• Dress professionally for your job interview to give a great first impression.business image by david levasseur from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether you're applying for an entry-level position with a small business or a high-level position at a corporation, it helps to prepare for your interview. Practice sample questions and answers to improve your interviewing technique. The proper answers will improve the chances of gaining the position within the company.
  
  

Research the Job Opening

• Before you reach the interview process, research the job opening. Pay close attention to what the potential employer is looking for in a new hire. If they want someone who knows C++ programming, you could mention that you learned the programming language when they ask you about your education.
  
  

Short Answers

• Keep each answer from one to three minutes in length. Use only one or two stories or anecdotes to illustrate your point. Avoid interrupting the hiring manager before they're finished asking the questions. Instead, wait a few seconds to come up with your answer before responding to their query. This way, you won't stammer for several minutes and will instead come up with a short and intelligent answer.
  
  

Use Your Experience

• Use examples of your experience in the career field for each answer. Although a question may seem personal, such as "Tell me about your strengths" or "What are your interests?", the hiring manager is more interested in your qualifications. Always give examples that relate to the position and avoid answering with personal information that could make the hiring manager uncomfortable.
  
  

Know Your Strengths

• You'll inevitably be asked about your strengths. List one or two strengths as they relate to the job posting. Tell a brief story about how you used these strengths in a previous position.
  
  

Know Your Weaknesses

• Don't answer the question about weaknesses by saying that you have none. Everyone has weaknesses. Instead, give one example of a weakness as it relates to the position. Give an example of how you're learning to improve that weakness along with your answer. Example: "Although I often get tired after a long day of Perl programming, I've begun taking a fifteen minute power walk outside as part of my lunch break. That has helped a lot and restored my energy."