Retail Manager

Once again, there are a few ways to answer this but they should all be positive. You may work well under pressure, you may thrive under pressure, and you may actually PREFER working under pressure. If you say you crumble like aged blue cheese, this is not going to help you get your foot in the door.

This is a good way to hint that you're in demand, without sounding like you're whoring yourself all over town. So, be honest and mention a few other companies but don't go into detail. The fact that you're seriously looking and keeping your options open is what the interviewer is driving at.

This could include anything from night classes to hobbies and sports. If it's related, it's worth mentioning. Obviously anything to do with further education is great, but maybe you're spending time on a home improvement project to work on skills such as self-sufficiency, time management and motivation.

Hopefully if you're applying for this position you have bags of related experience, and if that's the case you should mention it all. But if you're switching careers or trying something a little different, your experience may initially not look like it's matching up. That's when you need a little honest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to show how customer service skills can apply to internal management positions, and so on.

This should be directly related to the last question. Any research you've done on the company should have led you to the conclusion that you'd want to work there. After all, you're at the interview, right? Put some thought into this answer before you have your interview, mention your career goals and highlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.

Ok, this is not the time for full disclosure. If some people from your past are going to say you're a boring A-hole, you don't need to bring that up. Stay positive, always, and maybe have a few specific quotes in mind. "They'd say I was a hard worker" or even better "John Doe has always said I was the most reliable, creative problem-solver he'd ever met."

► It provides me with constant new challenges to test my abilities.

► Communicating and meeting with new people.

► Able to use your initiative.

► Working as part of a team.

► I have been told that i am honest, reliable and ethical.

► Your sense of urgency, if you know that a task is important, then you will work hard to get it done on time.

► You are a fast learner.

► Ability to communicate with people.

► Flexible enough to handle changing environments.

► Able to cope with setback and learn from my mistakes.

► Occasionally I have been told that I take longer than other colleagues to complete complicated projects or tasks. But this is only because I want to make sure the work I do is to the highest standards.

► My MS PowerPoint skills are weak, so I have enrolled on a evening course to improve them.

► I am sometimes accused of being over friendly.

What NOT to say:

► You are a workaholic.

► There was no real room for growing my career.

► The position you are advertising seems like a excellent match for my knowledge, abilities and qualifications.

► I am keen to use my skill sets and abilities in a different capacity than I have in the past.

► I am looking for a job that has more responsibility.

► The reason for leaving my last job was that I wanted to spend more time with my family. I am now ready to go back into full time employment.

► Sometimes it is difficult for me to get a sense of my own achievement in a big company like my present employer.

► There are very few opportunities for advancement with my present employer who are a small company.

What NOT to mention:

► Overtime issues.

► Salary expectations.

► In four years time I aim to have improved my abilities and to be a leader in my field. This will mean that I can contribute more to my employers and their business.

► That really depends on how well I perform in my job and also what career opportunities come my way. However the bottom line is that I want to have improved my skill sets and be making a ongoing contribution to any organization that i happen to be working for.

► If I had a time machines I would go back to University and taken a degree in Business Studies rather than Hospitality.

► I stayed too many years in a job that was stable but didn't offer me enough challenges or opportunities for growth.

I'll finish the way I started, with one of the most common questions asked in interviews. This directly relates to the research you've done on the company and also gives you a chance to show how eager and prepared you are. You'll probably want to ask about benefits if they haven't been covered already. A good generic one is "how soon could I start, if I were offered the job of course." You may also ask what you'd be working on. Specifically, in the role you're applying for and how that affects the rest of the company. Always have questions ready, greeting this one with a blank stare is a rotten way to finish your interview. Good luck and happy job hunting.

As I'm sure you know, "because I'm great" or "I really need a job" are not good answers here. This is a time to give the employer a laundry list of your greatest talents that just so happen to match the job description. It's also good to avoid taking potshots at other potential candidates here. Focus on yourself and your talents, not other people's flaws.