The interviewer will assess your suitability for the job based on a series of questions and your answers to the same. As such, extensive preparation is required to help you answer those questions properly and be successful in gaining the job. Many of these questions are tricky and difficult to answer, so you should be well prepared with all relevant information and take advantage of your prior knowledge and qualifications to justify your answers.



The questions are usually asked in order of their importance, with the questions relating to your qualifications and experience as the first set. Next are questions querying your aptitude, personality and opinion, followed by the final questions which are concerned with the job and related work. Practice your answers to these important questions, using the following list of examples as a guide.

The initial, more general questions are: "Tell me about yourself.", "What are your goals?", "What are your qualifications?" Answers to these first questions should always be informative and descriptive. You should be prepared to provide the relevant data and evidence to confirm your answers. Following on from these questions there are complicated questions such as: "What do you really want to do in life?", "What are the most important gains you expect in your profession?", "Why do you prefer this occupation?", "How would a previous supervisor describe you?" etc.

After these initial questions, the interviewer will proceed to next series of questions, which should indicate how relevant your skills are to the job. These questions assess your ability and expertise. These questions include: "Why should we employ you?", "What are you searching for in a job?", "What can you do for us that someone else cannot?", "What you have done to improve your knowledge in the last year?" Others may include "What makes you eligible for this job position?", "How do you verify or assess achievement?", "In what possible ways do you think you can make an input to or benefit our corporation?", "Do you possess management qualities?" etc. As these questions are very delicate, you must be on your guard when answering them. Take your time before answering the questions and under no circumstances should you change or contradict your own answers.

The interviewer will next ask questions that are related to the job and other issues. In this phase the interviewer is assessing your suitability for that particular job. The interviewer needs to understand if the applicant will be an asset or a disruption and how productive they will be. Some of the frequently asked questions in this phase are as follows: "Tell me about a time when you helped solved a dispute between other workplace members.", "Describe your management style.", "Tell me about a problem you had with your co-worker or a supervisor.", "What kind of person would you refuse to work with?" and "What do you look for in a job?".

It cannot be stated too often how important preparation for these questions is. Knowing the answers is not the only imperative; you should be able to justify and represent your opinions in an appropriate way. Be clear and precise.