Beware of These 4 "Easy" Interview Questions

You've done the hard work of polishing your resume, meeting with recruiters and applying for positions. Now it's time for the final hurdle: the interview. Don't let all of your labor go to waste by neglecting to prepare for this final stage of the hiring process. Prior to your interview, research your prospective employer, practice your responses and work on your talking points.

Easy questions aren't always easy to answer

As you prepare for the big day, you'll likely focus on tough questions directly related to the responsibilities of the job. Finding examples from your previous work experience will help you draw parallels to the new position. Jon Youshaei, a Google product manager, suggested using the PAR method for answering those difficult questions. PAR stands for Problem, Action, Result. It's a devilishly simple formula: Briefly explain a problem you faced, describe the strategies you implemented to solve the problem, and then state the result.

But not all challenging inquiries are so obvious. Indeed, "What can you tell me about yourself?" may be the toughest question you face.

And yet, you can apply the PAR method here, as well. In this case, you can treat the overarching goals of the position as the Problem, your personality traits and experiences as the Actions and your ability to meet the expectations of the job as the Result. Use the job description as a jumping off point.

Try applying this method to every interview question - even the easy ones! - and you won't need to be afraid of your next job interview.