Being unprepared for an interview ranks as number one in the TOP 50Recruiter Turn-Off's and is a sure fire way to kissing goodbye apotentially fantastic job offer.

Interview preparation is acritical stage in the job hunting cycle. The quickest way to have aninterview terminated is to give basic, one word, monosyllabic answers.

Ifyour answer to an interview question begins with "Ummmm," is followedby along pause and then another "Um," it doesn't say much for yourcompetency, does it?

To display a lack of preparation for aninterview is the quickest way to have your application rejected -regardless of how great your qualifications and professional experience.

Don't Be Scared! Be Prepared!

Nowadaysemployers often ask questions designed to discover how you would dealwith certain situations and how you would behave. Companies want toknow about your abilities and track record, not just your knowledge andexperience.

Recruiters love to ask the question :

What are your weaknesses?

Thisis one of the most useless questions anyone could ever ask you. As ifanyone is going to admit to being extremely lazy and will only do thebare minimum to get by so they get to hang on to their jobs or thatthey are always late etc, etc, etc. I am not sure why people still askit as it is a joke of a question but EVERY interviewer LOVES to ask it.

Your answer should be clear, concise and have a positive spin.

Questionswill fall into one of three main categories: factual questions,philosophical questions, and testing questions. Each category ofquestion requires a different sort of answer.

Factual questionsrequire verifiable information about something you've done.Philosophical questions explore your attitudes about business. Testingquestions are designed to assess your knowledge or skill.

Go with the flow.

Be prepared to change gears at any time.

Anythingcan happen during an interview. Just as you settle in to answering aseries of factual questions (Where did you work? What was your typingspeed? How much many people did you supervise?), an interviewer can tryto throw you a curve ball by asking you a philosophical question.

Somethingto keep in mind: tricky questions are not designed to deliberately tripyou up. The goal of a complicated question is to give you a chance toshine...to think on your feet...and craft a clear, concise response.

Thebest way to be prepared for interview is think of a questions that willbe most likely be asked at the interview, write out your answers and gothrough them with someone. Do a rehearsal interview, this is great forironing out any glitches and will have you more confident at yourinterview.