air. The work I find most stimulating allows me to use both my creative and research skills. The buzz on this company is that it rewards people who deliver solutions to substantial problems.

Why Should We Hire You? A typical interview question, asked to get your opinion, or to validate the interviewer's opinion, on why you would be the best candidate for the position, is "Why should we hire you?" The best way to respond is to give concrete examples of why your skills and accomplishments make you the best candidate for the job. Take a few moments to compare the job description with your abilities, as well as mentioning what you have accomplished in your other positions. Be positive and reiterate your interest in the company and the position. What Are Your Goals for the Future? My long-term goals involve growing with a company where I can continue to learn, take on additional responsibilities, and contribute as much of value as I can. I see myself as a top performing employee in a well-established organization, like this one. I plan on enhancing my skills and continuing my involvement in (related) professional associations. Once I gain additional experience, I would like to move on from a technical position to management. In the XYZ Corporation, what is a typical career path for someone with my skills and experiences?

1. How would you describe yourself? Sample excellent response: My background to date has been centered around preparing myself to become the very best financial consultant I can become. Let me tell you specifically how I've prepared myself. I am an undergraduate student in finance and accounting at _________ University. My past experiences has been in retail and higher education. Both aspects have prepared me well for this career. See also this page of our Job Interviewing Tutorial. 2. What specific goals, including those related to your occupation, have you established for your life? Sample excellent response: I want to be working for an excellent company like yours in a job in which I am managing information. I plan to contribute my leadership, interpersonal, and technical skills. My long-range career goal is to be the best information systems technician I can for the company I work for. See also this page of our Job Interviewing Tutorial. 3. How has your college experience prepared you for a business career? Sample excellent response: I have prepared myself to transition into the the work force through realworld experience involving travel abroad,internship, and entrepreneurial opportunities. While interning with a private organization in Ecuador, I developed a 15-page marketing plan composed in Spanish that recommended more effective ways the company could promote its services. I also traveled abroad on two other occasions in which I researched the indigenous culture of the Mayan Indians in Todos Santos, Guatemala, and participate din a total language immersion program in Costa Rica. As you can see from my academic, extracurricular, and experiential background, I have unconditionally committed myself to success as a marketing professional. See also this page of our Job Interviewing Tutorial. 4. Please describe the ideal job for you following graduation. Sample excellent response (equates ideal job with job he's interviewing for): My ideal job is one that incorporates both my education and practical work skills to be the best I can be. Namely combining my education in finance with my working knowledge of customer service operations, entrepreneurial abilities, computer skills, and administrative skills. I want to utilize my analytical expertise to help people meet their financial goals.

This is exactly why I am convinced that I would be a very valuable member of the Merrill Lynch team. See also this page of our Job Interviewing Tutorial. 5. What influenced you to choose this career? Sample excellent response: My past experiences have shown me that I enjoy facing and overcoming the challenge of making a sale. Without a doubt, once I have practiced my presentation and prepared myself for objections, I feel very confident approaching people I don't know and convincing them that they need my product. Lastly, I like sales because my potential for success is limited only by how much of myself I dedicate toward my goal. If any profession is founded on self-determinism, it surely must be sales. See also this page of our Job Interviewing Tutorial. 6. At what point did you choose this career? Sample excellent response: I knew that I wanted to pursue information systems technology about my sophomore year in college. It was then that I realized that my that my hobby (computers) was taking up most of my time. My favorite courses were IT courses. I also realized that I was doing computer-oriented workstudy that I enjoyed so much I would have done it for free. 7. What specific goals have you established for your career? Sample excellent response: My goals include becoming a Certified Financial Advisor so I can obtain a better working knowledge of financial research analysis, which would allow me contribute to my client base as a better financial consultant since I would have that extra insight into the companies they are seeking to invest in. Also this is the foundation block to advancing my career to portfolio manager or even branch officemanager. See also this page of our Job Interviewing Tutorial. 8. What will it take to attain your goals, and what steps have you taken toward attaining them? Sample excellent response: I've already done some research on other workers at Merrill Lynch to see how they achieved similar goals. I know that Merrill Lynch encourages the pursuit and will reimburse for tuition of a graduate degree. I plan on pursuing a MBA to give me an even more extensive knowledge of business and financial analysis. Tell me about yourself.

