By Andrea Davis

It's amazing how many job seekers underestimate the importance of preparing for a job interview. Just because you got called for an interview doesn't mean you're guaranteed to get the job. In fact, if you don't prepare for your job interview, you're pretty much guaranteed not to get the job.

There are lots of great job interview tips out there. Just search the keywords "job interview tips" on your favorite search engine and you'll see there's no shortage of results, some good, and some not so good. I wanted to take a different approach to offering you job interview tips. Rather than providing you with answers to the most commonly asked job interview questions (of course I will do that in another article), my objective in this article was to give you job interview tips that will help you develop a keen ability to answer virtually any job interview question in a way that will distinguishing you from all the other candidates competing for the same job.

In his book The 250 Job Interview Questions, author Peter Veruki says you can distinguish yourself from other job candidates by coming up with certain themes that you will refer to throughout the job interview. These themes will address the types of information employers are looking for. The objective of referring to these themes during your interview is to enable you to highlight your strengths, skills, qualifications and most importantly, your accomplishments.

Veruki outlines twelve types of information interviewers want to know. In my opinion, some of them overlap so I've summarized them into six major themes:

1. Passion and motivation. Do you have a passion for the business? You need to think about why you're interested in working in this industry. What is it that excites you about this business? Perhaps you're aware of some recent developments in the industry that you can mention in the job interview. Why do you want to work for this company? Have you researched the company? What do you know about its competitors? Why do you feel the company has an edge over the competition? Did you read an article about the company that was of great interest? Mention it during the job interview to show your enthusiasm.

2. Strengths and compatibility. What are your specific skills that are relevant to the job? What relevant experience do you have? Be prepared to discuss your skills and experience as they relate to the company's requirements.

3. Professionalism and leadership. Are you an effective leader? Have you been successful at motivating others? Does the way you interact with fellow workers and clients demonstrate your professionalism? Be prepared to back up your claims with concrete examples during the job interview.

4. Personality and interpersonal skills. Are you the kind of person people want to work with? Are you easy to get along with? During your job interview, provide examples of how your personality allowed you to succeed in accomplishing an important business objective at your former job. What are your personal interests and hobbies and how do they reflect your personality?

5. Problem solving ability. Talk about how your creativity has helped you resolve difficult situations but don't focus on the negative aspects. Place the emphasis on your successes.

6. Accomplishments and career aspirations. Mention some significant accomplishments that the interviewer can relate to. You want to be able to convey the message that you can make similar contributions to this company if you get the job. You should also talk about how your aspirations will help you contribute to the company in the longer term.

If you follow these job interview tips, you'll be well prepared to answer any question thrown at you during your job interview. More importantly, your answers will distinguish you from other candidates competing for the same job, which means you'll be far more likely to get the job. Happy interviewing!

If you have any job interview tips you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you! Email them to jobs@foundcareer.com.