INTERVIEW QUESTION AND ANSWERS

Interview Questions & Answers This section aims to help aspirants prepare for interviews with their dream company.  Based on our research, we have classified the type of Interview Questions face into 8 broad groups. This classification enables aspirants to prepare on each aspect in which they will be evaluated. It also helps them understand how employers evaluate aspirants during a job interview. Each section contains the possible set of Questions that interviewers can ask in an interview. In addition to the Questions, we also tried to help with the right set of answers that interviewers would expect during an interview. We strongly recommends job seekers to go through all the Questions before facing any campus recruitment, off-campus interview, walk-in interview or any direct interview in both private and Government sector. The below Questions will help job seekers to face their interview with lot of confidence and would help them increase the chances of getting a job. So read through all the sections to clear your next interview. Also read Interview Tips to prepare well for interviews. All the best. General Interview Questions 1. Tell me about yourself Typically this is the first question that will be asked in any interview. The response to this question will determine the fate of a candidate, so always have a clear write-up response for this question. The response will determine the tone of the interview. Start with information like your education and family background. Then talk about your strengths and abilities and conclude by talking about your most recent experience. Make certain to mention the experience or work that you have done in the past that relates to the present position for which you are interviewed. Good e.g. - if your summer project work is more related to the position for which you are applying then highlight that in your response. Have a good script ready for this question. Practice the response to this question few times before appearing for the interview. 2. Tell me about your Strengths Really think through your strengths while preparing for an interview. Always be prepared to substantiate your Strengths by giving a real life example where you have demonstrated that strength. If your strengths match with the key traits of the role for which you are applying, then you stand a good chance to clear the interview. A good response can be one or few of the following - committed, honesty, team player, positive attitude, hardworking, passionate, problem solving, stay positive, loyal, ability to prioritize, ability to stay focused, ability to work well under pressure, professional expertise, leadership skills, quick and timely, self-confidence Tell me about your Weakness A good approach to tackle this question is by analyzing the key skills and strengths required for the position you are interviewed for and then come up with a shortcoming which will not hinder the success in that job. Never mention a big weakness that could cost you the job. To successfully tackle this question, make certain that the response is brief and explain clearly how you are working to overcome the weakness. It is ok to mention just one weakness unless the interviewer insists for another weakness. Never mention that I don't have any weakness. A good response can be one of the following - "I get deeply attached to the work I am engaged", "I am a workaholic", "I sometimes get impatient and become deeply involved when a project is running late" You can give any response as long as it doesn't make the interviewer feel that you won't be able to perform well in the role because of the weakness. 3. How are you planning to Overcome your Weakness Everyone has areas that needs improvement, but if you can describe how you've tried to mitigated your weakness then you'll appear strong, capable, and in charge of your professional development. So, think of something that you struggle with but that you're working to improve. You could explain that you've never been strong at public speaking, but over the past few years, you've asked for team leadership roles, run successfully meetings, and found tools to help you be more comfortable when addressing a crowd. 4. What do you know about our Company? Go through the company website to find out "what they are doing for business". Identify the key products/services that the company produces/offers. Read through their mission and vision statements. Read all the latest news about the company, read about their leadership team, their key customers, and shareholders. This preparation will help you to clearly know about the company for which you are applying. Be in a position to explain about the company in not more than 2 lines. 5. Why did you apply for this Company? Your response to question 5 would help you answer this better. Analyze the product/service that the company is making/offering and try to marry how your interest would fit into what the company is doing. This will give more confidence about the candidate. Your response can be things like strong management team, fast growing company, part of growth story, global exposure, cross cultural work environment, friendly atmosphere, work-life balance, company's focus on innovation, market leader, brand name, management focus to excel. 