Honing interviewing skills is paramount

But whatever position you apply for nowadays, you might not be competing on a level playing field. The chances are that some of your rivals have received specialist training in how to impress the interviewer.

You might have the best skills, the best background and in fact be the best person for the job - but then lose out to a lesser candidate simply because that person has learned some tricks from a two-hour training course.

Outplacement firms are among those that run such courses. At Fairplace Consulting in the City of London, trainer Neil Herbert says: "You only need to make a dog's breakfast of one part of the interview and that's the bit the employer might remember. We can help you perform at your best."

Fairplace provides a video play-back session so people can watch themselves handle a mock interview, plus plenty of advice. Some is online, complete with audio examples of good and bad ways to answer the most common kind of questions.

One of these is the deceptively simple "tell me about yourself", a popular opening gambit, apparently, in interviews for positions in the financial services sector.

It is a trap for the unwary to start talking about their cats, how they would really like to have a job in ballet and the kind of people they cannot stand working with. Instead the question - like all questions - should be seized as an opportunity to show what you can do.

An almost military level of preparation is advisable, so that you can effectively put across a few significant points that you are determined to impress upon your interviewer.

Such a question can be used as a prompt to talk about your achievements in previous jobs, your interest in the potential employer's business and the personal qualities that you think it is looking for.

Fairplace's Herbert, who once worked as an interviewer for investment banks, says: "It's not about reciting a script, but preparation is vital. You must know which strengths you want to communicate."

He recalls one telephone interview in which a jobseeker spoke at length about his execution skills, but neglected to stress his marketing experience, which is what the employer was most interested in.

The omission was fatal. The interviewer quickly lost interest, ended the call early and that was the end of it - no second chance.

Handling a negative line of questioning is another skill worth practising. Although the days of open hostility and denigration in City of London interviews are mostly over, interviewers are not always sympathetic.

One question Herbert has come across is "your curriculum vitae is pretty average, isn't it?"

This is a chance to show the interviewer that he or she is oh-so-wrong - meek acquiescence followed by disappearance with tail between legs is unlikely to land you the job. But without a bit of mental preparation it is easy to stumble at such a hurdle.

Caroline Foley-Comer, who gives advice to jobseekers at the recruitment firm Penna, says any temptation to flounce out of the room if the interviewing appears unfair should be resisted. It is likely to be a ploy to see how people perform under pressure.

"Describe your biggest failure," is another curve ball beloved of interviewers. Trainers suggest this too be turned to the interviewee's advantage.

Mentioning something that was only a partial failure, followed by success, is a good plan. But within limits; recalling the time when you once lost a paperclip, but then found it again under your mouse mat, is unlikely to make a good impression.

If asked for their greatest weakness, an interviewee can use sleight of hand to reveal a strength. "Well, I'm a bit of a stickler for detail," is hardly going to put off an interviewer if he is looking for a compliance officer.

The thorny subject of pay is best not raised in a first interview, advises Andrea Eccles, another trainer at Fairplace. At the second it is appropriate to mention it. If asked how much you want, a good response is to say you would expect to be treated fairly with your peer group.

Herbert says mock interviews are particularly useful for people who are simply unaware of how they appear to others.

Sometimes he asks people if they realise they sound arrogant. Often they are surprised by the criticism, but sometimes they say "yes, of course I know I'm arrogant".

Herbert says: "I suppose there are some jobs in the City that it's difficult to be too arrogant for."

Another common mistake is to criticise past employers and colleagues. "You never know if the interviewer might be the brother-in-law of the person you're complaining about," says Herbert. So grit your teeth and say nice things about people.

Another common question interviewees should be prepared to answer is "describe yourself in one word". Any temptation to say "scared" should be resisted, "confident", "exceptional" or "proactive" will make a better impression.

Eccles at Fairplace says it is important to realise that different interviewers will be looking for different attributes.

For the same job, a line manager might focus on an applicant's skills in a specific area and whether he or she thinks they can work together on a personal level, while a human resources manager might be more interested in an applicant's overall track record, to make sure the regulatory authorities will not question their competence.

A managing director will think more widely still, wondering what the applicant might be doing for the company in three years' time.

Panel interviews need particular preparation. Interviewees should make a point of addressing every member of the panel, rather than talking all the time to whoever seems the dominant figure.

But no amount of interview training can overcome every weakness.

A classic one, trainers say, is to fail to live up to something that you put on your curriculum vitae.

One applicant had written that he could speak business German. When asked to say something, he thought for a bit before coming up with "wo ist das Postamt?" - "where is the post office?". He did not get the job.