I have a wide experience in handling interviews of job applicants when I was working as operations manager of a Japanese software house. Before the interview I would need 5 minutes to read the application and resume of the applicant. My usual questions are focused on the vacant position. For a computer programmer, I want to know how many programs he had made and what kind of programs. The next question is his style of working particularly the testing of the program. Aside from the job details, I also ask why he is interested to join our company (I would relate the negative points like our company is small and new and there is difficulty in communications because the president is Japanese.
While asking the questions and hearing the answers, I am attentive to the behavior and mannerism. The applicant may be timid or daring that sometimes the self confidence is taken as bragging. Well, it depends on the applicant personality so I would say that the way to handle an applicant is on a case to case basis.