6. How will you fit into this Role? There are two things that one can speak answer this question. a) Strengths Find out the key traits that are essential for the role for which you are applying. Analyze which of your strengths will help you excel well in the role. See if that strength matches with the key traits that determine the success of a role. Marry your strength to the key traits and mention that give an opportunity you will be able to excel by leveraging your strengths. A good response could be - "My greatest strength is XXXXX. The role requires people with XXXXX strengths. I strongly feel that if I get an opportunity, I should be able to leverage my strength XXXXX to succeed well in this role". b) Prior Experience  Identify the work experience or projects that you have done in the past that most resembles with the new role. Mention that you will be able to leverage that past experience to excel well in this new role. You can always mention that learning/training time will be very low, so you should be able to perform well very quickly. A good response could be - "I have worked on this SAP platform for the past three years. In this new role, I should be able to leverage my previous experience and excel well right from day one. So I strongly feel that I am the right fit for this role" 7. Why did you apply for this Role? A good response can contain any of the below points. a) About Company Say things that you like about the company made you apply for this new job. Your response can be things like strong management team, fast growing company, part of growth story, global exposure, cross cultural work environment, friendly atmosphere, work-life balance, company's focus on innovation, market leader, brand name, management focus to excel. b) About your Career Aspiration Mention about the career path that you would like to have. Marry how the new job would enable you to achieve your career dreams. Mention that this new job would be a good roadmap to meet your career aspirations. Or mention that you had an aspiration to do such kind of a job. c) Strengths Find out the key traits that are essential for the role for which you are applying. Analyze which of your strengths will help you excel well in the role. See if that strength matches with the key traits that determine the success of a role. Marry your strength to the key traits and mention that give an opportunity you will be able to excel by leveraging your strengths. A good response could be - "My greatest strength is XXXXX. The role requires people with XXXXX strengths. I strongly feel that if I get an opportunity, I should be able to leverage my strength XXXXX to succeed well in this role". d) Prior Experience Identify the work experience or projects that you have done in the past that most resembles with the new role. Mention that you will be able to leverage that past experience to excel well in this new role. You can always mention that learning/training time will be very low, so you should be able to perform well very quickly. A good response could be - "I have worked on this SAP platform for the past three years. In this new role, I should be able to leverage my previous experience and excel well right from day one. So I strongly feel that I am the right fit for this role" 8. Why do you think you are the best fit for this Role? There are two things that one can speak answer this question. a) Strengths Find out the key traits that are essential for the role for which you are applying. Analyze which of your strengths will help you excel well in the role. See if that strength matches with the key traits that determine the success of a role. Marry your strength to the key traits and mention that give an opportunity you will be able to excel by leveraging your strengths. A good response could be - "My greatest strength is XXXXX. The role requires people with XXXXX strengths. I strongly feel that if I get an opportunity, I should be able to leverage my strength XXXXX to succeed well in this role". b) Prior Experience Identify the work experience or projects that you have done in the past that most resembles with the new role. Mention that you will be able to leverage that past experience to excel well in this new role. You can always mention that learning/training time will be very low, so you should be able to perform well very quickly. A good response could be - "I have worked on this SAP platform for the past three years. In this new role, I should be able to leverage my previous experience and excel well right from day one. So I strongly feel that I am the right fit for this role" 9. Why do you think you will do well in this job? Use the response for question 9. 10. If you were to hire someone for this role, what traits would you look for? Analyze the key strengths that would be essential for an individual to succeed well in the new role. Mention those strengths by prioritizing them based on its importance. Perform the analyses of the new role while preparing the interview. It is one of the few important things that people should do prior to attending any interview. For example, key traits for a Java developer role would be good programming skills, problem solving skills, team player, understanding the business needs etc. 11. Describe yourself in three words. A good response could contain things like Passionate, positive attitude, open minded, sincere, optimistic, creative, rational, enthusiastic, efficient, hardworking, visionary, charismatic, Organized, Articulate, Persistent, Self-disciplined, Self-motivated, Genuine, loyal, Empathetic, Ambitious, approachable, patient, reliable, intelligent, bold, Polite, helpful, trustworthy. 12. Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now? This question is used by interviewers to test the stability of a candidate. So be careful before answering this question. Interviewers would expect your long term goals to match with the company's goals. They would not expect responses like "start my own company", higher studies etc. A good response would be "I would like to learn and grow in the new role and see myself in a leading position in 5 years. I would like to slowly grow and lead a team." Demonstrate that you will be able to contribute strongly and help in the company's long term success. 13. Why do you need this job? Interviewers use this question to find out whether the candidate is genuinely interested in the position. Be careful while responding to this tricky question. You can leverage some of the points used for question 9 while responding to this question. 14. Why should we hire you? Your response should be no more than two minutes long and should stress the traits that make you unique and a good match for the job. Use the response for question 9. 15. Explain how you would be an asset to our Organization? Interviewers use this question to gauge how the applicant views about him/her. Be prepared to sell yourself like a good sales person. Please mention few of your strengths and say how you will be able leverage those to help the company. A good response could be "I am a very hard working and organized guy. I should be able to use that strength to achieve more sales for the company. Hence, I feel I would be a great asset for the company" 16. What did you like the most in your Previous Role? Interviewers use this question to judge your perception about your previous company and role. It is always good to mention all the good things that you liked in the previous company to get some good score. A good response could be - A good team, young and energetic team, friendly work environment, good management team, exposure to different things, fun work atmosphere 17. Why did you like the least in your Previous Role? This is a TRAP Question. Your interviewer is trying to get a negative response from you. NEVER SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THE COMPANY. Saying bad things would increase the chances of rejecting the candidate. Never say things like - "I did not like the boss there" etc. A good response could be - I've given this question some thought, and overall I've been very satisfied with my jobs. I've been able to work with some really interesting people. I have to say that I did have a job where there was an inordinate amount of paperwork. Because working with people is my strength, the paperwork really bogged me down at times. Please note the word "inordinate." Not normal load paperwork, but an unusually large amount, which kept you from doing what you do best: working with people. 18. What gave you maximum satisfaction in your Previous Role? Interviewers use this question to judge your perception about your previous role. It is always good to mention all the good things that you liked in the previous company to get some good score. A good response could be - Ownership, responsibility, timely completion, exposure to different things, fun work atmosphere etc. 19. Why are you leaving your current job? This is a TRAP. NEVER SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THE COMPANY. Saying bad things would increase the chances of rejecting the candidate. NEVER EVER SAY BAD THINGS ABOUT THE BOSS. A good response could be - less opportunity to grow, less challenge in work, relocating to the new place, new role aligns with your longer term goals, seeking openings in a stable company, new role seems to match your interest very well etc. 20. Would you be willing to relocate? Think through before appearing for any interview. If the job requires relocation and if you are willing to relocate, then please make up your mind and respond accordingly. If the position requires travel or relocation, then give it a thorough thought before responding. If it would be difficult for you to relocate because of personal commitments, then explain that to the interviewer. Companies can use this to check the mobility of resources. Such Questions are typical in companies which has presence across several locations. There is no right or wrong answer. If you have willingness to travel or relocate and if that aligns with company's interest, then say YES. 21. Do you have any Questions for us? Never miss this opportunity to impress the interviewer by asking a good question. This is the chance for job seekers to get clarity about the role, company or team for which they are being interviewed. It is very important to ask the right question to get clarity on the new job. Ask the right question to make the interviewer feel comfortable and confident that you are really aspiring for a job. A good response can be - If you are being interviewed by your new company team member/manager, and then ask Questions about the roles, responsibility, challenges etc. in the new job. If you are interviewed by HR/Management team, then ask Questions about the company, team, its future plans, and Industry Related Questions. 22. Are you applying for any other positions? Be honest in your response. If you have applied for any other jobs, then mention that. Even if this is your first application, try not to mention that. A good response could be - I have been looking for jobs for quite some time in these XXXXX areas. I came across lot of openings, and I think this opportunity interested me. So I applied for this position. In the past, I have applied to few other places and nothing worked out. 23. If hired, how long are you planning to work with us? Be honest while responding to this question. If you have plans to move out of town in 3 years due to some commitments, then mention that. That way the interviewer will be clear on how long you would stay with them. A good response could be - I would like to stay here as long as I am able to grow. 24. What is the notice period with your current employer and how quickly can you join us? Mention the exact terms and conditions with your current employer. Let us say, if the notice period is 2 months, and then mention that to the interviewer. Interviewers might also try to check options around notice period buyouts. If there is a provision in your company, then feel free to mention that to the interviewer. 25. How would your previous manager/supervisor describe you? Mention your key strengths as part of the response. A good answer could be – committed, honesty, team player, positive attitude, hardworking, passionate, problem solving, stay positive, loyal, ability to prioritize, ability to stay focused, ability to work well under pressure, professional expertise, leadership skills, quick and timely, self-confidence 26. Tell us something that is not there in your Resume A good response could be - I enjoy working with different kind of people, working on challenging things, urge to learn continuously, doing new things, etc Compensation/Salary Related Questions 1. What is your current salary? Be very honest in your response. Be open about the current package that you are getting from your current employer. Mention all the other non-cash benefits that you might enjoy in your work place like free apartment, free internet connection, free commute through office bus/car, etc. If your office provides any overtime pay, weekend allowance, night shift allowance etc. make certain to mention that. Mention all the benefits that your office provides like PF contribution, HRA allowance, Car fuel, per diem, shift allowance, visit allowance, etc. If your office provides medical insurance, dental, optical insurance at no cost then mention that as well.  2. What benefits/perks do you get from your previous employer? Benefits are non-cash compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal salaries. It may include Housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance (health, dental, life etc.), disability income protection, retirement benefits, daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid), profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized benefits. 3. Tell us about your salary history? It is ok to mention the salary that you were getting in the lasting 3 years unless the employer emphasizes for the entire history. It is ok to mention the % salary hike that you were getting in the last few years. You can highlight the promotions and increments that you got in the last few years. Through this you are making the employer aware that you were constantly getting good hikes and promotions.  4. What salary are you expecting? Do some research on what salary they are offering for the current open position. Compare that with your current salary. If the new offered salary range meets with your expectation, then you should not have trouble in getting the offer. If your expectations exceed their offer, then the interviewer might try to negotiate and try to lower your salary. Based on research it is found out that people get anywhere between 15-30% when they try to switch companies. So when you try to quote your expectations be reasonable at the same time make it fall in a range that is acceptable by the employer. Don't be too firm on one particular number. You can always suggest a range and express your willingness to negotiate further. 5. Why do you think we should offer that salary? Highlight your past experience, your strengths and mention that you will be able to leverage that to excel well in the job and help the company grow on the long run. Say that you will be able to do lot of justice to the role and the pay that you are getting when you are provided a chance.  6. Do you have any Questions on Compensation/salary offer? Clarify all the cash and non-cash components in the package. Enquire in detail about perks, stock options, etc. Ask about their leave, vacation policy, medical benefits, car policy, etc. Career Development Questions 1. What are you looking for in terms of career development? In term of career development, I want to be successful in my career. For this to happen, I think it is important to always try to be successful with my work, always try to do the best out of the input you got, always try to improve and find new ways to speed up the process and be open-minded. When you work in this fashion, new ideas and opportunities will come along and you just need to embrace them 2. How do you like to improve yourself in the next year? Try to give a short and crisp response for this question. Say 2-3 things that you plan to improve on to progress well in the new role. The interviewer will get more confidence as they would develop confidence that you are working towards improving yourself.  3. What kind of goals would you have in mind if you got this job?  Analyze what kind of key goals would be set by employer in the new role. For E.g., a sales role would require the person to achieve 20% more sales growth. Aspirants/applicants can mention that I would like to set a really high target sales and work very hard to achieve that for the company.  