To make a positive impression, it is important that you listen actively and do not ask questions that have already been answered during the conversation. This will prevent you from being remembered as someone who is inattentive. Furthermore, you should not ask for information that you could easily have looked up online. If, in addition, you ask open-ended questions, you will obtain as much information as possible.

It goes without saying that you’re a team player. It’s best to give an example straight away that shows the team is more important to you than personal gain. This will provide strong evidence of your team-oriented attitude. If you then describe the incident in a matter-of-fact tone without boasting, you’ll win people over.

Your financial circumstances are a private matter. You are therefore not obliged to answer questions about your personal debts. The only exception is if you are applying for a position of trust in the financial sector.

These are topics you should only bring up once you’ve been with the company for a while and can demonstrate your achievements. At a job interview, however, behaving in this way comes across as rather arrogant.

First of all, it’s important to mention any weaknesses at all. Furthermore, these should not pose any hindrance to carrying out the job. And then there are weaknesses that are cited so often that every recruiter is familiar with them and can’t bear to hear them any more: impatience, perfectionism, being a workaholic, or even a weakness for chocolate.