If you haven’t yet experienced an interview question that leaves you speechless, consider yourself lucky. It happens in almost every interview.

Someone throws you a question that freezes you. You stumble. You stammer. It kills your confidence.

Our own HR guy at the UVM Foundation, Andrew Flewelling, has thrown plenty of these questions to job candidates, so we thought he would be the best guy to give a few tips on how to handle these questions.

He’s interviewed hundreds of candidates and he’s seen seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Here are some tough questions and Andrew’s advice for answering:

“Tell me about yourself.”

• Why interviewers ask this question: With this question I am not interested in your thoughts on politics or where you grew up. I want a very brief top line of your history – where you went to school and what you studied (for recent grads), maybe a brief work history and recent career experience.
• Tips for responding: Emphasize what you have done most recently that lead you to applying to this position. It’s important not to waste your best points as this is likely a warm up question to get you talking. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how articulate you are and begin engaging the interviewer. The goal is to make me look up from your resume that I may have only looked at for 3-5 minutes and start paying attention to you. 1-3 minutes at most should suffice here.

“What’s your biggest weakness?”

• Why interviewers ask this question: With this question, I might try to gauge your honesty and self-awareness, as well as any major red flags that might make you ill-suited to the position.
• Tips for responding: Someone who identifies project procrastination in a fast paced environment just lost the job. But if you answer that you can sometimes be a perfectionist and take a bit too long to deliver – but you are working on letting go of projects earlier, that gives me a better sense of why it might take you longer to get things done.

“Tell me about a time you failed”

• Why interviewers ask this question: I’m looking to gain a sense of the types of mistakes you make – we all do – how it happened and what you did. In a best case world, and dependent on the industry, I’d be more receptive to mistakes that came from taking a calculated risk that you thought would advance the objectives of the organization, rather than a total flub at a sales presentation….
• Tips for responding: Ultimately, demonstrating how you used the failure to create a breakthrough puts even the biggest mistakes in the best light. Don’t under any situation say that your failure was because of someone else. Take responsibility for your actions and don’t try to lay the blame elsewhere. That makes you look weak and like you lack integrity.

“Why should I hire you?”

• Why interviewers ask this question: Like a good cover letter, you should be able to succinctly articulate your understanding of the position and the ways in which your skills and experiences meet the organization’s needs.
• Tips for responding: I’m really looking for the candidate to do my work for me. I don’t like simple answers that make me put the pieces together. Rather, I am looking for the candidate to synthesize her/his work history, specific skills, life experiences and personality in such a way that I can envision them at a meeting with me, listening to their ideas and benefiting from their opinion. Highlight the top 3-5 things that make you outstanding and connect them directly to the responsibilities of the position you are trying to secure.

“What questions do you have for me?”

• Why interviewers ask this question: You will invariably get this question at the end of the interview. Never say you have no questions, or that everything has been covered in the interview. That just says that you haven’t looked very closely at the company.
• Tips for responding: Ask about the work place culture. Ask the interviewer how long they have worked there and why they joined, or why they have stayed for so many years – you’ll learn a lot and will cue the person across the table that you are assessing them, as much as they are interviewing you. Ultimately, this is your last chance to sell yourself. Be confident, thank them, and restate why you think you would a terrific addition to the team.

Here are a few articles with more tips for your first (or next job) interview:

• How to Ace the 50 Most Common Interview Questions from Forbes.
• 30 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions from Business Insider.
• 4 Ways to Handle Interview Questions You Don’t Know How to Answer from The Muse.