Tell Me About Yourself – Sounds a bit like the sort of question you get asked on a date! This isn’t as straightforward to answer, as at first it might seem. Don’t start rambling on about how much you love watching the Simpson’s on the TV thatisn’t what the interviewer is looking to hear. You probably need to answer this question with a question. Perhaps you could try saying “What would you like to know about me?” This then gives your interviewer the chance to get you to tell him exactly what information he is looking for. If possible try and keep this part of the interview to a minimum, you will know what the interviewer is looking for following his additional question which will probably have been something based around your job. If you can see if you can build into your response positives which relate to the job you are applying for. For example if it’s a sales role you could say “I am a very organised person who enjoys finding a new prospect, working with it and closing the deal, carrying out the completion from start to finish”. Sometimes your interviewer might ask about your hobbies and again you should pick out points that relate to the job your are applying for whether remote or not.

Why Do You Want To Leave Your Present Job? - This is a bit of a stupid question really as the chances of the interviewer getting a straight answer are fairly limited. Lets face it if the job you are in doesn’t pay very well and you want more money you are going to be looking for a new job. It might be that your current boss is a complete idiot and you don’t like him, It could be you can’t stand working with John in accounts so lets face it you aren’t going to say any of these are you. I think a standard response along the lines of “I feel that I have outgrown the company I am in and I feel that my contribution as part of a team could be put to much better use with a larger or more focused company where I can expand my skills further. I am really interested in……..but my existing employer doesn’t have the resources to let me advance in this area” and leave it at that. Just try not to be negative about the job you are leaving as it doesn’t look good.

What Do You Know About This Organisation? - Now if you have taken the advice on the previous page you will have done your research and read up about what the company is involved in, its products, its turnover and its strategy. You will really impress your interviewer if you are able to show that you have done some research about their company. As previously mentioned people like to think that if you are really eager to work for them you will have done some research about what they do and how they do it. So lets say you are applying for a job with someone like Marks & Spencer you could say something like “I notice that you are one of the leading stores who operate a “Fair Trade Policy” when purchasing your goods from third world countries I have to say that I am very supportive of this and it’s nice to work for an employer who cares about the impact their business has on people in the outside world”.

What Made You Apply For This Job And Why Do You Want It? - This is a bit of a double edged question. Your interviewer isn’t necessarily looking for an answer here that is straight forward – you know you are applying for the job because you think you would enjoy doing it, the package is right and you think you would be able to advance your career with this firm – but the interviewer wants to see if there are some specifics that really attract you to it (other than the £ 50,000 per year and BMW 3 series!). So, dependent upon what the role is, you could use an answer such as “I am a very well organised person and this role involves exceptional management skills. I thrive under pressure and it makes me perform to my full ability which makes me think that I would really enjoy it”. Obviously you can tailor this answer to whatever role you are applying for.

What Qualities Do You Think You Can Bring To This Job Position? - Again, you know that you can do this job and that is why you have applied for it. Not only do you know that you can do the job, you will do it better than any one else so you will be aware of the qualities you are going to bring to this business. You will have reviewed the job spec and the key responsibilities so you will be able to select several areas where you feel your qualities will stand out. Perhaps you could therefore give an answer along the lines of “I have experience working in the complaints department where a sympathetic touch is required dealing with disgruntled customers. I am very tactful and am able to defuse situations using my personal skills”.

How Long Would You Expect To Work For Our Organisation? - Let’s face it no employer wants to go through the hassle and cost of hiring a new candidate if the candidate only stays with them for 6 months and then decides to apply to another firm. The recruitment process is a long an expensive one especially where agencies are used to introduce the candidate. This could cost your potential employer as much as 30% of your first year’s package! It’s probably a good idea therefore to intimate that you would like to work for this firm for several years minimum and you could provide an answer along the lines of “I like the way your company is continuing to expand and I would like to be part of that on a long term basis. So I would like to think that I could continue to work for you for a lengthy period of time providing my career continues to progress”.

What’s Your Greatest Strength? - Only you can answer this question, but it is a question that will more than likely be asked, after all, the interviewer wants to know what you are good at. This question gives you pretty much an open mandate to really show off, or so to speak. When answering this question try and provide strengths that relate to the role that you are applying for, so if the job requires the need to be organised and a good team leader provide these as strengths within your answer.

What Is Your Biggest Weakness? - Bit of a tricky question this, after all no one wants to show their weaknesses but we all have them. The most comprehensive way of dealing with this question is to try and turn it into a “positive” from a “negative”. Maybe you could suggest that others think you are too well organised or suggest that your dogged approach to problem solving is a weakness but then say you have never seen it like that.  Chances are that the interviewer will agree with you.                                                                                            
What Interests Do You Have Outside Of Your Work? - This will be a definite question (in my opinion) and is posed by your interviewer to try and ascertain what you are like outside of your working environment. If you don’t like football or snooker don’t say that you do, just provide honest answers. There is nothing worse than saying you follow a sport and then it turning out that the interviewer is mad about the subject and starts asking you questions you can’t answer you will look a fool and your honesty will be under scrutiny!    The other thing to remember is that if teamwork is a strong part of the job then hobbies like football and hockey, basketball and netball show you work as part of a team whereas if you will often work alone it might be good to stress the hobbies such as golf, reading or painting, as long as they are your true interests.            

How much does your last job resemble the one you are applying for? What are the differences?  -  The interviewer is trying to see how well you would fit in to the position you are applying for. So you should stress the similarities rather than the differences. When it comes to discussing the differences it will help your case if you can show that either you have done something similar in the past or that you can quickly pick up the new skills.

Are you considering any other positions at the moment?     If you are say so, but do not give too many details away - it will weaken your negotiating position later. If you do not have any other job offers at the moment just say that you have a few irons in the fire.

What did you do on a day to day basis?     Stress the positive things you did including your achievements. Even if some or much of it was paperwork, you can still show your interest in the way it was tackled.

What was your greatest success? How did you achieve it?  - You should pick an achievement which is related to their needs.

Do you work well with others? -  Some jobs mean that you have to work very closely with other people whilst other jobs mean that you are largely working on your own, so you need to say that you are happy in both situations.

Do you need other people around to stimulate you or are you self-motivated? - You need to say that you are self-motivated.

Are you accepted into a team quickly? -  Hopefully you can answer a resounding "Yes" to this question.

Can you act on your own initiative? - You should say that you can. You could ask how much responsibility you would have.

What did you earn in your last job? - You have to be very careful when answering this question because once an interviewer knows your current salary they will try and fix your next remuneration based on this figure. This may be satisfactory if you only wanted a modest rise in salary and your current salary is in line with their salary range, but, what if your current salary is substantially lower than the rate for the job, or if you want a substantial salary rise? In these cases you would be best advised to say that you do not really want to prejudice yourself by being too high or too low. Ask if you can discuss this later after the responsibilities for the job have been discussed; you may also want to ask them what the range for the job is (if you do not already know).