[joker123]

How many of you had stumbled upon an
interview question you haven’t prepared yourself for, and your mind drew
a blank? Sensing that awkward silence, you blurted out whatever words
you could find and desperately made sentences out of them. The interview
ended moments later, and as you reflect back on what you had said, you
dreadfully realized those words don’t make much logical sense!

Okay, if you are looking for a job now,
then you’re in luck. This is a guidance post of ten most common
interview questions that you might be asked for your upcoming
interviews. Without further ado, here are the top 10 questions, let’s
get started!

1. “Tell me about yourself?”

This is typically the first question the interviewer will ask once
you’ve taken your seat. This is the opportunity for the interviewer to
assess you as a person through what you say and how you deliver it. As
they always say, first impression is at utmost important, so you’ve to
make sure you’ve prepared yourself adequately to answer it. Keep it
short and succinct, preferably within 2 – 3 minutes.

How should you reply then? Like I said,
you should have done your research on what the company expects from the
candidates before heading for the interview. Your answer then, is to
address how your qualities (e.g. qualifications, personalities and work
experience) are relevant to the position in question. Therefore, you
should only convey information applicable to what is required for the
job, but not irrelevant ones pertaining to your family or personal
events, for instance.

2. “What are your weaknesses?”

At first glance, this seems tricky. On one hand, you can’t reveal that
you lack what it takes for the job; on the other, it will be an obvious
lie if you claim you don’t have any weaknesses. What should you disclose
then?

If you have thoroughly gone through the
company’s profile and such, you will by now understand what qualities
are considered strengths, and what are not. Now, there are several ways
to answer double-edged questions like this.

With your knowledge of what constitute as weaknesses that are frown upon
by the interviewer, you can admit to those which you have that are
impertinent to the job requirement. Secondly, you can mask strengths as
weaknesses. For instance, you can say you are a very meticulous person
who gets picky with details of a project (for this to work though, the
job must be one that is particular about specifics). Last but not least,
you can confess to past weaknesses but show how you had triumphed over
them.

3. “What is your greatest accomplishment?”

Although the interviewer is asking you about your greatest
accomplishment, you still have to choose one that is more professionally
relevant. This is a good time to illustrate how you can contribute to
the company if you are successfully recruited, so it will be to your
advantage if you mention an achievement that applies to the position.

Let’s say you are applying for a
position that requires a significant amount of problem solving and
troubleshooting. You might want to talk about a time when you resolved a
persistent problem that had plagued your company for years. You can
explain how you initiated some research and made a useful suggestion
that was eventually implemented to all departments. If possible,
quantify your results in terms of savings made and increased
productivity for instance.

4. “Why did you leave your last job?”

There are various legitimate reasons for leaving a job. Yet, when it
comes to interview, try to answer positively rather than complain about
what made you unhappy. Talk in relation to your career goals and how the
job you are applying provides a better environment for growth than your
previous job. As always, angle your reply in such a way that what you
had learned in your previous job had enriched you with valuable skills
for the current position.

Here, the interviewer is trying to gauge
how much the job fits to your expectations. You had probably quit your
last job because you were unhappy about something. The interviewer wants
to make sure that you will be committed to the job and not leave
because your expectations are not met again.

5. “Why do you want to work with us?”

More likely than not, the interviewer wishes to see how much you know
about the company culture, and whether you can identify with the
organization’s values and vision. Every organization has its strong
points, and these are the ones that you should highlight in your answer.
For example, if the company emphasizes on integrity with customers,
then you mention that you would like to be in such a team because you
yourself believe in integrity.

It doesn’t have to be a lie. In the case
that your values are not in line with the ones by the company, ask
yourself if you would be happy working there. If you have no issue with
that, go ahead. But if you are aware of the company culture and realize
that there is some dilemma you might be facing, you ought to think
twice. The best policy is to be honest with yourself, and be honest with
the interviewer with what is it in the company culture that motivates
you.

6. “Why did you apply for this position?”

Even if it’s true to a large extent, don’t give them the vibe that you
applied for this job because you were retrenched from your previous
company. Or for that matter, don’t give the impression that you are here
because you need to make a living. Any company wants someone who is
committed to the organization and eventually developed a sense of
belonging with it. It doesn’t help claiming that you’re here for the
monthly paycheck.

In fact, the best way to answer this
question is to spend some time examining what you like or would like
about your work and the company. It is likely you will find something,
such as the culture, work environment, meaning of your work, etc. If you
didn’t find anything, then you should seriously consider if this is the
right job for you. Once you know why you want this job, you can then
answer them in a manner that’ll relate how well you fit with the
position. For example, if you like the customer service work involved
because you enjoy communicating with people, bring up that sociable
personality of yours. Convince them that you’ll fit in very well here,
and you’ll in turn convince the interviewer that you’ll be an asset to
the company.

7. “What would you like to be doing five years from now?”

