50 COMMONLY ASKED HR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

 

50 commonly asked HR interview questions

 

 At first the purpose of the question has been mentioned. This talks about the reasons why the interviewer normally asks the question (the things that they want to check in a particular candidate through that question). This should help the students to frame their own answers after taking guidelines from the sample answer.

Common mistakes:

This section has been included to make students aware so that they do not repeat the same mistakes.

Sample answer: This section will help the students to take the necessary tips, guidelines, and prepare their own answers. Examples have been provided while answering the questions. Students are advised to give relevant examples while preparing their own answers. For e.g. if the company official asks ‘what is the difference between hard and smart work’, you should explain the pointers, and share an example from your real-life where you had demonstrated the things that you explained. This approach should be followed while answering any question. In case you cannot think of any example, try to explain the process, and then politely say that ‘I have not faced any such scenario’, but please try to keep that to a minimum.  

 

Q 1: Tell us about yourself

Description/purpose of the question: The first question that is asked in every interview. A nicely crafted answer can be a real game changer and this is only possible if there is enough preparation. You might be asked to speak about yourself for 5 mins or even 1 or 2 mins.

The answer structure should be something like this

1: Name and stream:

2: Achievements: (related to JD, mention the time and the area where you had achieved something)

3: Projects: (Name, purpose, time, duration, team members, challenges & learnings. Try to relate these to the JD)

4: Industrial training: (Name of company, training area, time, duration and learnings). Again try to relate these with the JD.

5: Subjects: (Important concepts & applications)

6: Strengths: (should be related to JD)

7: Hobbies & family background:

8: CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility): If the company has mentioned about it on the website.

Common mistakes: 1: Students mention their detailed family & academic background in the beginning. (People should follow the given structure as the structure will everytime relate to the JD.)

2: Mentioning irrelevant things do not create a good impression and this negative impression may continue to last throughout your interview.

3: If you use certain specific terms like 'team dynamics or decision making' you should be able to explain these terms as there might be questions around the same.

Sample answer: I am Joy ("name"). I am in final year of BCA ("discipline”) in Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University.

I have seen your job profile. Sir, I may mention here that my favorite subjects are (" Core subject 1, core subject 2, core subject 3). With whatever little knowledge and expertise I have on the subjects, I can contribute significantly in the area of my job profile.

Sir, in our University/college, we get the opportunity of carrying out projects in the pre-final and final year. The titles of the projects are ("Title 1, title 2 and title 3").The projects were carried out in a team of 4 members. I understood the importance of team dynamics and decision making ability for timely completion of the projects.

Sir, in our college we get the opportunity of attending specialized industrial training. In my case I took training in ("name of the organization") and the specific technical area was (" area of the training").

Sir, I found in your website that you are giving a lot of emphasis on corporate social responsibility. I may mention here that recently I participated in a blood donation camp organized by our University. When I came to know that the blood donated by me will be utilized for the underprivileged or poor people I got immensely happy.



Q 2: Where do you see yourself 3 years from now?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: The company officials want to check if you are a goal-oriented person.

2: You should talk about your short (6 months to 2 years of time) and long (3 to 5 years of time) term goals and show that there is a logical correlation between the two.

3: You should categorize your goals as (professional, academic, and personal goals)

4: You can also talk about the SMART concept (goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. For e.g. I want to develop my technical knowledge to an industry standard of 80% so that I can get a software developer job in the next 2 years.)

Common mistakes:

1: Giving vague and unrealistic responses like ' I want to become a CEO after 3 years'.

2: Giving one liner answers like ' I want to get a good job'.

Sample answer:

Sir, my short term goals are:

Professional:

I want to get the job of a software developer in a reputed MNC within the next 6 months.

After getting the job I want to learn all my roles & responsibilities asap (as soon as possible)

Try to give my 100% every time I do something.

Try to learn something new everyday as that will keep me updated.

Try and become the best performer.

All these, if done will help me to achieve my long term goal of getting promoted to the next level asap as per company policies.

Academic: I want to successfully complete my graduation and in the future, if there is any need to develop myself for my own benefit as well as for the benefit of the company I will surely pursue some course while working.



Q 3: Tell us something about your interests and hobbies

Description/purpose of the question: 1: You can mention anything that you like over here but @ times the interviewer might start asking cross-questions like 'Why did you not choose this as your career'? please be prepared for that.

