Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

Once you have been able to successfully present yourself on paper with a resume and cover letter, it's time to make your case in person. Job interviews, short or long, can be daunting for even the most confident applicant. But interviews can be manageable and even enjoyable if you are prepared. If you have a big interview coming up, it's time to stop fretting and start prepping.

Here are 10 tips that will help get you on the right path to knocking their socks off.

Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

You did it.

You landed an interview, dressed to impress, had great conversation and you think you might actually have a shot at getting a job offer.

But is there any way to actually know if the interview was in your favor?

Many times, job seekers are so focused on what they did wrong in an interview that they don't think about the many things they did right. While no signs are 100 percent foolproof, there are definitely some indicators that you have won over your interviewer.

Justin Honaman, director of customer intelligence at Coca-Cola Customer Business Solutions, says that although you may think you've executed well in the interview don't stop the process there. Even if all signs point to a job offer, you should follow-up effectively to complete your career transition.

Here are 10 signs that indicate you rocked your interview:

Reviewed 11/09

By CareerBuilder.com

To ace the interview you need to know how the interviewer thinks. In his book 'Knock 'em Dead: The Ultimate Job Seeker's Guide,' author and job-hunting guru Martin Yate examines the interview from the employer's perspective and shares the five secrets to getting hired.

Secret 1: Ability and Suitability

The first secret is to show the interviewer you have both ability and suitability. Every working professional has a combination of skills that broadly define his or her ability and suitability. For example, a good computer programmer working in a bank has both technical and professional skills; that is, the ability to program a computer as well as knowledge of how to get things done in the banking industry and the capacity to work well with bankers.

Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

But maybe you got into a bar fight in college that went on your permanent record and you don't want to include it on your application. Maybe you got fired for standing up for what you believe but you're worried a potential employer won't see your side. Or, maybe you quit your job but haven't updated your résumé to that effect because you've found employers find you less desperate.

You're not supposed to lie, so how do you explain away all these things and remain in the running for a job? Or, the better question is, can you?

"The honesty police may arrest me but I'd have to say that everyone has probably shaded the truth in an interview," says Alan Guinn, managing director of The Guinn Consultancy Group. "It's not that as applicants we're inherently dishonest. It's that society places such a critical importance on success achievement that we look for ways to present ourselves in the best light possible."

Guinn says that honesty is generally the best policy when it comes to your interview, but in some cases, it can be hard to explain actions in which you have been peripherally involved or caught up. While you shouldn't flat out lie about anything, you should position your answers so that you are the responsible party, rather than the one to blame, Guinn says.

Some situations are more tempting to fudge the truth in than others. Here are 10 of those situations and how you can be honest with a potential employer and stay in the running for a job:

How to give the right answer to doubtful employers

by Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

Tecently, Stephanie Somogyi Miller was interviewing candidates for an entry-level public relations position at her company, Spread PR, a Miller/Hamilton company. Over the course of 20 candidates Miller quickly realized -- much to her shock -- that many job seekers were unprepared when she asked them, "Why should I hire you?"

"I thought it gave people the opportunity to tell me what they wanted to tell me, versus me asking a million questions," Miller says. Only one candidate was able to give an answer without stumbling. What's worse, Miller couldn't envision any of these applicants having a coherent conversation with a reporter if her one question was causing so much distress.

"It is so hard to get a job these days, and I really expected people to be on their game," she says. "I guess it made my job easier though, because when I finally met someone who knew what was up, I hired her on the spot."

In today's job market, where many seasoned workers have found themselves out of a job and plenty of young but inexperienced graduates are entering the workforce, do you have the right answer to beat out the competition?

Here are three common scenarios job seekers find themselves in and how they might handle each one: