A. The first few questions are often small talk intended to put you at ease, like Did you get stuck in the traffic?. Don't go into a lengthy discussion, since no one really cares. Do try to relax. It's easier to evaluate a relaxed candidate, and they also make better impressions.

The correct answer to the question How are you? is always Fine, thank you - not I'm having a lousy day, even if the latter statement is factually right.

The rest of the interview questions address the following concerns:

• Are you capable of doing the job (technically and personally)?
  
• Will you fit into the team?
  
• Will you last in this position and with this employer?
  

Examples of technical questions asked in various fields are beyond the scope of this document. Generally, technical questions are comparable to essay-type found on a final exam for a college-level course.

Definition questions. When an interviewer asks for a technical definition, she is, hopefully, not testing whether you've memorised a reference book, but is assessing your communication skills: would you be able to explain this if asked by a junior person who really doesn't know the answer? Here, a brief answer that barely shows that you know what you're talking about is not the best.

HR questions. In addition to the technical interview specific to each field of endeavor, a candidate should be prepared to answer these common h.r. questions. The candidate should especially be ready to answer the questions she'd rather not be asked.

Tell me about yourself.
You should expect this question, or a variant of it, and prepare a short speech. Split your answer into:

• work and study background. Talk about your work experience, skills, education, and goals that relate to the job for which you're applying.
  
• your personal life, leisure, and home activities. This is entirely optional; hobbies other than competitive sports are seldom of interest to the interviewer, and your marital status is probably irrelevant.
  

How would you describe yourself?

Discuss positive, work-related attitude. E.g., suggest that you get along well with people, are committed, loyal, etc.

How would someone who knows you well describe you?
Put all the positive things you said about yourself into your co-workers' mouths.

Describe your best friend and what s/he does for a living. In what ways are you similar or dissimilar to your best friend?
Interviewers assume that best friends are alike, so this is another way of asking you to describe yourself. Describe a person they'd like to hire.

What was the last book you read? What was the last movie you saw?
Name a non-fiction self-improvement book (e.g., one about time management) and a popular, non-controversial movie.

Why do you think you are the best applicant for the position? What makes you unique?
Emphasize the qualities that you don't expect most other candidates to have. Don't put down other candidates (e.g., I suppose most other people you've interviewed didn't know X as well as I do is not a nice thing to say even if you are the world's greatest expert on X).

How do you handle the least interesting or least pleasant tasks of a job?
A good answer might be, Every job in this field has routine tasks, which have to be done, too. Doing them is part of the satisfaction of doing the job well. They make the chances to be creative even more satisfying.

Do you manage your time well?

How well do you handle change?

How do you go about making important decisions?

What factors are important to you in a job?

What kind of work environment do you prefer?

To what managerial style do you respond best?

For what type of organization do you want to work?

What would you ideally like to do?

How does your ideal job stack up against the description of the job you're applying for?

How do you feel about: pressure, deadlines, travel, relocating, overtime, weekend work? Sound as flexible as possible. If the job description doesn't call for these, you probably won't see them. The company wants to know that you can be counted on in an emergency.

Do you have a geographic preference? Are you willing to travel?

How do you evaluate success?

How do you define failure?

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Do you work well under pressure? Of course, all candidates say yes. Be prepared to give an example where you performed well in a stressful situation not caused by your own procrastination or failure to anticipate problems.

Do you anticipate problems well or merely react to them?

Would you describe yourself as a risk-taker, or someone who plays it safe?

What are your major strengths/weaknesses?
Try to answer such negative questions with a positive response. For example, say, Some people consider me a perfectionist, or I'm too detail-oriented. I always try to get things right. An employer will be happy to put up with such weaknesses. Saying, I don't have any weaknesses worth mentioning, indicates that you don't know yourself very well (poor self-assessment). Something like, I get angry when people don't work as hard as they should, but I see very little of that at my current job, is good too.

How do you compensate for your weaknesses on the job?
Saying something like, I'm not as organised as I'd like to be, so what I now do is to use checklists. I've found this a great help, shows that you not only realise you have a failing, but have successfully used a strategy to combat it. Other examples:

• I tend to take on too much myself, so I'm trying to delegate more.
  
• I'm impatient with delays, so I'm trying to learn more about the process to anticipate holdups in the future.
  
• I think I may be a workaholic, so I'm reading books on time management.
  
• Don't ever admit to any quality that hampers job performance, such as laziness, procrastination, or lack of concentration.
  

If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?

What are the skills you most need to develop to advance your career?

What do your supervisors tend to criricize most about your performance?