When responding to this request, you should focus on both your personal and professional values. Always be honest, but talk about your best traits only, especially those that relate to the position for which you are applying. Highlight experiences and accomplishments you are most proud of. Here's an example: "I'm an experienced communications specialist with extensive knowledge of public information tools and techniques. I've developed comprehensive communication plans for major public events, written dozens of articles accepted by worldwide publications, and created specialized educational programs for adults and students. I am always eager to learn new methods and procedures, and have implemented continuous improvement techniques in my past positions that saved money and increased productivity. I like working with people and enjoy group projects, but am also a self-starter who doesn't mind working on my own. I'm a volunteer with the local chapter of Special Olympics and enjoy participating in community events. My goals are to complete my Master's Degree and broaden my experiences with community relations." Remember to tailor your response to the specific job. By studying the job announcement, you'll get a good idea of the skills and experience being sought. Work those into your response. Consider this your own personal commercial. If the interview consisted of only this ONE chance to sell yourself, what would you say?

I am a productive go-getter, and have loved a challenge since I was a child. I'm eager to learn new things, and provide enthusiasm and professionalism to your company Why do you apply for this position? I feel like this position will best utilize my learned skills, and at that, I feel very comfortable in the field of (name).I'm sure that it won't take any adjustment time at all! For this reason, I believe this position is perfect for a person of my set-skills and would be of beneficial for the employer, as there will be no need for any extra time spent on training or settling in. What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? My weakness is that I talk too fast when I am excited about something work related. I have taken steps to slow it down by forcing myself to slow down and think before I speak. Weakness 1. Sensitive person: Taking things to heart and getting too disappointed when things are done in the wrong way. 2. Too helpful crossing limits while helping teammates. 3. My weakeness is workholic, i keep working until the job is completely

done. 4. I want to improve my communication skills currentley i am working on my communication skills. 5. I talk too fast when I am excited about something work related. I have taken steps to slow it down by forcing myself to slow down and think before I speak.

Pressure is actually a catalyst to my work. When there is an imperative deadline, I refocus my energy into my work which in fact, has helped me to produce some of my best works. (Give examples) I guess you can say I thrive under pressure. I dont think its enough to state that you work well/thrive under pressure. This is definitely a place to demonstrate with a few examples of how youve handled it in the past. Pressure is an important gauge to measure a persons tolerance and patience. The more details you can put into the story draws a realistic picture, perhaps even putting the interviewer in your shoes for that moment in time. Include key facts and words that reiterate the demands the situation entailed such as time constraints or offer quantitative data. What are your short-term goals? Long-term? my short term goals would be to learn my job the best that i can. and to prove that i am a hard worker. my long term goals would be to excell in my job and hopefully suggest some helpful or easier ways of doing some things that will be helpful to my team of workers. My short term goal is to develop the necessay skills and experience needed in my field. My long term goal is to climb up the corporate ladder in the organization, to achieve somewhere in the managerial porition. To be meeting clients, discussing their goals and how can I help them as a company Most importantly, I wish to achieve financial independence. My short term goal is to gain employment in a company where I can use my skills and abilities to meet the needs of the company. I want to be part of a team where I am encouraged to learn new skills and be challenged and rewarded for excellent performance. my long term I see myself in a top management level position where I will be contributing and sharing my knowledge and experience with others for the betterment of company employees, clients and shareholders.

It's not that I'm advising on disguising a strength for a "weakness". I feel the order of these two changes the whole aspect and its entity. My point was to show the process in which the "weakness" has turned into a neutral or even more progressively, a strength. For example, "I'm a perfectionist" or Im a workaholic is a strength in disguise as a weakness. It really isnt a serious flaw unless it becomes detrimental to the work. Even then, trying to describe how you are no longer a perfectionist/workaholic doesnt sound too appeasing either. Give original answers. Jenn was on the right track with her example quote. If you have trouble using excel, mention how youve taken progressive steps to fix this weakness by computer classes, online forum discussions, etc. But ending it there isnt enough. To really sell yourself, I recommend that you show that *up, up and beyond* attitude. Like a great selling pitch would be, I finished my Excel computer class with a 4.0. Now I am proud to say I am more than proficient at Excel.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This is a continuous learning question. The employer wants to see that you are self-motivated and aspiring for bigger and better things. Do keep in mind that this is still an interview question, so relate it back to the job on hand but talk about the growth within the company that you are looking forward to. I am interested in long-term commitment and stability. This is a position that Ive had my eyes on for awhile, and as long as it provides me with the opportunity to grow within the company, I would love to stay here and make it my future career path. Im confident that when given the chance to prove my fully-qualified skills, you will agree that I am a great investment for this company now and in the future as well. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure. This does not have to be work related. Pressure is an everyday struggle, so draw from different strenuous experiences that best frame your ability to work under pressure.