A job applicant is typically interviewed by at least 2 or more people. These interviewers have different background and different skill sets. In order for a candidate to get the coveted job offer, s/he must impress most, if not all, of the interviewers. Having a complete command over your area of expertise will get an applicant 90% close to the goal of landing the job. However, the other 10% is dependent on the other “softer” side of the candidate that is explored during the interview. Typically, the higher-up the interviewer asking the question in the food chain of the company (read, his feedback about you is extremely important), the more s/he will ask these behavioral questions.
We have assembled below answers to some of the questions faced by most job seekers. By no means, they replace your knowledge and hence your confidence in your own field. These questions are in addition to queries specific about your skill sets and your background.
1. Tell us about yourself.Usually an initial question, an ice-breaker. I have typically asked this question for different reasons. One, I did not get a chance to review the candidate’s CV beforehand and this will give me time to peruse through his CV while he is talking about himself. Another reason is because I want to hear the interviewee talk to ascertain how good of a communicator he is. A concise 2-minute answer to this question that hits all the main points of the candidate will impress upon me that the person can think analytically and is a good communicator. Generally speaking, this question maybe asked more from those candidates seeking non-technical jobs, or those seeking higher positions.
2. What do you know about our organization/company?A question asked typically toward the end of the interview. This should clue you that the interview is about to come to an end. You don’t have to spend hours researching each company that calls you for an interview but you should at least visit their web site and get a basic understanding of their product offering and/or the services they offer. This will leave a very good impression upon the interviewer that you are genuinely interested in his organization. Remember, the interviewer has already made his decision to work for the company that he is interviewing candidates for. The few candidates who can walk in and tell him that they care enough to learn about his company will endear those candidates to the interviewer.
3. Why should we hire you?This is typically asked to get right to the point. What do you bring to the table that other candidates do not? Why are you better than other candidates that came before you and ones that are going to come after you? Nailing this question will greatly enhance your chances of getting the offer. Think about what is being asked for a moment. You must link your abilities to the job duties. That is, you must establish that you have the qualities that will meet all the job requirements.
Impress the interviewer. Tell them about your achieved targets. Cite specifics from your resume or list of career accomplishments. Establish that your skills and interests & a result oriented history make you a valuable candidate. Mention your aptitude to set priorities, categorize problems and your experience and vigor to resolve them.
A 3-5 minute answer is something that the interviewer is typically looking for. Anything under either means that you don’t have enough capabilities or that you cannot express yourself; either is bad. And anything longer means that you are rambling and are going to lose the interviewer’s attention.
4. What do you find most/least attractive about this position?To answer this question, you should have studied the job requirements and its duties. Mention anywhere up to four or five features of the job that fit well with your background or with your future plans. For example, if the position is for a PHP Web Developer, you can say that it attracted you because you have already some experience in this technology and you want to further enhance your skills as Web Development is an area where you want to build your career.
Be careful about the unattractive part. Again, you do not want to unnecessarily offend the interviewer. You can jokingly say that there is nothing unattractive, which is a reason why you are so interested in this job.
5. Why do you want to work for us?A good answer comes from good homework to articulate a prompt reply in terms of company’s requirement. You can say that according to your research the company is working on projects that greatly interest you. For example, if the organization is known for quality management, your answer should mention that fact and show that you would like to be a part of the team that does quality testing. If the company places a great deal of emphasis on building products emphasize the fact that you want to create new things and that this company is a great place for such activity. Basically, your answer should be a combination of what the company does and what you want to do, or what you are good at doing.
6. What do you look for in a job?Focus your answer to the opportunities available at the company you are interviewed for. Tell them about your yearning to perform and be acknowledged for your contributions. Emphasize on opportunity rather than personal security. That is, tell them that you value opportunities for growth where you will learn new concepts. Typically, we should all look for those job opportunities that would enhance our existing skills and get us to the next rung in the corporate ladder. Money and job security is important but something that should not be overly emphasized. Your research on the company should already tell you how secure the company is before going there for an interview. Like the companies who only call candidates that best match their criteria, so should you only call upon the companies that best match your minimum criteria of places you’re where you will spend more than 8 hours every day?
7. How long will you stay with us?Establish that you are interested in a strong and long career with the organization, but you would have to continue to feel challenged to remain with any organization. At no point should the interviewer feel that you are a job-hopper. This type of question is typically asked of those candidates that have switched multiple jobs too quickly. The interviewer wants to ascertain that you will stay with them for a long time. Your answer should put them at ease.
8. What if you are subjected to long periods of silence or your appearance is criticized?Stress interview is a technique to check the candidate’s patience level. In such interviews a candidate is made to wait before the interview and, in some cases, in the presence of the interviewers who apparently does not give any attention towards the candidate sitting their room. This is not something typical and is mostly limited to certain types of industries or job types such as Hospitality industry or Sales positions. This is a technique used to see how the particular candidate will react under stress or specific conditions related to the job nature. You need to be very patient during such interviews. Keep smiling and do not show that you are bored or irritated or angry. You can break the silence by politely asking the interviewer if there is anything that you can elaborate upon or anything else that you can answer. Remind yourself of the goal ahead i.e. getting the job.
9. What are your interests outside of work?Tell them about your one or two favorite past times keeping in mind the job nature. This is more of a filler question where interviewer just wants to know what kind of a person you are or he is asking you this question while reading more details in your CV, or he is simply finished with his questions but wants another parting shot before he calls off the interview. Your answer should supplement the job nature. If it is a sales position, maybe you can say that I like to meet people outside of work. If you are applying for a Customer Support position, you can say that I like to read to help me in my communications skills (be sure to know what you read in case the interviewer probes you further).