Common mistakes: 1: People start talking too much about this activity and get deviated from the actual core area of the business.

Sample answer: I have always been an admirer of sports and games and believe that exercises are an absolute must in today's world. They act as stress busters and keep your motivation levels up.

Also I think every individual has some social responsibility like companies have CSR and that revolves around people, profit and planet.

("Give examples of blood donation camps for the benefit of people, tree plantation for the planet, disease awareness programs, etc.' that you might have participated in.)



Q 4: Why should we take you in our company?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: The company wants to check if you are the right candidate for a particular job role.

2: Talk about your strengths and align them with the JD: I am a goal-oriented person, self-confident, self-motivated individual, and a good team player (These should be in line with the soft skills components of the job description, for example, the JD might say “should be a self-starter, should be able to collaborate across departments to achieve results”. These mean self-motivated individuals and team players. You can also mention one or two additional pointers other than what is mentioned in the JD. Try and explain a couple of concepts as to how you develop self-confidence and motivation)

Common mistakes:

1: Usage of generic adjectives like hardworking, loyal & punctual.

2: 'I am fresher and I want experience'. The company is not going to benefit from this. You have to think of ways of how you can benefit from the job and how the company can get benefited by hiring you.

Sample answer:

As you are looking for someone with a technical background as well as hands-on experience in this ("mention the area as per the JD"), an expanding company, like yours, makes me the best candidate for the job. With the qualifications and skills you are seeking, I am sure that I would be able to get the desired results for your company.



Q 5: Tell me about your dream job?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: The interviewer wants to check if your dreams match with the company's goals & objectives. This is done to identify if you have long term plans of working in that company or you want to work for some time just for the sake of working.

2: You should talk about your passion (should be related to the JD), say that you have worked hard and today your passion has become your strength. People get the desired results when passion becomes profession.

3: Say that (talent + opportunities) give us success. You have talent and the company is giving you the platform to showcase your skills and this will help you to achieve success.

4: Talk about the other factors that people often look for before joining a company like work environment, learning opportunities, growth, rewards & recognitions, employee friendly policies, success stories of freshers like you who had started their careers with the same company and today they have reached the pinnacle of success (Try to give examples from the website, for e.g. 'sir, your company started in the year 2000, today your company has branches in 10 countries, with almost 2 lakh employees which clearly suggests that your company is growing @ a fast rate as companies can grow only when both the employees & customers are happy'.)

Common mistakes:

1: Responses like 'My dream job is to work for Google or Facebook'.

2: You are applying for a sales and marketing profile and responses like ' I want a job of a software developer'

Sample answer: The professional excellence maintained and pursued by your company has impressed me. Your company's experience combined with user-friendliness, reliability, and quality of the products and solutions has made it a world leader in this sector. Working with such a growing organization has been one of my career objectives since the very beginning.

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Q 6: What are your strengths & weaknesses?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: The company wants to know how much self-aware you are and what you do to ensure that your strengths remain your strengths and weaknesses are reduced.

2: The strengths mentioned should be in line with the JD (job description). (For e.g. if the JD says that the company needs students who are good in programming & good team players, you should mention these as your strengths and give examples to justify the same). After that, you can surely add one or two extra pointers like "I am goal-oriented, self-confident, self-motivated, have effective problem-solving techniques" etc. But you have to give examples to justify that you have these qualities.)

3: Should not say anything that is against the JD. (For e.g. if the JD says that the company needs team players, you should not say that you are not a good team player.)

4: Try to say the weakness in such a way so that it appears as your strength @ times. (For e.g. you can say that overthinking is a weakness, but @ times overthinking has helped you to come up with a lot of creative solutions. Please give examples and no answer should just be one liner.)

Common mistakes:

1: Usage of generic adjectives like hardworking, loyal & punctual as everyone tends to use these & the interviewer gets irritated as the answers appear to be copied from one another.

2: Saying that "I do not have any weakness".

3: Saying something against the job role.

4: Mentioning a strength that has no relation whatsoever with the job role.

Sample answer:

Strengths: I have strong communication and interpersonal skill and the ability to get along with others. I always try to live up to commitments with a sense of urgency.

Weaknesses: I aim at nothing short of perfection, and become nervous when I am not able to do something up to my satisfaction. However, I know that this may sometimes delay work and try to compensate with hard work.



