Interview trips up job candidates.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

Navigating the job application process can be tricky, and no area has more opportunities to go off track than the interview, according to a survey by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Accountemps, a specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals. Forty-three percent of chief financial officers polled said the job interview is where candidates make the most mistakes, up 11 percentage points from a similar 2010 Accountemps survey.

CFOs were asked, "In which of the following job application areas do you feel candidates make the most mistakes?" Their responses: interview (43%), resume (19%), interview follow-up (11%), cover letter (10%), phone interview/screen (seven percent), and reference check (five percent).

"Hiring mistakes are costly to businesses, and employers are increasingly wary of choosing someone who is a poor fit for a job," says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies. 'The job interview can provide the best insight into whether someone is a good match."

Messmer points out that because employers place great stock in the job interview, applicants should go to great lengths to prepare. Here are five increasingly common job interview scenarios beyond the traditional format, along with tips for handling them:

Behavioral interviews. When asking behavioral-based questions ("Can you tell me about a time when you increased productivity at your last job?"), employers are looking for insight into your past work experiences that could relate to the open position. Be ready to offer compelling anecdotes that illustrate how you delivered positive results or solved problems.

Video interviews. Skype and other video chat services...