10. What is your salary expectation?Salary is a delicate topic. Don’t sell yourself short, but continue to stress the fact that the job itself is the most important thing in your mind. The interviewer may be trying to determine just how much you want the job. Don’t leave the impression that money is the only thing that is important to you. Link questions of salary to the work itself.
But whenever possible, say as little as you can about salary until you reach the “final” stage of the interview process. At that point, you know that the company is genuinely interested in you and that it is likely to be flexible in salary negotiations.
11. Your resume suggests you are over-qualified/more experienced for this position. What’s your opinion?A question like this is categorized as a behavioral question. Such a question is generally asked to get an idea about your knowledge about the position you have applied for. That is, if you know for sure what the position is and do you know about its market value. It is also sometimes asked to throw you off-balance and to see how you react. Shrewd interviewers employ such techniques to better understand a candidate’s personality, to judge your general reaction and attitude as a qualified professional.
To answer such a question you must focus and talk about your skill set and professional background to-date and balance it with the job requirements without going into the murky details of formulating a personal opinion about being over-qualified; simply state the facts. Emphasize your interest in establishing a long-term association with the organization and make a point that powerful companies always have tough teams & experienced executives who always keep them on the top. Since you are a qualified professional so you have every faith that the company will get a fast return on its investment by hiring you. You can say that, "A growing, dynamic company can never have too much talent." Exude confidence but do not let the interviewer feel that you are over confident.
12. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Although this question may seem as though you should answer with a positive answer for your strengths and a negative for your weaknesses, try to give two positive answers. When discussing your strengths highlight strengths that specifically apply to the available post. When indicating your weaknesses never detail a character defect rather try to explain where you identified a problem area where you were able to remedy it and explain how you did so.
13. Why are you leaving (did you leave) your present (last) job?
Again the employer, by asking such a question, wants to know if you are a dedicated, goal oriented person who is serious about a career with his company. Do not give a long-winded answer. Try to keep it very brief and to the point and as honest as you can without hurting yourself. For example if you were laid off in an across-the-board cutback, say so; otherwise, indicate that the move was your decision and the result of your action. Avoid mentioning personality conflicts. Under no circumstances talk ill about your previous employer as the person interviewing you will take an impression that you might talk about your new boss in the same context if you two ever go on wrong ends. The interviewer may spend some time probing you on this issue, particularly if it is clear that you were terminated. The "We agreed to disagree" approach may be useful. Remember that your references are likely to be checked, so don’t fabricate a story for an interview.
14. In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the most/least?
Similarly, as mentioned before, you should be very careful and positive while answering this question. You will not want your future boss to jump to a wrong conclusion that you are a difficult employee who likes picking out flaws in the company. A negative image at any stage of the interview can prove fatal so be very focused and positive about every word that comes out of your mouth. If you make your last job sound terrible, an interviewer may wonder why you remained there until now. Pick not more than one thing that would be considered a bad practice professionally everywhere. In this regards, the interviewer will not be able to argue with you. If you can back up with anything you did to improve the practice, it will be considered a plus.
15. How successful do you think you’ve been so far?
Confidence is the key to answer this question while over confidence can create a problem here. This question is actually asked to see if you exude over confidence while answering or you give a humble answer while knowing perfectly well about your success rate during your professional career. Although the type of job being interviewed for may dictate the amount of chutzpah you want to display here but a general rule of thumb is to stay safe with a more low-key, just-the-facts type of an answer. You can say that, all-in-all you are happy with the way your career has progressed so far. List your key achievements and what was their impact to your employer(s).
16. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
This question is asked to see if you are a career oriented person & how seriously you have thought about your career. More importantly, it is used to gauge if the company can offer you a growth path that is in line with your aspirations. The employer also wants to see if you have that vigor and energy that the company requires for a team leader or simply a team member. Remember that a focused and target oriented employee is always an attraction for the employer. So here it is for you to establish that you are very particular about your goals in future. You can tell the interviewer that you would like to grow with the company and you will make sure that your every effort is directed towards becoming a successful and reliable part of the company.
Following are some questions asked from individuals being interviewed for managerial positions:
A. What do you look for when you hire people?
This question is asked to see that if you are given the task to hire people for your team in future, will you be clear as to who you want on your team for the specific job completions. In short what kind of a team maker are you? This is again a question to gauge your decision making power. A safe answer is that you will prefer people with good skills, initiative and adaptability to be able to work comfortably and effectively with others and those who appear capable of moving up in the organization. Start with a more generic answer and end with a comment to the interviewer that hiring criteria varies from one job to another and you will change what you look for in an employee based on the job description.
B. Have you ever fired any staff? How did you handle the situation?
Firing of staff is not an easy situation to deal with and it needs a proper procedure to follow. For those of you who have been on managerial positions know that such tasks are pretty nasty. Generally such a situation is not much discussed. But if you are asked this question admit that the situation was not easy, but it worked out fine for the company and, you think, for the individual as well. You can say that you don’t enjoy unpleasant tasks but you can resolve them efficiently and -in the case of firing someone- humanely.
C. What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager/ executive?
Being a manager is a position of responsibility. Companies rely on these people for their facing challenges, smooth working and successful target achievements. So the interviewer wants to see how a committed manager they can find in you. You can start by saying that nothing particularly is too difficult but each task brings with itself a set of its own challenges and a good manager learns from each task. Some of the more challenging tasks have been working with difficult employees (be ready for a follow-up question as to how you dealt with them), motivating employees to work under tight deadlines, and working with difficult clients.
