The purpose of a job interview is to learn everything possible about you, your career, and your work-style in under an hour. (Sometimes under 30 minutes!)  It’s a pretty tall order if you ask me.  In terms of “everything there is to know” that doesn’t just include your big strengths, or accomplishments.  It also includes your less glamorous moments, your weaknesses, your mistakes, times when you couldn’t finish a project, couldn’t get along with someone… and lots of other things you wish you didn’t have to talk about.

When an interviewer is asking those more “negative” or developmental questions, it can sometimes feel like they’re waiting for you to shoot yourself in the foot.  From my experience as a recruiter and the one doing those interviews, I can assure you that that’s not what they’re looking for — they just want to find the right candidate for the role.

However, answering these tougher, more negative questions does require a bit more finesse. Here are my top four tips for dealing with negative job interview questions without shooting yourself in the foot. (Full article on Levo League)