Smart recruiters will always find a way to fish out your secrets. These may seem quite ordinary questions that are often asked at job interviews, while, in fact, these are true pitfalls used to throw up grey areas in an employee’s professional life. Here is the list of the trickiest questions to help you think over appropriate answers.

Tell me about yourself in one word

Almost all job interviews will contain this kind of question which sounds like an offer to introduce yourself. But, actually, it is not your personality traits an interviewer is interested in. It’s your confidence level. What does that mean? In asking this question, an employer is trying to discover whether your work behavior will match that of the company. Since there is a delicate balance between self-confidence and confidence or between modesty and shyness you should talk about being goal-oriented and a reliable person, suited to the role.

Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses

This seems like a straight question without any underpinning. But you shouldn’t take it at face value. Of course, your interviewer doesn’t expect to hear that you are unpunctual or poor team player, but your snap answer may tell a lot about your real weaknesses. So before the interview read job description carefully and think about your qualities that will best suit the position you want to take.

What company would you like to work at, if you could?

With this question, an employer wants to make sure that you take their company seriously and intend to build a long-term career, contributing to the company’s development. The main message to get across to an employer is to say that their company is the best in the field, and you’ve done a lot of research to learn more about the work it does.

What does success mean to you?

This question sounds like a trap. Your any answer will define how motivated you actually are and what accomplishments you are ready to achieve. That’s why even the most reasonable answer may be taken wrong. So what does an employer expect to hear? An ideal answer to this vague question would be to say that you are going to use your knowledge and experience to achieve the company’s goals. You shouldn’t talk about aims unrelated to professional life.

Tell us about the most challenging situation you have faced?

With this question, an interviewer wants to find out how you handle stressful situations and what you consider to be a challenge. Don’t take this question as a chance to boast of your achievements. This isn’t what an employer wants to hear. Instead, talk about the problem that occurred at work and what you did to cope with it. Problem-solving skills that an employer seeks from a candidate may get you hired.

Chances are that you will be asked these questions during your real job interview so tailor your answers beforehand and you’ll get shortlisted.

About the Author: Ann Aldrich works part-time as a freelance writer at http://writemyessayservice.co.uk/, posting articles on topics she is passionate about, such as HR, technology and architecture. When Ann isn’t blogging, she is working on his tech project.