In this article, we'll be talking about the types of questions that may be put to you in an interview situation, and more specifically about ways to answer those questions well. Let's get started:

Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions assess how well you can take a broad subject and narrow it down to the information necessary. The most frequently used open-ended question is the "Tell me about yourself" question. Prepare the basic outline of an answer before you get to the interview (don't memorize one, it can end up sounding rote and rehearsed). Identify what skills are needed for the job you're after, and tailor your answer to highlight how you have those skills.

Close-Ended Questions

These are questions that the interviewer asks in order to get specific information about your history or your skills and they can usually be answered with a "yes" or "no." As long as you know what you've done in the past, these questions should be a breeze.

Hypothetical Questions

The interviewer gives you a situation or scenario and asks how you would respond. The point of this question is to see how quickly you think on your feet and to judge how well you can arrange information into useful patterns.

A good strategy to use here is to ask the interviewer to clarify the situation (assuming the particular question warrants it; some will be straight forward). The way that the interviewer clarifies the hypothetical situation can lead you to the type of answer that the interviewer is looking for.

For example, let's say the question is: "A big deadline is coming up and you're behind, what do you do?" You could ask whether they mean what would you do on a personal level, like putting in extra hours, or on a team level, like organizing your group to get the work done on time. How the interviewer clarifies will tell you whether he/she is looking for evidence of your personal work ethic or your ability to work with a team.

A few general tips: never be afraid to ask for the question to be repeated or to have it clarified, even if you're halfway through answering, this can only help you; whenever possible, make reference to specific situations you have faced in the past and how your skills got you through; and lastly, make sure that your answers let the interviewer know just how much of a benefit you could be to their company (don't overdo it though, nobody wants to hire someone who thinks they know it all already).

More resources:
A site devoted to interview questions: http://www.jobinterviewquestions.org/

50 Common interview questions: http://bhuvans.wordpress.com/2006/08/19/50-common-interview-qa/

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