Before attending an interview you should think about your responses to the following questions. Your answers may depend on the job or company in question, so you should go through your responses just before each interview.

Think carefully about this question. Stress the positive aspects which have attracted you to applying for this position. Do not mention the negative aspects of your current job or the job in question.

This is your chance to shine. Tell them about your achievements in your previous position(s) which are relevant to the new position you are applying for.

Emphasize the positive reasons why you want to join their company, but avoid aspects such as more money or shorter hours. These would not endear you to a prospective employer.

Tread carefully here! Again do not mention money. Stress opportunities for personal growth, new challenges, etc.

Say that you are the sort of person who aims to succeed at everything you do and that you are very determined and will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

If you think that you could contribute from day one then say so. Then turn the question round on them and say how soon they would expect it.

Depending on the position you are applying for you may want to sound fairly ambitious, but do not look as if you are after the interviewer's position.

Likes: stress things such as a new challenge or the opportunity to bring fresh experience to the company. Dislikes: Imply there is nothing to dislike about the job, which is why you are so interested.

Be positive about your reasons. If you have changed careers make a logical argument as to why you did so.

The interviewer is trying to see how well you would fit in to the position you are applying for. So you should stress the similarities rather than the differences. When it comes to discussing the differences it will help your case if you can show that either you have done something similar in the past or that you can quickly pick up the new skills.

You should stress the positive aspects of your last company saying that they were a good company to work for. Tell them about the training you received or the work related experience you gained.

Always be positive about your reasons for joining and leaving a company. Be very careful that you do not say anything negative about your present employer. If you do, the new company will wonder what you will say about them when you leave. You might want to stress that you are looking for a new challenge and that you feel that the company who is interviewing you fits the bill!

If you have been unemployed for a long time this may be a rather tricky question to answer. But be honest. If you have been away on holiday or done some voluntary work you could mention this.

Remember where you are! If the company interviewing you is a small to medium sized company say that you enjoy a close atmosphere with a good team spirit. At a large company say that you enjoy the stability of working for a large and established company.

Make sure your answer fits in with the company who is interviewing you. A suitable reply would be that you are looking for a new job where you can apply your existing skills and learn new ones.

If you are say so, but do not give too many details away - it will weaken your negotiating position later. If you do not have any other job offers at the moment just say that you have a few irons in the fire.

Say that he/she was the sort of person you could learn from and you communicated well, which meant that the task in hand was completed on time.

Stress the positive things you did including your achievements. Even if some or much of it was paperwork, you can still show your interest in the way it was tackled.

This question is only relevant for senior managers or sales people. If you have increased sales and/or profit then do not be afraid to shout about it. If you have not increased sales say why not, e.g. general downturn in the market, etc. It might then be a good idea to mention an achievement in a previous job if your performance was better there.

If you have reduced costs say so - companies are always looking for ways to reduce costs.

You should say you do. Pick some work related achievements that are in line with the position that you are discussing.

You should pick an achievement which is related to their needs.

Do not mention anything negative about yourself - the interviewer is looking for a chink in your armour.

Your answer depends on the sort of job you are doing. If you will be working as part of a team you will need to show that you can work in the best interests of the team and not just for your own benefit.

If you mean by this someone who gets things done, then the answer is "Yes". You need to defuse the implications of this question.

Say that you are prepared to do whatever it takes to get the job done well and on time and try to do disagreeable things first to get them out of the way rather than putting them off.

You need to be positive here and say that there is nothing in particular that you would like to avoid.

Show how you have progressed throughout your life and how you have accepted and taken on responsibility for the actions of yourself and others. If you have not really had much work related responsibilities you can mention other responsibilities you have had outside work.

You need to say that you can. You could ask how much pressure the job involves.

You would be prepared to work the necessary hours to get the job done on time.

Here you can say that you are prepared to work with anyone.

Link in your goals with the company who is interviewing you.

Hopefully you can say that you got on well with everyone.

Your hobbies and interests can tell an employer a lot about you, including whether you are sociable or solitary, and whether you can take on 'leadership' roles. So you should think about which interests will paint the right picture of you given the position you are discussing.

You should state that you are looking for a long-term opportunity where you can learn and develop. You could then ask them if this applies to the job being discussed.

If you have, you will need to handle this question with great care. Try and put yourself in as favourable light as possible without being too dismissive. If you have later been able to correct any deficiency which resulted in you being fired you should tell the interviewer.

Tell them that you feel that your extra experience would enable you to make a bigger contribution to their company sooner than someone younger and less experienced.

"No, I do not think so!" is the answer you should give and then state the reason why you are not too young. If you have a lot of experience gained in a short time, say so.

Tell them that you feel that your extra experience would enable you to make a bigger contribution sooner than someone with less experience.

If you are, say so. If you do not want to move then you do not have to accept the job - try and come across as someone who is positive.

Again if you are, say so. You want to sound positive, so find out how much travelling is involved before you turn down the job.

This can be a difficult question to answer if you are frequently off sick or you have just recovered from a prolonged period of illness. If you have generally enjoyed good health and this period of illness is not typical then you should say so.

Say that you expect excellent references.