by Scott Hayden

Created on: January 25, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2012

All interview questions are difficult to answer to some extent. The interviewer is putting the prospective employee on the spot for ten to fifteen minutes, and while not sounding too overconfident the candidate wouldn't want to come off as sounding too vague, arrogant, bored or clueless. Answering the questions with wit, certainty and maybe a dash of humor when the situation calls for it takes a fair bit of experience. It helps if you've been down this road once before, and blown it at least a couple of times. That way you'll know what to expect when you step into that office again.

The first question that any job hunter is likely to hear is this:

Can you tell me a little about yourself and your education background?

That doesn't sound so difficult. Actually, what you have to do is to condense your life down to a few sentences, and this is harder than you might think. Stick to the facts about where you grew up and where you went to school, including any information about college and university. This should take no more than a minute or two.

This question may come sooner or later, but it will be asked:

Why should I hire you? What is really being asked is do you really know what you want?

That's a tough one. Of course, you would never say that out loud. This is the time to impress — or try to impress — the interviewer with your knowledge of the company and why you think your skills would be an asset to the company's endeavors. Careful not to lay it on too thick though, since being humble is an asset.

Here is every interviewer's favorite:

Why did you leave your last job/company? This is asked to get an insight into your past behavior.

It seems like the questions are getting harder to answer as time goes on. This is a tricky one, and for many job hunters it's like putting a lit match to a bomb fuse. There are those who will suddenly explode, ranting and raving about how they hated their previous job and that their boss was a jerk and a total loser. At this point of course your chances of getting this new job will evaporate. The interviewer's eyes will shift down, he/she will shift uncomfortably in the chair and you would give anything to go back for just thirty seconds and start again, but you can't. Don't fall into the same trap as many others have done. Keep it short and sweet, and say you wanted to find new challenges/greener pastures etc.

This question might catch you totally off guard:

What are your salary expectations for this job? What this really means is can you work for less money than the company expects?

Instead of quoting a specific number, the best thing to say in this case is to ask for more details about the job and responsibilities. Also ask the interviewer about the company's budget for the position.

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