Q 7: Tell us something that is not there in your resume

Description/purpose of the question:

1: The interviewer wants to know more about you as a person and your qualities. Try to say something that will be a value add for the job that you are applying for.

2: You can talk about your university’s contribution to your development.

3: You can talk about your goal journey.

4: You can talk about your role model and how you got inspired by him.

Common mistakes:

1: Mostly people tend to give one-liner answers like ' I like playing or cooking food'. Try to relate it with your professional life to show that you have certain hobbies & they help you maintain the so-called work-life balance.

Sample answer:

I would like to talk about Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University’s contribution to my development. Nowadays people talk a lot about the industry-academia gap but to be very honest, college prepares you a lot to face the corporate challenges and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University did exactly the same. It is just that people do not tend to realize the essence of every activity that they are doing in college and how can they learn something out of it.

For example, at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University we used to have monthly seminars and workshops and I made it a point to speak in those seminars. That has helped me to come out of the fear of public speaking and has helped me develop my communication skills.

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University has a student forum and all notices get uploaded in that forum. I made it a point to go through that every day and that was a part of my everyday activity list. I am sure that in my job role I might have to perform some daily tasks like checking my attendance regularly and this behavior will help me to perform these activities seamlessly. If this activity is not done properly it might result in attendance issues later on which might impact my salary.

I believe that nothing gets wasted and if we have the mindset of learning something new everyday then we can surely perform well in our job role like I have done in my college.

Q 8: How do you deal with feedback and criticism?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: This question is to check if you are open towards feedback and criticism.

2: People often get defensive when given feedback and try to give justifications to show that it was not their mistake. All these are a kind of outburst of fear as they have fear of losing credibility, job etc. on making mistakes.

3: You should always admit your mistakes if you have made any, accept constructive feedback that would benefit you personally & professionally and find out ways & means so that things do not get repeated in future. Try to give an example from your college life where you had responded positively to a feedback.

Common mistakes:

1: Again one-liner answers without any examples like 'Sir, I am ok with feedback & criticism.'

Sample answer:

Sir, I think no one is perfect & every one makes mistakes in his personal & professional life. But a person who learns from his experience and goes on to make fewer and fewer mistakes eventually becomes successful. I think as an individual you should always do things carefully & have proper backup plans that can be implemented smoothly in case the primary plan does not work out. I think this reduces the risk of mistakes. Secondly, if we come across any challenge we should always learn something out of it so that in the future we can handle similar situations in a much better way. All these help people to get the desired output which in turn minimizes criticism. Even then also you should make it a point to listen to your customers as someone might share an idea which might be of immense importance, may not be now but in the future. At times you might not be able to keep 100% of your customers happy but if everyone keeps making criticisms then definitely there is a scope of improvement and things need to be changed.

I try to take these things (feedback) positively, analyse the situation, see if the feedback is actually effective or people are just saying something for the sake of saying and then see if something better can be actually implemented. If nothing can be done then I become assertive and use my emotional intelligence to good effect and explain people why their feedback cannot be implemented.

Q 9: If you are not able to perform well in the current role, would you mind if you are shifted somewhere else?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: This is actually a question that might put someone in stress as it directly doubts the skills of an individual. Be confident about your own skills as your stress management qualities are being checked.

2: Interviewers want to check your flexibility as an individual and if you are open to learning new things. Try to give an example from your college life where you had demonstrated flexibility.

Common mistakes:

1: 'No sir, as I am good at XYZ, I would like to work only on this and not on anything else’.

Sample answer:

First of all, I am pretty confident that I will be able to perform well in my current job role as I do have many of the required skillsets for this particular job role and the remaining ones can be acquired over the course of time through training, coaching, and feedback.

However inspire by getting trained and putting my 100% to get the best of results, if still, I cannot perform, then definitely I would be ready to move to some other role. Moreover, moving to a new role would mean new challenges, new learning, and growth opportunities & I am always ready to accept these.

Q 10: How will you deal with a dissatisfied customer?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: To check your customer handling & stress management skills.

2: Many people get stressed out when they have to deal with irate or dissatisfied clients and customers. Try to give an example from your college life.

3: Even if you have not handled dissatisfied customers try to talk about the approach of handling dissatisfied customers & then politely say that you have not yet got an opportunity to handle such cases but firmly believe that the mentioned approach will help you to handle dissatisfied customers efficiently.