Again, this question is asked to find out whether you are committed to
the job. The fact is that there are people who hop from job to job, and
that is because they don’t really have a solid plan to follow.Another
reason for popping this question is to see whether you are someone who
sets goals in life. It’s undisputable that people who set long-term
goals are more reliable than those who don’t. I mean, knowing what you
want in life says a lot about your personality, perhaps as a person who
can lead and stay motivated.

Your reply should assure the interviewer
that your career progression goals are in line with the actual
advancement route in the company. The interviewer wouldn’t want to
disappoint you in the next five years and end up with you resigning. As
such, it is crucial that you do your homework on the company’s prospects
so that you know what to expect for yourself, and whether it will meet
your long-term career objectives.

8. “Why should I hire you?”

This is the part where you link your skills, experience, education and
your personality to the job itself. This is why you need to be utterly
familiar with the job description as well as the company culture.
Remember though, it’s best to back them up with actual examples of say,
how you are a good team player.

It is possible that you may not have as
much skills, experience or qualifications as the other candidates. What
then, will set you apart from the rest? Energy and passion might. People
are attracted to someone who is charismatic, who show immense amount of
energy when they talk, and who love what it is that they do. As you
explain your compatibility with the job and company, be sure to portray
yourself as that motivated, confident and energetic person, ever-ready
to commit to the cause of the company.

9. “How much are you expecting for the salary?”

Salary negotiation is a tough and delicate matter. Preferably speaking,
you should avoid going into this topic until the later stage of the
recruitment when you are being offered the job. That said, some
recruiters might be hoping that you’d yield in to this question and be
the first to give the number and set the benchmark. The repercussion?
You might end up making less than what the position is worth!

Hence, research on the salary range in
your field to have a rough estimate of how much you should be earning.
Give a large range rather than a specific amount if you have to answer
it. An alternative is to pose the question back at the interviewer by
asking what kind of salary does the position warrants. At other times,
interviewers might just be testing you to see if money is the only thing
that matters. So, do emphasize that your priority lies with the nature
of the job and not the salary per se. Remember that when the job is
finally being offered to you, the interviewer would have to quote the
salary. That will be the best time to negotiate your way because you
will then become the one being sought after, and not the other way
round.

10. “Do you have any questions to ask me?”

This is normally the last question posed to you, so it’s your chance to
finish the interview elegantly. True enough, your doubts about the job
position might already been allayed by this time when the interview is
almost done. Nevertheless, you’ve got to say something other than
replying that you’ve got nothing to ask. Doing otherwise might leave the
impression to the interviewer that you are not exactly keen to get the
job. Unless an employer is interested in recruiting a passive employee,
the interviewer is likely to be attracted to proactive candidates who
ask intelligent questions. If you must ask, do make sure that they
aren’t those with obvious answers that you can get if you have done the
research thoroughly. Yes, there’s no such thing as a stupid question,
except those that you ask for the sake of asking. Try to incorporate
your knowledge of the industry and the company into a question that will
address a genuine concern of yours. That way, you get to amaze your
interviewer and assess for a final time whether the job aligns with your
expectations.

One of the best responses to this
question is to find out about your chances of landing this job. Thank
the interviewer for the opportunity and express your enthusiasm for the
position before asking if there is any reservation for hiring you. This
will be your final chance to address any concerns the interviewer might
have of employing you. Stay calm and reply objectively rather than
taking any criticism personally.

Regards,

Kaushal

Rate me if you are satisfied with me

Any problem feel free to mail me@

[kaladhar]

Always have a good posture and look the interviewer in the eye while you are talking to him.. Don't just stare without blinking but keep eye contact at all times.

Goodluck with your interview

[joker123]

(05-19-2012 10:15 AM)kaladhar Wrote:  Always have a good posture and look the interviewer in the eye while you are talking to him.. Don't just stare without blinking but keep eye contact at all times.

Goodluck with your interview

hmmmm

[mohit23]

haha.. Joker Nice effort, i will take care once somebody will come and answer me this

but as a HR I tell you, things have actually changed now.. we hardly ask the above questions specially while hiring a engineer.

[Nitin Bansal]

mohit what is ur qualification

[mohit23]

Nitin I am an MBA from SP Jain with 4 Years of Experience in HR

[shrknt2580]

To hard to believe, an MBA from SP Jain and that designation to have a Shakti Kapoor Pic and nandu sabka bandhu title

(06-21-2012 01:29 PM)mohit23 Wrote:  Nitin I am an MBA from SP Jain with 4 Years of Experience in HR

[mohit23]

(06-21-2012 11:04 PM)shrknt2580 Wrote:  To hard to believe, an MBA from SP Jain and that designation to have a Shakti Kapoor Pic and nandu sabka bandhu title

(06-21-2012 01:29 PM)mohit23 Wrote:  Nitin I am an MBA from SP Jain with 4 Years of Experience in HR

Things that look are at times to deceive, or may be to define it more preciously, this is my zone, I do whatever I want to do.. and I never claimed or told anyone about me.. till the time Nitin asked for it..

[suvuhit]

M sorry but this Site is meant for the discussion about the deals not the Interview Questions.

[avik007]

superlike @suvuhit