· Avoid giving a strength that when overdone becomes a weakness, because the interviewer will feel that you manipulated your answer to pat yourself on the back for the strength. Interviewers are weary of this ploy.

· If asked for several weaknesses, provide only one unless you are prompted for more. You want to answer the above five questions, impress the interviewer with your insight, frankness, specificity, initiative, and growth, and get the interviewer refocused on your professional assets.

Carol R. Anderson is Director of Career Development and Placement for a professional graduate school of management and policy at New School University, where she counsels and places graduates and interns in nonprofit, corporate, and government sectors, and maintains a part-time private practice in career transition management.

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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