1. So, tell me a little about yourself.You don’t need to explaineverything from birth to present day. Relevant facts about education,your career and your current life situation are fine.

2. Why are you looking (or why did you leave you last job)?Thisshould be a straightforward question to answer, but it can trip you up.Presumably you are looking for a new job (or any job) because you wantto advance your career and get a position that allows you to grow as aperson and an employee. It’s not a good idea to mention money here, itcan make you sound mercenary. And if you are in the unfortunatesituation of having been downsized, stay positive and be a***rief aspos***le about it. If you were fired, you’ll need a good explanation.But once again, stay positive.

3. Tell me what you know about this company.Do your homework beforeyou go to any interview. Whether it’***eing the VP of marketing or themailroom clerk, you should know about the company or business you’regoing to work for. Has this company been in the news lately? Who arethe people in the company you should know about? Do the backgroundwork, it will make you stand out as someone who comes prepared, and isgenuinely interested in the company and the job.

4. Why do you want to work at X Company?This should be directlyrelated to the last question. Any research you’ve done on the companyshould have led you to the conclusion that you’d want to work there.After all, you’re at the interview, right? Put some thought into thisanswer before you have your interview, mention your career goals andhighlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.

5. What relevant experience do you have?Hopefully if you’reapplying for this position you have bags of related experience, and ifthat’s the case you should mention it all. But if you’re switchingcareers or trying something a little different, your experience mayinitially not look like it’s matching up. That’s when you need a littlehonest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones youhave. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to showhow customer service skills can apply to internal management positions,and so on.

6. If your previous co-workers were here, what would they say aboutyou?Ok, this is not the time for full disclosure. If some people fromyour past are going to say you’re a boring A-hole, you don’t need tobring that up. Stay positive, always, and maybe have a few specificquotes in mind. “They’d say I was a hard worker” or even better “JohnDoe has always said I was the most reliable, creative problem-solverhe’d ever met.”

7. Have you done anything to further your experience?This couldinclude anything from night classes to hobbies and sports. If it’srelated, it’s worth mentioning. Obviously anything to do with furthereducation is great, but maybe you’re spending time on a homeimprovement project to work on skills such as self-sufficiency, timemanagement and motivation.

8. Where else have you applied?This is a good way to hint thatyou’re in demand, without sounding like you’re whoring yourself allover town. So, be honest and mention a few other companie***ut don’t gointo detail. The fact that you’re seriously looking and keeping youroptions open is what the interviewer is driving at.

9. How are you when you’re working under pressure?Once again, thereare a few ways to answer thi***ut they should all be positive. You maywork well under pressure, you may thrive under pressure, and you mayactually PREFER working under pressure. If you say you crumble likeaged blue cheese, this is not going to help you get your foot in thedoor.

10. What motivates you to do a good job?The answer to this one isnot money, even if it is. You should be motivated by life’s noblepursuits. You want recognition for a job well done. You want to becomebetter at your job. You want to help others or be a leader in yourfield.