Common mistakes:

1: Never just say that 'sir, I have never handled a dissatisfied customer.'

Sample answer:

All dissatisfied customers will vent out their frustration on the individual who is handling the case.

One should not take it personally on himself rather he should empathize with the customer.

It is imperative to actively listen as the customer will try to tell you a long story of what happened to him.

Try to paraphrase ("summary of what has happened so far"), apologize for the inconvenience and try to present the best solution in that situation.

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Q 11: What makes you happy, sad and irritated?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: To check your emotional intelligence. (How good you are in terms of controlling your emotions)

2: To check if all these emotions impact your work or you can control them and your work can be completed with minimum impact.

Common mistakes:

1: Avoid generic responses like ' Sir I become happy when I do well, I become sad when I cannot perform well.'

2: Please elaborate and give examples.

Sample answer: I think every individual goes through different emotional states but a person has to be good at controlling all these to be successful in his career and emotional intelligence is all about that. It has 5 components (Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills)

I normally feel happy when I am able to deliver as per my promises and I think that is the key to customer delight.

But one should not get too much carried away and falter on his upcoming deliverables, rather the emotions should be kept under control. This should act as a motivation to help you succeed in future as we often look back to our past achievements to get motivated, however this should not make us overconfident and stop us from working hard as there is no substitute of hard work.

I feel sad and demotivated when people start losing hope and trust on me or my team. I think I normally do not let this thing happen as I plan well from beforehand, however if at all anything like this happens then we should be confident to turn things around. It has to start with small achievements which will gradually build up the lost trust.

I feel irritated when people do not own up for their own mistakes; rather they play the blame games. I think it won’t be appropriate to shout at people but to coach them so that people realize the essence of accountability, planning and ownership so that these things get minimized.

Q 12: Do you consider yourself successful?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: To check if you can showcase your achievements because many of us have quite a few achievements but we cannot showcase them to the right people and at the right time.

Common mistakes: 1: Avoid one line answers like ' Yes sir, I think I am quite successful.'

Sample answer: Yes, I consider myself successful in what all I have done so far ("try to give examples from your college life, projects and industrial training"). But I think it is only half done and now I need to achieve success in my professional field as well. I have certain step goals like getting promoted to the next levels as soon as possible, adding extra skillsets to my existing knowledge base so that I can expand my working capabilities. I also have certain action items in order to achieve these goals.

If I can work as per the plans, I am sure I will be able to achieve what all I want and become successful in professional life as well.

Q 13: Are there any specific type of people with whom you cannot work?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: No one can work with every individual with the same level of ease and comfort, and there will be people whom you might not like (if you cannot work with everyone, it is your problem, and that needs to be fixed). But, there should be proper ways and means to handle such people, and get work done out of them, so that the desired level of output is never compromised.

Common mistakes: 1: Never say ' I can work with everyone' as none of us can work with every individual with the same level of ease.

Sample answer: I am a good team player, and I know that I will have to work with different people, and everyone will not be the person whom I like, or someone who likes me. There will be difficult co-workers, and as a professional one has to work along with them. I think, people who have a negative attitude are the most difficult to work with as they always have a habit of saying no whenever they have to do something new or something different.

This a common human behavior as people are resistant to changes. As a team leader or a team member, whenever you have to get something done out of someone in a different way or a better way, you have to first explain the benefits of the newer method (for e.g.: it will make the current job easier in the longer run or it might have to be implemented from a security & compliance perspective), and then you will find that the individual will agree to do things. You can also explain the other person that by doing things in a better way, he will actually learn something new which will add a lot of value to his existing skillsets, and people get motivated the most when they come to know that they will learn new things.

By following these steps, I think I should be able to get the work done out of people who tend to be negative by nature.

Q 14: What are the three things that are most important for you in a job?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: To check if growth, work environment and learning are equally important to you other than money.

2: People often see Microsoft & Google offices and get carried away from some of their facilities and happen to say those during interviews. Please refrain from these, do a little research from the company website, check what all they offer and try to show a correlation between what you desire and what the company actually offers.

Common mistakes: 1: Avoid saying, ' Sir, I think salary, other facilities like foreign travel, a nice cafeteria and celebrations’.

