By Diane Domeyer, executive director of Office Team

Most job-hunting aficionados can effortlessly recite their greatest strengths and weaknesses, succinctly describe their future career goals and present a compelling case when asked why they should be hired. Yet these types of sound bites, while helpful, may fall short when it comes to nailing down a job offer. Today's employers recognize that traditional interview questions such as, "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" tend to yield rehearsed responses, so they're branching out into new territory. For candidates, this means preparing to answer new queries.

Following are three types of questions you might encounter and how best to respond to them:

How to determine what a hiring manager wants to know

Robert Half International

You've probably been on quite a few job interviews in your career, and you know that there are certain questions that every hiring manager seems to ask. Because you've heard them so often, you feel you can practically answer them in your sleep.

But are you providing the best responses possible?

Often, a seemingly simple question can have hidden layers of meaning. What is the interviewer really hoping to learn when he or she asks why you want to work for the firm?

Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com

Interviews are nothing if not opportunities to drive yourself crazy. Just remind yourself to look good, appear confident, say all the right things and don't say any of the wrong ones. It shouldn't be so hard to follow these guidelines except you'll be on the receiving end of an endless line of questions. Factor in your nerves and you'll be lucky to remember your own name. Don't fret. If you walk into the interview prepared, you can make sure you know what right things to say, and you can stop yourself from saying the following wrong things.

Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

Job seekers – to put it mildly – don't like interviews very much. Aside from having to dress up and worry about the firmness of their handshakes, applicants have to field question after question. No matter how much they fear unexpected trick questions, job candidates dread the most common ones above all others.

When it comes to the least favorite interview questions, "What is your greatest weakness?" is job seekers' top pick, according to a recent Zogby poll. Although it's a common question, nobody knows what to say. If you're too honest, you've just told the interviewer why you shouldn't be hired. If you pretend you're flawless, you look arrogant and still don't get the job.

When you're asked questions that seem set up to make you look bad, what are you supposed to say?

By Joe Turner

You've heard it said often in the past: "First impressions are the most important." When it comes to the job interview, here's recent proof that bears this out: "Hiring managers often know whether they might hire someone soon after the opening handshake and small talk", a new survey suggests. Executives polled said it takes them just 10 minutes to form an opinion of job seekers, despite meeting with staff-level applicants for 55 minutes and management-level candidates for 86 minutes, on average.