How did you do on your last performance appraisal?

Have you done this type of work before?
Link your transferrable skills directly to the employer's needs, especially when their applicability may not be obvious.

What have you learned from your previous work experience?

What were your most memorable accomplishments in your last job? Of your career?
Focus on your most recent accomplishments, relevant to the position you seek.

Have you recently established any new objectives or goals?

Do you know (the employer's specific tool or software package)?
Avoid answering no to such questions. Instead substitute strength for weaknesses: describe your proficiency in similar tools and packages, and express confidence that you can quickly attain proficiency in this one.

Do you prefer to work by yourself or with others?

How did you get along with your former boss and co-workers?

How do you generally handle conflict?

How do you behave when you're having a problem with a co-worker?

The successful candidate will work alongside some highly trained people who have been with the company for a long time. How will you fit in with them? Display your eagerness to learn from co-workers.

What did you enjoy most / least about your previous job?
Avoid being negative.

Describe your best and your worst boss?
For the best boss, you might say that you enjoyed working with someone who was interested in helping you learn and grow, involved with monitoring your progress, and generous about giving credit when it was due. If this is true, then you're lucky.

For the worst boss, avoid accusations that might reflect badly on you. For instance, saying that a boss always looked over your shoulder makes the interviewer question why you couldn't be trusted to work independently. On the other hand, saying that a former boss was stingy with knowledge accentuates your desire to learn.

Looking back on the experience now, do you think there was anything you could have done to improve the relationship with that one bad boss? Use this opportunity to demonstrate your experience and maturity.

What were your typical duties in your previous job?

Did you inaugurate any new procedures / systems / policies in any of your past positions?
Demonstrate your creativity. List all the great ideas you've had which couldn't be implemented due to circumstances beyond your control (e.g., no financing).

What kind of people do you work with best?

How many days a year did you miss at your last job? Why? How is your health?

What do you do to stay in shape?

Do you have any physical problems that may limit your ability to perform this job? This is a perfectly legitimate question - you shouldn't apply for a data entry job if you're suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. On the other hand, health problems that don't affect your ability to perform the job are none of the employer's business.

What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you?

What do you like to do in your free time?
Any sports or community activity is a plus, but don't mention activities that might result in a long sick leave, or contraversial (hunting or religious proselytizing).

Are you still employed at the last firm listed on your resume?

Have you ever been fired? Why?
Stress what you learned from the experience.

Why did you leave your last job?
Don't badmouth your former employer, even if he deserves it. Unfortunately, being fired/laid off reflects negatively on a candidate even if the layoff had nothing to do with his performance. An acceptable answer would be, I was one of the 5,000 people laid off when the sales fell.

Why are you looking for a new job?

Why are you looking to leave your present job?
Don't be negative. Don't criticize the existing position. One good answer is, I like my present job very much, but my potential for growth is limited because of its size. Reassure the interviewer that you're not running away from anything.

Will your present company be surprised that you leave?

If you don't leave your present job, what do you think will happen to your career? How far do you expect to advance with your present company?
Remember the adage: There's no better time to look for a new job than when you're happy with your old job. Don't sound like a desperate refugee. Say, Assuming that I'm not the successful candidate for this position... and convince the interviewer that you can make the most of the employment situation you said you want to leave.

If you have these complaints about your present company, and they think so highly of you, why haven't you brought these concerns to their attention?
A suitable answer might be: We talk quite openly about soe of the problems we have in keeping good performers.

When would you be available to start?
If you're currently unemployed, you can start right away. If you're currently employed, you should give two weeks' notice to your present employer. You should consider taking a short vacation, since you won't have any vacations for some time after starting on a new job.

Meanwhile, you can offer to come on evenings and weekends to familiarize yourself with the new position.

May I contact your current employer?
No. It's too likely to get you fired. You can say, Sure, you can, after we've come to an agreement. I think it's best if they hear about it from me first.

How long have you been looking for a job?
Employers are prejudiced against candidates who have been on the market for some time and haven't found anything. You can't hide your having been unemployed, but if you're still working, always say that you just started looking. Otherwise be prepared to explain why you haven't received or accepted any offers.

What were you doing since you left your last job?
If the break between the jobs was relatively long, it's better to say that you deliberately took some time off to be with your family or to learn new skills.

Have you been interviewing at other places?

Have you received any other offers?
It's better to say, Yes, I had an offer from X, but it wasn't right for me. I'm glad that I didn't accept, since now I have a shot at this position. than to say No, none of the 20 places I've interviewed with made me an offer.