Sample answer: Learning and growth opportunities: There should be scope for continuous learning so that one can, not only excel in his current job role but also move to the next level as soon possible.

Reward and recognition: People should be recognized for their efforts and achievements which would motivate them further for future goals.

Money: This is also a very important component to keep someone motivated. People always look for better opportunities in terms of growth and salary.

Work environment: There is a famous saying, ‘train your people well so that they can leave for better opportunities, but treat them well enough so that they do not want to leave’. I think the magic of trust which is an appropriate balance of efficiency and humanity is the key to employee retention and happy employees.

I have gone through your company website, and found out that employees have shared wonderful stories about their work experience in your company.

People also get recognized from time to time and everyone believes in 'fun @ work' so that the motivation levels are always up even during times of the greatest hurdles.

Q 15: Do you believe in luck or hard work?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: To check if you are ready to work hard, if you are ready to always find out better ways of doing things even during the toughest of times or if you just surrender everything to luck, and say that I had nothing more to do over here.

Common mistakes: 1: ' Sir, I believe in hard work'. Explain why you believe the same.

Sample answer: I think success is a sum total of talent, hard work & opportunities. Luck is nothing but getting the right opportunities @ the right time. Now people often say that luck is everything in life, but I do not quite agree to that. If you are not well prepared, (which is nothing but hard work) then you will not be able to perform even if you get loads of opportunities. At the same time, one should always have goals in his mind, and then only one can spot the right opportunities which is nothing but the share of luck that everyone needs in his life in order to be successful.

To summarize, a person should always discover his talent, be passionate about his talent and continuously work hard to nurture his talent so that he can become the best, have goals in mind in order to spot the right opportunities and actually become the best when it is time to deliver.

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Q 16: Did you ever have a conflict with your current/previous boss or professor?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: To check if you run away from conflicts or you take proper steps to resolve conflicts.

Common mistakes: 1: Do not say, ' sir, I have never come across any conflict.' This response will not be accepted as all of us face conflicts while working in teams.

Sample answer: Conflicts are a part of every team due to the diverse nature of human beings. We should not run away from conflicts, rather we should use effective techniques to manage them, and conflicts are not bad as they give rise to creativity, better problem solving and decision making.

I never had any major conflicts, but very recently, I had a conflict with one of my professors about a common problem in our core subject. Now in case of conflict management, there are a couple of factors that result in effective conflict resolution. People have to be assertive as well as cooperative in order to come up with the best resolution (win-win). (" Explain the scenario with an example"). Initially, I was a little scared about the outcome, but gradually I developed self-confidence, and was able to logically present my resolution which was agreed and accepted. That was a morale booster for me, and now I think I am good at conflict management.

Q 17: Do you know anyone who works for us?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: To check if you have done your homework (in case you have your seniors working in the organization, you are expected to get inputs from them as well apart from doing your regular research work from the company website.)

Common mistakes: ' No sir, I do not have anyone whom I know'. In case you really do not know anyone, this response is fine.

Sample answer: I have a couple of seniors named ("mention names") who are already working for your organization.

I must say that they have been wonderful ambassadors always talking great about your organization.

I have already spoken to them on many occasions, and I already know the do's and don’ts in your organization. I have realized that if you have a goal in front of you and if you work hard, this organization will provide a great platform to make a wonderful career.

Q 18: How are you today?

Description/purpose of the question: 1: At times this can also be the first question, and it acts as an icebreaker just to make you feel comfortable during the interview process.

2: Please avoid using negative points as this might spoil your entire interview process. If you start it on a negative note, companies might become reluctant in hiring you as they would think that you have a complaining attitude. Try to have a smile on your face and start everything on a positive note.

3: Remember to say 'thank you' to the interviewer and also ask him in return 'how he is doing'.

Common mistakes: ' Sir I am not good'.

Sample answer: Sir, I am fine, thank you. I am very excited about today as I always wanted to be a part of a MNC like yours. Today I have got this chance to prove myself, and make my dream come true.

How are you doing sir?

Q 19: What according to you would be an ideal company to join?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your career objective. Company officials also want to check if your goals & objectives can be fulfilled by the company.

Common mistakes: Many people tend to say ‘sir, I think Microsoft will be an ideal company to join’. Please do not mention the name of any specific company and also avoid a one liner answer.

