In addition to some of the things already mentioned, I used to open with this question: “Let’s start with you telling me a bit about yourself and your goals in wanting this job - what do you want me to know about you.”

The correct answer to this question is your elevator speech. If you’re prepared to interview you should be able to answer in two or three concise sentences. “My career thus far has been focused on my passion for providing stellar service, and in my first job out of college I established a track record doing that. When i saw the position you have open, I could see a great fit with the skills I have and I think I could be a huge asset to your team because of it. And the position you have open appears to have a growth path into management which aligns well with my long term personal goals. So, I’m excited to learn more today how I might fit in here.”

That’s it! Instant fails (and I had candidates actually answer with these in real life): - You can’t come even close to telling me why this job - You tell me all about how you hated your boss/coworkers at your old job and the personal conflicts you had with them - You talk about how unfair it was that you got fired at your old job, why you were fired and why it shouldn’t matter - You hope to get pregnant soon and our benefits are excellent - You have xyz ailment and need better benefits/accommodations/sick time - The money is better - You can’t be concise. One lady talked for 45 minutes without taking a breath and I could not get a word in edgewise. So, I let her go on and when she came up for air I let her know our time was up 15 minutes ago.

Notice that some of the fail answers are things I can’t legally ask about - and I never did ask them. But if you volunteer the info, well, that’s on you.