One of the questions I dread at interview time is the “So, tell me about yourself” question. I usually never have a clue how to answer this. Although in the past 2 years, I have become a lot better at marketing myself and a lot more perceptive of what employers are actually trying to find out.

But its usually these questions that stump me. I once interviewed at Sony, and one of the programmers asked me “so, why do you want to work here?”. Unfortunately, I was speechless. I think he was trying to break the ice and by stumbling I just made it very awkward and I’m appalled that I couldn’t think of anything nice to say about Sony. All I had to say was “coz Sony rocks!”. Of course, I didn’t get the job and I don’t blame them. I certainly wouldn’t hire anyone who didn’t have anything good to say about my company!

Since that experience, I’ve gotten slightly better at interviewing but I until I read The interview that lasts for an hour over at Career Strategist, I didn’t really have an idea of how to lead an interview or even start one firing on all cylinders.

Its a somewhat long post, but by far the best I’ve ever read on that topic. It covers all the salient points concerning an interview including do’s and don’ts and what questions to ask the interviewer at the end.

Good luck with your next interview!