Sample answer: I think an ideal company is one that manages customers, employees, technology and CSR in the best possible way. Managing customers effectively will make them happy. This will result in business expansion resulting in more opportunities and happy employees.

Managing employees effectively will make them happy as well. This will result in better work environment, better performance and in turn happy customers.

Thus they are complementary to each other.

Companies should also devote resources and time towards technology and innovation to keep themselves at par with the changes. This is absolutely essential as companies have to change the way they operate depending on the advancement of technology. If a competitor has implemented a change, and is able to offer better service, the others will start losing business, no matter how great their customer service was earlier.

In the field of CSR, companies should always contribute either towards people or planet. The companies may take up different projects like teaching underprivileged or ensuring safe drinking water in villages etc. from time to time.

Q 20: Tell us about a problem that you had solved earlier and what technique did you use?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your problem solving skills as you might not be able to implement your learnings directly @ your workplace, rather you will be able to utilize your gained knowledge by solving problems.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I was not great in a particular subject in my college. I prepared well, and got good marks in my semester exams’. These are very generic answers and no approach is being explained over here. Company officials actually want to check your approach. If you have a standard approach in solving problems, you will be able to solve any problem whether it is a simple or a complex one.

Sample answer: Sir, I try to follow a standard approach as mentioned below while solving problems.

Step 1: Identify the problem

Step2: Identify the root cause [You can talk about cause and effect diagram, i.e. all problems are caused by any one or all of the 6 Ms (man, material, machine, measurement, method and Mother Nature)

Step3: Find out all the possible solutions

Step 4: Find out the best solution and implement it on a small scale

Step 5: Periodic review to check if the solution is actually giving desired results

Step 6: Implement the solution completely in case desired results were obtained on a smaller scale

Try to give an example in case you have solved any such problem in your college life.

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Q 21: Are you a leader or a follower?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your leadership skills

Common mistakes: ‘As I am a fresher, I will be a follower now, and later on I will become a leader’. Avoid such answers as even a fresher might have to show leadership skills if there is a requirement. Talk about the qualities that a leader and a follower should have and how you have displayed these qualities over a period of time.

Sample answer: I think all of us have leadership qualities in us. To become a leader you need to

Empathetic

Proactive

Innovative

Should have effective time and stress management skills

Should have effective coaching skills

Depending on situations, we might have to display one or more of these skills at some point or the other. At times when we are working under someone, we also need to respect the leadership under whom we are working. We can always present our views, discuss and negotiate in order to get the best solution, and should not blindly follow what the leader has to say. At the same time we should not be too rigid about not following something.

I think there should be a proper balance of the two in an individual, and all of us should act as leaders or followers whenever it is needed.

Q 22: If you get a better job after 6 months, what will you do?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have plans of building long-term relationships with the company or you would leave them very soon.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, everyone looks for a better job, so I will switch if I get a better job’. This will be killer statement, and even if your entire interview might have gone well, this one liner can prevent you from getting this job as no company would want to hire people for a very short period of time.

Sample answer: I agree that all of us work for money, but at times we should prioritize other things like learning, growth, stability, rewards and work environment as they are also equally important. At times we run after short-term gains, but if we think wisely then we should always focus on long-term benefits. A hike in my salary might appear attractive initially, and people might get tempted to switch jobs, but there are a lot of negative factors associated with this movement.

First of all, this company is giving me a platform to exhibit my skills, & if I can do it properly, learn new things continuously in a fun-filled work environment; I can very well get promoted to the next level which is nothing but my long-term professional goal.

Secondly, if people here get recognized from time to time for their efforts & hard work, and if the work environment is a congenial one, I guess not many people would want to leave this place.

Thirdly, if I keep switching companies after every 6 months, then future companies will be reluctant to hire me as it will be question on my stability. Moreover, if I get this job, my next goal would be to get promoted as soon as possible. If I work in a company for 2 years, and I am able to showcase my skills, I am sure I will get a chance to get promoted. However, if I keep switching companies after every 3 or 4 months, I will have to join at the basic level and wait for more time to get promoted.

So I feel that as an employee, you should try to work for at least 2 to 3 years for a company, learn new things, explore all the possible growth opportunities, and if nothing works for you, then only you should decide to move on.

Q 23: When can you join us, how much salary are you expecting, & are you ready to relocate if required?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have gone through the job description, as all these answers would be there in the job description (JD).