However it's not safe to lie and claim to have received an offer when you didn't, since the employer may be able to check your claim.

Describe the best person who ever worked for you or with you.
This reveals the candidate's sensitivities.

What kind of people annoy you most?
Candidates usually mention traits that they do not possess. One good answer is, I'm too impatient with mediocre and slow workers. I don't expect to ever accept poor work, but I'm learning to be more patient.

What makes you angry/lose your temper?

What kind of people have trouble getting along with you?
If you answer none, the interviewer will not believe you. One good answer is, People who don't work as fast as I do resent it.

Give me an example of your creativity, problem-solving ability, initiative, willingness to work hard, reliability.
This is known as a behavioral question. A traditional hypothetical question (How would you address an angry customer?) calls for a theoretical answer (I'd be patient and polite), which may not represent what you'd do in a real situation. Behavioral questions ask for specific examples of past experiences, often negative, which are supposed to predict your future behavior in similar situations. They deal with probes, such as: assertiveness, clarification, commitment to task, dealing with ambiguity, decision-making, interaction, leadership, management skills, communication skills, organizational skills, problem-solving, team-building and others. One can prepare for such questions in advance by thinking of specific relevant examples (both successful and unsuccessful) for each probe. These examples may also be cited in response to non-behavioral (hypothetical) questions, and be more credible than theoretical answers.

What was your greatest failure?
Try to think of a failure that happened early in your career and/or had nothing to do with the job you're trying to get.

What are the toughest problems you have faced, and how did you handle them?

Have you ever handled an angry customer? What was the outcome?

Give me a specific example of a time when you didn't meet a deadline.
These are all variations of behavioral questions. A good answer to the last question was, I knew I wasn't likely to meet this deadline, but instead of accepting it, I stayed late and worked weekend. Still, I didn't make it.

Suppose your boss left an assignment in your mailbox and left for a week. You can't reach him, and you don't fully understand the assignment. What would you do?
This is an example of a situational question. Take a minute to think and to weight the alternatives. The correct answer is probably to approach your boss's boss for clarification, making sure that your question does not reflect badly on your boss.

Suppose your boss tells you to do something in a way that you know is dead wrong. What do you do?
The correct answer is probably to propose the alternative in the most deferential way possible, or to ask a knowledgeable person - not your boss's boss - for advice; but if he insists, do it his way.

What would you do if you were unfairly criticized by your boss?
The correct answer is probably to explain your point of view to him later, after the atmosphere has calmed.

If you had the last 10 years of your life to live over again / if you could start your career all over again, what would you do differently?

What was the biggest mistake you've ever made in choosing a job? Why?
Unless you're looking for a complete change of career, you can say that you wouldn't change a thing. Don't say, I wish I had never gotten into this field, but I guess now I'm stuck. Do say, I regret I didn't go into this direction sooner. I started in a different field that I really liked, but later I found that I really loved this field. Or: I regret that I left that job because I was impatient for a promotion, and later realized that I could have learned more.

The following questions are often posted to recent graduates:

Why did you choose this school? Why did you choose your major/minor?
Your answer should demonstrate that you were focused and didn't make these important decisions at random.

Which classes and subjects did you like the best? Least? Why?
Emphasize the classes relevant to the job you're seeking. If you're an engineering major applying for an engineering position, it'll hurt your chances to state that you preferred history classes.

The courses you mention as your least favorite should not be related to the job. Try to complain about the subject, rather than about the professor (authority figure) or about having to do too much work.

If you were to start college all over again, what courses would you take?
Talk about the changes in your course selection that would have produced a better candidate for this job. At the same time, mention how courses unrelated to your career were valuable to your development.

What did you learn from your internships?

Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic ability?

In what courses did you get your worst grades? Why?

Can you explain these bad grades on your college transcript? A suitable answer might be, I overextended myself that semester and didn't cope very well, but you can see that I did much better in the subsequent semesters.

Describe your most rewarding college experience.

Have you participated in any extracurricular activities? What have you learned from participating in them? Why did you choose them?
This question calls for competitive sports and teamwork.

Why did you decide to seek a position with this company/organization?
Having done your research, you can speak knowledgeably about the company, its goals, and how its goals match yours, a subject dear to the manager's heart.

What do you know about our firm/organization? What criteria are you using to evaluate a particular firm/organization?
Emphasize being focused. Saying that you don't know much about the company gives a very bad impression. You should have done your homework.

How can you contribute to this company in this job?

What interests you most about this job? This company?
Now is the time to demonstrate that you've done your homework and to ask intelligent questions, showing your familiarity with the company.