4. What are your long term goals - 5 to 7 years? This question is used by interviewers to test the stability of a candidate. So be careful before answering this question. Interviewers would expect your long term goals to match with the company's goals. They would not expect responses like "start my own company", higher studies etc. A good response would be "I would like to learn and grow in the new role and see myself in a leading position in 5 years. I would like to slowly grow and lead a team. " Demonstrate that you will be able to contribute strongly and help in the company's long term success.  5. What are your short term goals - 2 to 3 years? Mention that you would like to learn and excel in this new role/opening. Say that you would like to grow along with the company and try to get promoted to the next level. If you are joining as a team member, then you can say that in the next 2-3 years you would like to see yourself as a team lead. Don't say things that can never be achieved in 2-3 years. Be realistic at the same time be more passionate about your urge to grow well in the new role.  6. If I were to ask your last supervisor to provide you additional training or exposure, what would he/she suggest? Never say that he wouldn't recommend anything. There is no single person in this world who is perfect - always remember that. Mention things that you like to learn like leading a team, learning new job related things (like new software, package, etc.), certification, etc.  7. What are the things that you did in the last one year to improve your knowledge Feel free to mention the things that you did in the last year to improve your knowledge. It can be things like training, workshops, seminar, feedback sessions, reading new books, reading new technology, updating knowledge with latest improvements/advancements, etc.  8. Are you willing to put interest of the organization ahead of your own? Simply say "YES" and carry on with the interview. Team Dynamics Questions 1. How will you establish your credibility quickly Communication with the team, dedication to the work, the ability to listen to advice and criticism, and the demonstration of your abilities to help complete the work are examples of great ways to establish your credibility with new co-workers and things the interviewer may want to hear. A team wants to see your ability to improve their efforts. Talk about your ability to integrate seamlessly with other project members, your natural skills at job analytics, your ability to recognize troublesome solutions, and other business-related skills necessary to work on a group project.  2. Are you a good team player? Can you explain this based on your previous experience A good team player is someone who can work with a diverse group, respect others opinions, have input of their own and work hard to accomplish the teams goals not their own. Your response to the first part should be "YES I am a very good team player". A good example can be - I worked on a new group with people from diverse cultures and races. I was able to quickly learn the team dynamics and was able to contribute to the success of the team. After me joining the team, we were able to achieve lot of things collectively as a team.  3. What do you like to adopt from your previous boss? Say all positive things for this question. It can contain things like - commitment, sincerity, devotion to work, attention to details, planning, execution, reliability, honesty, etc. 4. How would you react when you are asked to work under someone who has less knowledge than you? Less knowledgeable doesn't always mean that he will not be better at work. So say that you will be open and try to learn his style of working. Say that you would be patient before concluding that he is less knowledgeable. You must mention that you would wait for 6 months before deciding any further. Have an open ended response rather conclusive ones. For e.g., say based on the circumstances after 6 months you would decide on next steps. This will give comfort to the recruiter as he sees the maturity in the candidate.  5. What kind of person would you refuse to work with? Make the response very short. Your response can be - someone who is not loyal, trustworthy, reliable etc. 6. How would you handle this situation - one of the team members is not pulling their own weight. This is opportunity to demonstrate your leadership skills. Say things like - I will talk with him understand his current situation. If there are some official problems, then I would try to sort it out. I will motivate him; guide him so that he gets up to speed with others in the team. I will make him feel very comfortable and recognized in the team so that he does best for the team. Accomplishments/Achievement Questions 1. Tell me an instance where you went over and above the regular call of duty at work 2. Explain a suggestion that got implemented in your previous role 3. What motivates you to do the best in your job? Prior Experience/Background Related questions 1. Why did you select your college? 2. Why did you choose to major in that field? 3. What is your favorite subject in college? Why? 4. What is your least favorite subject in College and why? 5. What have you learnt from your extracurricular activities? 6. Demonstrate how you have handled pressure in your previous role? Current Role Related Questions 1. Are you willing to work overtime? 2. How are you willing to compensate for your lack of experience? Trivial Questions 1. If you could choose to work for any company, which one would you choose? 2. Would you be willing to take a salary cut? 3. Tell me about the worst boss you ever had?