It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the job search process. What kinds of questions do interviewers ask? I think I’ve got a good resume, it’s the interview I am worried about.

Following is a list of the Top 10 Questions Most Often Asked by Interviewers.

To be prepared for an interview it is helpful to have an understanding of the questions you may be asked and to have prepared answers for them. As you read the questions below, think of adaptations to these and then answer them. You may want to say your answers out loud while looking in a mirror to see how you look and sound. Another great tip is to record your answers into a tape recorder and then play it back and see what it sounds like. Use a coach to give you feedback and help you develop the answers that truly reflect who you are and what you want in a job. Practice your answers and then go take charge of your career and get the job you want and find the employer you want to work for!

1. Which supervisors have you found easiest to work with and which have been most difficult?
This is to judge your adaptability.

2. What did you like best and least about your previous job?
Checking your administration and management skills.

3. Have you ever had to get a point across to different types of people? Give me an example and tell me what approach did you take?
Finding out about your communication skills.

4. Describe a work-related problem you had to face recently. What did you do to deal with it?
Decision making skills tested.

5. Give me an example of a time you did more than what was required in your job.
Seeing initiative.

6. Give me an example of a time you found it necessary to make an exception to the rules in order to get something done.
How is your integrity?

7. What was the best decision you ever made? What were the alternatives?How did you go about making it?
Checking your judgment.

8. Tell me about a time you had to gain the cooperation of a group over which you had little or no authority. What did you do? How effective were you?
Leadership.

9. Have you ever had trouble learning a new method or procedure? How did you deal with that situation?
Investigating your learning ability.

10. Tell me about a problem you have had that would affect more than one department. How did you try to solve it?
For organizational cooperation.

(List by Terri Levine, who can be reached at terri@comprehensivecoaching.com, or visited on the Web at www.comprehensivecoaching.com.)

You may want to visit www.job-interview.net and get some practice on the site as well as helpful hints. Another site, www.wetfeet.com , has company info, job profiles, interview and networking advice and lots more.

In addition, I suggest you do some research on the company to which you are applying. Use the web ( www.experiencenetwork.com is one site to visit), Ready Reference resources at the library, check the papers (local newspaper, business papers) for articles on the company that have been printed in the last two years, perhaps check the Better Business Bureau and/or Chamber of Commerce. Develop some questions of your own to determine if the company culture will support your ethics, your professional and personal goals, and your lifestyle.

The old scouting motto - Be Prepared - is important here. Not being able to answer their questions, or ask them good questions, puts you at the disadvantage and will make the interviewing process difficult, maybe even embarrassing. Do your homework, know yourself well, know the company. It will be worth the preparation to get the job you really want.