Part of my job is conducting interviews. On the subject of having had lots of jobs, a good answer might be that you are at a place in your life where you are looking for some long-term stability and want a real challenge to sink your teeth into for a good long while. Notice that this answer doesn't talk about any specifics of why you changed jobs a lot. It alludes to it without dwelling on it, and mostly talks about the future. And it makes the subtle assumption that you and the company would be a good fit, at least as far as employment longevity is concerned.

As for the alcoholism thing, the best answer is to say you had some health problems which are now cleared up. If they know their business, they will know that it is illegal -- or at least really stupid -- to ask for specifics. If they don't know that, you should reconsider your desire to work there. A willingness to be inappropriately intrusive during the interview will only get worse once you are on the staff. They can, and should, ask if you have any health problems that would prevent you from performing the tasks of the job. They shouldn't be particularly specific with that question and there is no need for you to be specific with the answer. They should be specific about the physical requrements of the job, so will be able to answer the question truthfully.

One of the things that kills interviewees with me very quickly is a perception on my part they don't have my interests in mind. People who answer questions without showing a clear understanding of why I am asking the questions come across to me as self-centered. They tend to be poor candidates for effective communication on the job, and for being able to clue into the concerns of thier coworkers, supervisors, or the company as a whole. Really think about why they are asking a question, why they feel a need to have that piece of information. Answer honestly, but include in your answer information that lets them know you are thinking about things from their point of view.

Teamwork is very important. Ask how the work teams are organized. Express an understanding of what it means to be part of a team of people, and an appreciation of the processes of work flow and decision making within a team. Talk about how you like working on projects by yourself, how you can drive yourself forward when given the authority and responsibility to to do so. But emphasize that all the solo projects brilliantly completed don't do much good if they don't fit accurately into the effort of the whole team.

If asked about conflict resolution with coworkers, don't say that you follow a policy of live-and-let-live. They will know from hard experience that such a policy doesn't work over the long term. Better to say something like, "Communication is key. I find that most conflicts are the result of misunderstandings. Getting together and talking through the issue and making an attempt to see it from each other's point of view almost always resolves things right away."

Ah, I could go on forever on how to blow an interview . . .

Good luck!

John Peekstok