Before approaching any prospective employer, take a good look a good look at yourself, figure out your strengths and listing them on a piece of paper.

Once you have them listed, begin taking notes about what you might say to your interviewer regarding those strengths.

For example, if your first “strength” listed were “great leadership ability” you could write down something like this:

1. Great leadership ability – in my last position I supervised a crew of 5 and made sure we fulfilled company expectations as a group working together, and my talent was tested several times when employees expressed dissatisfaction over their pay and working hours. I was successful in helping resolve a few issues which could have adversely affected the company. In the end, the company was successful and I gained much satisfaction knowing I had played an important role in helping them achieve their goals.

By laying out entries such as the one described above, you can approach your interview confidently; even though your answer to an interviewer’s question won’t be exactly like the one written above, it’ll contain the general idea and feeling you want to convey about your strengths as opposed to merely listing what you believe your strengths are.

Never tell an interviewer what your weaknesses are but at the same time try not to come across as a know-it-all or as someone who is over-confident; first impressions are everlasting.

The bottom line is; you really need to do your homework before an interview. Take time to search inside yourself and you’ll put yourself in a great position where the employer won’t have to search for anyone else after your interview!