Interviews make many people nervous. Sometimes they will ask the same types of questions and here are some great suggestions on how to answer them. Some of these questions are the most common and asked on almost every interview,

Tell me about yourself

 This can be difficult to which way you want to answer this question.  What they really want to know is how you can help their company . They really don’t want to know about your personal life, but instead your education and work experience that pertains to the job. This is also a good time to mention your strengths and your accomplishments.

What is your greatest weakness?

You don’t want to say that you have no weaknesses, but mention a weakness and in the same breath you will want to mention how you overcome that weakness.  You don’t want to admit to any weakness that will blow the interview. You don’t want to admit that you have problems getting to work on time most days. You will want to have an answer prior to going to an interview with this question. Choose a minor weakness and how you work to overcome it and turn it around so it’s no longer a problem weakness.

Why did you leave your old position?

Never say bad things about your previous employer. The best answer is that you are looking for a change and more challenges.  You never want to say that you didn’t get along with your boss, or that you couldn’t get along with others in the office. It’s always good to mention that you are just looking for a new challenge.

Why should we consider you instead of the other applicants?

Always prepare for this question before going. They are looking for you to answer with how you can be an asset to the company and what skills you bring to the company.

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

This is one question that I personally hate to answer.  The interviewer wants to know about how you do making commitment. Are you a short termer that will be somewhere else in 5 years or planning on staying with the company and making it a career.

Why do you want to work with our company?

The answer should show that you have researched the company and know some facts about the company. They don’t want to think that you only applied for the position so that you can just get a job. They are usually looking for people who are looking for a career not a job.

What are your feelings on reporting to a woman boss or a younger boss?

This is a question that many of us older people get during interviews. The way to answer this question is to say that you are sure that they have qualified personnel working there and wouldn’t have problems, emphasis that it wouldn’t matter to you what race, sex or age of the boss would be that you are reporting to.

What was you biggest mistake in your life, and how would you change it?

Another question that I personally hate, but again you will want to make it a positive answer. Since we all make mistakes this is a question that you can answer semi-truthfully, as you don’t want to expose too much of yourself to a potential employer and maybe you wouldn’t of changed anything that you did, but instead learned a valuable lesson from that mistake. Sometimes that mistake defined who you are today. That mistake could have been many years ago and long forgotten by you.

How do you fell about multi-tasking?

The other way to look at this question is “are you going to fall apart when we pile excess work on you”. Some people simply can not do more than one project at a time very well. Try to give some examples of how you have completed projects at time and you will also want to add in that you are able to work under pressure and still manage to get the job done.

 What kind of salary are you looking for?

You don’t want to answer this question with a specific amount if you can avoid it. This would maybe underprice yourself and if they offered a salary for you, it may be higher than what you would have settled for. Instead ask them what the company salary range for this position would be.

You will want to think of possible questions and answers that you can give before going to the interview. You don’t want to have this be the time that you will be stumbling with your words. You will want to be confident and prepared for the interview.

The first thing that you will want to do is to take notes as they are explaining things to you. Write down steps, jot down notes and anything else that will help you remember how to do it when they are not sitting beside you to help you if you forget.  If you are learning on a computer you may be able to take screen shots of the computer screen by using CTRL + Print Screen, this will copy the screen, then you can open up Microsoft Word and paste it in there and you will have a photo of the screen. You can then print it off and write on it to make notes. This will help you out immensely when doing it alone. 

Maybe there is a checklist that you can write or they have that you can follow of tasks that need done on a daily basis, This way you can check off the items as you do them during the day. This would be a great cheat sheet till you get things memorized.  Sometimes you can build your own checklist. When you are on the job for the first few days and while you’re in training you can write down different tasks that they do daily then build your own little cheat-checklist for you to follow.

If the trainer who is training you is going to fast don’t hesitate to ask them to repeat something or be afraid to answer questions. If you are used to doing something it will be easier and you can go faster, they may not be aware that they are moving too fast or forget to explain a step to you. Usually they have no problems answering questions or clarifying something for you.

You may also want to write down names and phone numbers of people in the company who may be able to help you out in a jam. They usually have everyone’s number that you can contact, but you can write them yourself so that they are close by and you won’t have to look them up when you need to call them

Taking notes, asking questions and making daily lists will help you learn that new position faster and quicker. You will be able to do that job alone in no time if you take the time to write yourself the notes and help yourself learn.  

 Dress properly for the interview. You will want to look professional. Don’t wear jeans or tight clothing, you will want to be perfectly groomed and wear clothing that is neatly pressed and clean. You don’t want to be wearing your loud clothing that you would wear out on the town with your friends. Your shoes are also important, you don’t want to wear sandals that you would be wearing at the beach or flip flops.

Be Prepared for the Questions.  You will have some tough questions asked and if you research some of the most common questions that are asked during interviews and think about answers that you could give you will be less likely to stumble with the answers and you may give an answer that you didn’t want to give if you didn’t prepare for the answers.  Always prepare for the questions. Learn something about the company before going for the interview.

Be Positive:  Not only will you want to answer the questions with positive answers and without saying anything negative, but you will also want to think positivity and think of yourself acing that interview, Think about you being in that position and doing that job and your interview will go much better than if you didn’t think positive.  Thinking positive will make you feel better and feel more confident.

Be Confident:  You are only speaking to another human. There is really no reason to be nervous or scared, remember for them to get this position they were in the same chair that you are sitting in at this moment. Talk to them as you would anyone else, answer their questions with thought and professionally and you will be ahead of the game.

Interviews can make you nervous and jittery but if you prepare for the answers and the questions that they are going to ask you it will be easier. Think of yourself being in that position and tell yourself on the way there that you have this job you will come across in that interview as the perfect candidate for the position and possibly get the job the same day that you interview for it.