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The key to performing well in interviews is preparation. A well prepared candidate will have no trouble responding positively and with poise to difficult interview questions such as “what is the biggest mistake you have ever made at work?” and “why have you changed jobs several times in five years?”. The best place to start your preparation is with a review of your cv and covering letter to remind yourself of your unique selling points and key strengths. Get these points down on a separate piece of paper.

While it's impossible to know exactly what an employer is going to throw at you in an interview, you can be fairly confident that some, if not all, of the following areas will be covered:

• The basics about your career history, aspirations and why you are looking to move
• Experience and management questions
• Industry trend questions
• Quantifying your experience and accomplishments
• Your work style and habits (otherwise known as soft skills or core competencies eg. leadership, problem-solving, communicating, negotiating, motivating forces)
• Personality questions

These are some of the most important and difficult interview questions that you should be prepared for:

What made you apply for this job?

Talk about your knowledge of the business and the industry, and how the role fits with your career aspirations and goals.

Why are you looking to leave your current role / why did you leave your last role?

You don't have to be cautious about these kinds of questions, but make sure you do not end up sounding bitter. Avoid criticising former bosses and colleagues - this will only deter a potential employer. Wherever possible, turn this question into a positive one and use it to demonstrate what you learned and achieved in your former role/s and how you think this new job will help you to build on these?

What are your core strengths?

Make sure that these are relevant to the job you are applying for.

What are your weaknesses?

Try to put a positive slant on these wherever possible eg. a tendency to work too hard or get involved in too many projects because of your enthusiasm.

What is the single achievement you are most proud of at work?

Don't worry if you don't have a lot of work experience - you can talk about achievements outside of the working arena, but make sure you can relate them where possible to the job that you are applying for.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career and how did you handle it?

The interviewer wants to find out how you deal with difficult situations and what you have learnt from this particular challenge that will enable you to manage a similar situation more effectively the next time. Again, try to keep the example as relevant to the role you are applying for as possible

You have changed roles quite frequently in the last few years, why is that and how long would you see yourself in this role were you successful?

Again, try to display all the positive elements of your moves - your flexibility; ability to adapt quickly to new working environments; your drive and ambition - but don't forget to show that you can be committed to a role for longer than a few months.

Which elements of your last role did you like most and which did you like least?

Try to keep the positive elements relevant to the role you are being interviewed for. While you need to admit to elements of past roles that you are less keen on, be careful not to talk about these in too much length and make sure that they are not the core elements of the role you have applied for.

How have you coped in the past with difficult colleagues?

Talk about seeing situations from other peoples' perspective and strike a balance between being sensitive to the needs of others with an ability to be assertive when needed.

What's your current salary?

Be honest - the interviewer can always check with your employer. You can include annual / monthly bonuses in this figure, but should make it clear what your base salary is.

The above questions have been selected as some of the most common asked by interviewers, but by no means cover the whole spectrum of potential areas that you will be quizzed on. However if you feel comfortable answering these and have a good knowledge of the industry and the company you are being interviewed by, you will put yourself in a strong position.

Don't forget to go armed with at least three or four questions to ask the interviewer - these will demonstrate an active interest in the role / company and show that you have given the interview some prior thought, rather than just showing up and hoping for the best.

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