Research the job and company thoroughly. Find out everything you can and that will give you an edge over your competition. Go online, read brochures, reviews, check out their competition. With this knowledge you will be well prepared for any questions they might ask you realting to the company and as a result you will answer them clearly and with confidence.

Do not try to be someone you are not. Always be yourself in an interview as this will allow the interviewer to get a true sense of what you are like. There are always common interview questions and having and idea of what they are will enable you to better prepare answers for them.

It is important to note that we are preparing answers here not memorising them. Any interviewer should be able to pick up on someone who has prepared and someone who is just rattling off facts they memorised. If you rely solely on memorisation and you get a mental block then you will be thrown off kilter.

Let us take a look at some common interview questions.

#1 – Tell me a little about yourself. This one is pretty much guaranteed to be asked. Use it to your advantage. It will allow you to show them your personality and to give them information that may help you to secure the job.

#2 – Why should we hire you? Again this is a standard question in interviews. Here you get a chance to sell yourself. Tell them about past achievements, what drives you, what your goals are etc. Do not go overboard here as arrogance will turn people off.

#3 – Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This is asked to see what your level of commitment towards your career choice might be. If you want to impress you may say something like: I see myself working hard and progressing through the company ranks. I want to be an authority figure and lead/direct other people to success within the company. My goal is to always have personal growth as well as career growth and you believe this company can offer such an opportunity.

Job interviews can be hard on the nerves, to say the least. But being prepared for these types of common interview questions will make the interview go a lot more smoothly. It will also allow you to interact better with the interviewer thus building rapport. Rapport can help set you apart from other candidates as people want to work with people they like and get along with.

To prepare for an interview beforehand is going to give you the best chance to perform at your best when it comes to difficult interview questions like – ‘Why should we offer this position to you?’. Make a list of potential interview questions that may be asked. These should be general as well as specific to the job. Take some time out and practice answering these questions. Practice as many times as you need to until you can confidently give a good solid answer. Keep practicing until the question and answer no longer makes you feel uncomfortable.

Questions like ‘Tell me a little about yourself’ should not be dismissed as an easy question. This one often has candidates stumbling in interviews. Rehearse and practice each answer for every question. Try not to get caught up in just preparing for the difficult questions. Neglecting the ‘easy’ questions will leave you unprepared to answer simple questions. It’s often best to practice questions perceived as being easy first as this allows you to get them out of the way and to focus on more difficult questions.

You wont be able to think of every possible question that may be asked, as a result you will encounter some questions that you hadn’t thought of previously and haven’t prepared for. First things first, take a deep breath. Repeat the question in your head. Use your mock interviews to link between this question and questions you have practiced for. It may just be a variations of a different question. If you can link it to something else or another question then you will be bettre able to answer and it wont seem so overwhelming.

A good tip is to break down the question. Take it apart bit by bit. If you are not sure about the question then the interviewer and ask them if they can clarify it a little for you.

If you are not sure how to answer a question or you don’t understand then inform the interviewer. This is better than blundering your way through with a poor answer. An experienced interviewer will spot BS a mile away. If you’re bluffing then the last thing you want is the interviewer to call you on your fake answer. Just say that you don’t have and answer for them but given some time to research and ask others you could have the right answer for future reference. This shows honesty and integrity, traits any employer likes in an employee. Follow this advice and you will be able to handle all difficult interview questions.

Like any interview you should always be prepared. Review some of the typical phone interview questions and have your answers prepared beforehand. The people interviewing you could be a third party recruiter. Companies often hire these companies to preliminary screen potential candidates before inviting them for a second interview. You may also interviewed by a person from human resources. Lastly you may be interviewed by the hiring manager or the boss you will be working with. A human resource person will usually want to verify your resume and review your qualifications. A recruiter or hiring manager may ask more specific technical questions. Here is a list of some of the frequently asked phone interview questions.

- Can you tell me a little about yourself?

- How much experience do you have working with ____?

- What do you know about this company and the position on offer?

- Why are you leaving your current job?

- What is the biggest accomplishment you have had in your career to date?

- What is the most important thing to you in a job/company?

- What is your biggest weakness?

- What is your greatest strength?

- How do you deal with stress?

- Where do you see yourself in five years time?

- What are your salary expectations?

- When would you be available to start?

Over the course of the interview you may be asked more questions but having prepared your cv and researching the company will give you a better chance at answering unexpected questions. It is so important to prepare as just one bad answer can cost you the interview and you lose out on the job.

These are all questions that you can easily prepare for. It is a good idea to practice a mock interview with a friend to get used to hearing and answering these types of questions over the phone. You dont want to be stumbling over your words. Because it is a phone interview you can make some cheat notes for yourself to help you remember. Do not write detailed notes as this will cause you to pause for too long while talking. Rather just have some keywords or sentences to help you remember what your answers are for some of the typical phone interview questions.

Before going to any interview you need to be prepared. I am not talking about dry cleaning your best suit, setting your alarm clock early or making sure your shoes are nice and shiny. They are important as looking neat and clean will help to form a good first impression. I am however talking about how to best prepare by reviewing some typical interview questions you will be asked. This is why our interview questions and answers articles will help you.

Here’s a list of some of the typical interview questions asked.

#1 – Can you tell me a little about yourself? – Tell them you are a very hard worker and a fast learner. Always try to tie your positives in with the company. Give an example of you work hard and motivate yourself. You could tell them you try to understand all aspects of your job so you can best interact with other employees and team players. If there is an area within a job you do not understand then you like to set aside some time to research and learn that area.

#2 – What are your weaknesses or what is your biggest weakness? – Always try to turn your weakness into a positive or demonstrate how you have tried to overcome your weakness. e.g. You used to be computer illiterate but you took the time to do evening classes after work.

#3 – Why do you like this company, what attracted you to us? – Make sure you have researched the company. Look for them online or in magazines or read some brochures they might have. You can tell them how you love their product or service. How your are very impressed with…You can finish this sentence with what ever you found in your research. This will show enthusiasm and demonstrates interest on your part by actually researching the company. This always goes down well with the interviewer.

#4 – What do you like to do in your spare time? – Be honest here. Say if you like sports, cinema, going to plays or concerts. Make sure you say something that shows you as being active. Just saying you sit at home in front of the tv everyday is boring and while there’s nothing wrong with that, an interviewer will see you as more motivated and outgoing if you like to do more.

#5 – What do you think are good qualities in a boss? – A boss should be able to motivate you and help you meet or beat deadlines. They should be fair and always give feedback. If an employee does something incorrect then constructive criticism is better than just giving out. Every boss should be approachable.

#6 – Why should we choose you for this job? – To begin with it can be good to reflect on your resume for a moment. Only do so briefly as they know what is on your resume and are looking for more. Tell them your personal qualities, how motivated you are. Explain how you researched their company before coming to make sure it was a right fit for you. How you feel the company and your skill set and personal qualities will compliment each other.

There are more typical interview questions and answers. Feel free to look around this site or select the resources provided.