GET OUT OF THE HOT SEAT WITH SMART ANSWERS TO TRICKY QUESTIONS!

You're a hair's breath away from being hired for a job you want. You've hurdled over the employment agency, and the company's personnel department said they would discuss salary with you if you can see the next interview.

It might seem unfair that so much hinges on the first impression you'll make on your future boss, but put yourself in any employer's shoes. If you owned a company, what kind of person would you want to hire? No question about it, you would want any applicant who presented herself (himself) as honest, competent, flexible, dependable and enthusiastic.

That's why you can count on 25% of the interview questions being tricky - how else will the interviewer be able to sleuth out all of your special qualities.

The game that you must cleverly play while you're in the hot seat is to ask yourself what each question means. A poor spontaneous answer, explains Michael Zey, author of The Right Move (Ballantine $3.95) could instantly disqualify you from the race. Zey offers some classic questions and suggests some skillful answers.

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF?

The real question is: "Tell me some good things about yourself." The interviewer is not looking for a five-minute biography, complete with childhood stories or information on your siblings. Your response should focus on job related strengths. A possible answer: "I enjoy working with people and can handle pressure well. I like to tackle challenging projects". In two crisp sentences you've listed critical qualities employers value.

WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES?

Say you have none and you'll lose points for being inhuman or dishonest. The real meaning of the questions is: Tell me about weaknesses that are actually positives within the work setting. "Once I'm involved in a project, I find it hard to stop before it is satisfactorily completed." You're telling an interviewer that you're action-oriented and take pride in your job.

WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?

The flip side to the above question, it doesn't mean spelling out all your assets, laundry-list fashion. Employers are interested in those assets that demonstrate your ability to do your job well. One possible answer to say: "I'm quick, accurate and I pride myself on enlisting the cooperation of my co-workers."

WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU?

The trick to answering this off-putting question is to combine your strengths with an understanding of the company or industry. Let's say you're applying for a job as a Legal Secretary in a criminal law firm. A smart answer would be: "Because speed and accuracy are critical for this job, and I have advanced word processing and legal stenographic skills which help make me an asset to a firm like yours."

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?

Don't say "As a Manager of a Department" or "In a supervisor position." Your interviewer may be the person you will be reporting to and could be threatened by your answer. The interviewer simply wants to know that you have a realistic career play and intend to stay. You can say you want to master you job, refine your skills (learn new word processing programs for instance) and find out how other departments function. In other words, let an employer know you're open-minded and want to learn as much as you can.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE YOUR LAST JOB?

Nothing negative please! Don't say you left your last job because your ex-boss was a leach or because your co-workers were a bunch of creeps. Even if you worked for a tyrannical megalomaniac, present a neutral answer that doesn't paint you as someone who might have problems getting on with management or co-workers. Stress the positive and discuss limitations in objective terms. For example: "I've learned a great deal about the widget industry, but because it was such a small firm, I could only go so far. I want to learn more and undertake new responsibilities and projects."

WHAT KIND OF SALARY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Naming an unreasonably high salary can do more harm than good. Even if you're the best, the company can only pay you a salary that's within their budget. So, do some research on the field. In order to negotiate realistically, know what competitors are paying for your skills. And leave room for compromise.