Because if it's one of those and you're not expecting it, it's pretty scary stuff and can leave you speechless/unable to give answers and feeling pretty foolish.

Short skirt

and read through your application form again to remember what you said in it.

I went for an interview for HSBC once and the first question was "What do you know about HSBC"

I replied "Nothing"

a few years ago i had a job interview during which i realised i didn't want the job (or rather to work for them) and told them so and left. that was fun

I would say the best thing to do is read through the requirements for the role and think about how your previous work experience can be applied to each requirement. If you write it down and study it, when you're asked "Why are you suitable for this position?" you should have a really good answer to sell yourself on.

And smile lots.

would it reflect badly on me if i applied for two positions within the same company?

as in, would it make me look a bit unfocused and also desperate?

THANKS

me too :)

they don't know how old i am. i'm really scared that they will be put off by my age. ageism is rife. what do i do?

So I'll be continuing to sit around doing nothing and throwing out the odd witticism here for the time being.

If it's a bloke, offer him a quick shake and vac. You'll be set

Also, try and give the impression that, although you know you are fully capable of doing the job, and you know the you will be an asset to the company, it will not be the end of the world if you do not get the job.

Always prepare yourself for the "Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?" question as well.

Don't do what I did in my last interview. I am struggling to put my finger on it but the feedback was:

'Came cross as both arrogant and mildly incompetent.'

was with an internationally renowned geneticist type. I was being interviewed to get onto a course, and you had to choose which supervisor you wanted to work with. Given that this chap's work sounded interesting, and I'd had an hour to decide who to put down, I'd said him. I thought it would be about psychological effects of having bad genes; stuff I knew about. Not pure genetics. Over the course of 10 minutes, he asked me an increasingly basic series of questions about genetics and then - presumably - GCSE-level biology. None of which I knew. His colleague sat in silence, looking confused. He ended by telling me I should probably buy some introductory textbooks.

They told us beforehand there were only 4 places and that even if you performed well - that is, to a standard at which they'd have offered you a place had there been more - you might not get in. This has made me inconfident and i'm now looking at plans to fuck off out the country for 2 months on a volunteer project.

Key tips: there's no job you can't fellate your way in to...