What have you heard about our company that you don't like?
Avoid responses related to the job you're after. E.g., say that you heard of a layoff a few months ago, and you hope that it's all over.

What aspects of the job I've described appeal to you the least?

You don't know X. How do you intend to learn what you need to know to perform well in this job?
Demonstrate that you have a plan, such as reading books or going to seminars.

What do you feel an employer owes an employee?
Do not discuss legal and moral responsibilities. A good response is, I hope that your company will be respectful of me as an employee; however I know that sometimes organizations face tough decisions that may require confidentiality and affect employees. That's business.

This is a much larger / smaller company than you've ever worked for before.
If the company is larger, then you're looking for growth opportunities and new areas of knowledge. if the company is smaller, then you're looking for a less bureaucratic organization where decisions can be made quickly.

What would you like to accomplish if you're hired for this job?

What are you looking for in your next job?
This question gauges the candidate's interest in the position.

What was the most interesting job or project in your career?
The answer shows whether the candidate likes challenges.

How did you get along with your co-workers, supervisor, and clients/ customers in your last job? (Meaning: Will you get along with my group?)
Mention briefly and in a positive way any jobs you've had with similar environments.

How long do you plan on keeping this job if you get it?

What do you hope to be doing in 3 years? What are your career goals for the next 5 years? The next 10 years?
Most employers don't want to restart the search process too soon. E.g., If you hire me, I'll leave this lousy, boring job as soon as I find something I really like, or as soon as I learn enough about your business is definitely the wrong thing to say, even if it's true. A good evasive answer is: This depends on my performance on the job and the opportunities for growth. However some employers do expect turnover in junior, temporary, or dead-end positions. It's OK to say that you hope to outgrow this job eventually.

If the job allows for growth, a good answer might be: I feel confident that I'll take on progressively more management responsibility in the future, which suits me fine.

You seem to be overqualified for this position. Why do you want this job? The interviewer is concerned that you'll leave this job as soon as something better comes along. Emphasize your long-term commitment to the job.

After being with the same organization for so long, do you think you'll have trouble getting used to another?
This is the opposite concern, and is usually unwarranted. Even though the candidate stayed with the same firm, she probably had different bosses, interacted with different people, and performed different tasks.

You've changed jobs quite frequently. How do we know you won't leave soon after we hire you?

You've only had your present job for a short time, and you're already looking to leave?
Emphasize that you want to stay and grow with the same company, and that you had intended to stay with the previous employers. You can say that you had trouble defining your career goals at first, but now you are quite sure of your direction. You can also say that you left previous positions only after realizing that moving on was the only way to increase your responsibilities and to broaden your experience.

You didn't last very long at X. Why did you leave?
Answer honestly and professionally, even if you were fired or quit in anger. Avoid showing anything negative about yourself, your work, or your ability to get along with others. Don't criticize your former employers or co-workers.

Are you interested in promotional opportunities?

How do you work with others? Are you a leader or a follower?
In other words, do you have the potential to manage others?

Would you like to have your boss's job? Why or why not?
Saying yes indicates you're ambitious and interested in career advancement. Saying no indicates doubts or reservations, at least about job in question.

Have you managed people in any of the positions you've held?
Even if you haven't had people reporting to you, or the authority to hire or fire anyone, you can talk about your consensus-building or project leadership roles.

Have you been in charge of budgeting, approving expenses, and monitoring progress against financial goals?
Even if the answer is negative, you can talk about your purchase approval authority - what was the largest purchase you could sign off on without anyone else's approval?

Have you ever hired anyone? Why did you choose them?
Even if you haven't, you can say: On several occasions I was asked to give technical interviews to prospective applicants. I also tried to determine whether they would be team players and would get along with other people in the department.

Have you ever fired anyone? Why?

What are your salary expectations/requirements? Try to postpone this discussion until a job offer has been made. If asked, provide a salary range.

What was your salary at your last job?
What the employer really needs to know are your salary expectations for your new job; your last salary is irrelevant. It's OK to answer this question by saying how much you want to be paid if you get this job. If your last salary was higher, the employer might assume that you won't be happy about the pay cut. If you last salary was much lower, the employer might offer you a smaller raise. Under these circumstances, you might firmly state that your last salary is irrelevant to the job you're interviewing for.

Is there anything you would like to say to close the interview?
In particular, it's wise to ask the interviewers if they have any reservations about hiring you, and to deal with them then and there.

You will probably won't be asked all of these questions, and be asked some questions not on this list as well. Be ready to argue your case.