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, it will be good if I am posted in Kolkata, and if you can give me Rs 25000/month’. At times students mention their location preferences & their desired salary even though the JD says that job location is PAN India & salary is Rs 15000 per month. Please go through the JD thoroughly, and answer as per the information given in JD.

Sample answer: ‘Sir, I have gone through the JD, and I am ok with immediate joining, ok with the salary that you have offered and with relocation’.

In today’s age of globalization, if we restrict our choices to our hometown, then we will miss out on various learning & growth opportunities. People who accept these opportunities eventually grow up and I think it is also all about your priority. Currently my priority is ‘to make my career’, and I am mentally prepared to go to any place, start working with dedication and become successful in my career.

Q 24: Do you have any questions for me?

Description/purpose of the question: This is possibly the last question that is asked in an interview. Many interviewers ask this as a formality, but many of them ask this question to check your curiosity about the company. (Are you happy with the information shared, or do you want to know more.) Please do not ask any question that is clearly mentioned in the JD as that shows your lack of preparation.

Common mistakes: ‘No sir, I do not’. It is not a very good idea to say no to this question.

Sample answer: I would like to know about the learning and development opportunities, growth, a day in the current job role, training journey, rewards and recognitions, different clients that we cater to, your journey in the company so far, some success stories of freshers like us so that we can get motivated.("Ask any 2 questions")

Q 25: Are you a team player?

Description/purpose of the question: All companies want team players these days as you not only have to work within a team but also along with many other team members of different teams.

Common mistakes: ‘Yes’. Please avoid a one word answer like this as it irritates the interviewer. You should explain what a team player means, and what should he ideally do, and how you have displayed your skills as a team player in your college life. Please do not talk about football and cricket as that will not have any relevance with the job, rather please talk about project work and industrial training where you were a part of a team.

Sample answer: I am a team player, and there have many instances in my life where I have got a chance to learn and display my skills as a team player.

Talk about your project, and what were your learnings from it. For example (“Last year I had to complete a project within stringent timelines. Initially it appeared to be difficult, but with everybody’s support we started getting confidence, and were able to complete it on time. I learnt the importance of team work, best practice sharing and to be more proactive. I learnt that you should always highlight issues that might be a hindrance to timely project completion immediately, and walk up to your supervisors not with problems but with solutions.

I have also learnt empathy from team work. (Empathy means putting yourself in some other person’s shoes, explain it with an example.)

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Q26: What do you know about our company (Ex: Swiggy)?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have homework about the company.

Common mistakes: 'Sir, I think it is a reputed company, and it is a great opportunity for a fresher’. Please elaborate why it is a reputed company, and why it is a great opportunity.

Sample answer: Company History: It all started back in 2014 when two BITS Pilani graduates, Sriharsha Majety and Nandan Reddy decided they want to make life easier by changing the way India eats - all with just a tap! In August of 2014, Swiggy began operations by signing up a few restaurants in Koramangala, Bengaluru. With love and support from consumers, Swiggy expanded far and wide, first through the entire city of Bengaluru and then across the entire country. As they say, the rest is history. Today, Swiggy is the leading food ordering and delivery platform in India.

Current Key performance indicators (KPIs): Currently there are close to 40K+ Restaurant Partners Countrywide, 4K+Employees across the Country and 19+Cities PAN India. All these numbers clearly suggest that Swiggy is growing. This means that Swiggy has been able to cater to customer and employee needs. I think that a successful company manages customers as well as employees well. These are absolutely essential as more customers would mean more business resulting in growth opportunities and happy employees. Again happy employees would mean happy work environment, effective performance and eventually happy customers.

So happy customers and happy employees complement each other, and that is I guess the secret mantra of Swiggy's success.

Q 27: How do you feel about working overtime, nights and weekends?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you value client commitments, and if you understand the criticality of project completion under stringent timelines.

Common mistakes: ‘I have no issues, and I am ready’. This answer is like saying yes to everything and should be avoided. You should give reasons why you would agree to work during nights or weekends.

Sample answer: I have no issues in working overtime or during weekends if there is a critical project that needs to be completed as per the committed timelines.

But if that keeps on happening on a regular basis, then actions have to be taken to get that fixed. Either I have to use effective time management techniques to ensure that I complete my work on time, or I might have to improve my existing skills by taking appropriate training, feedback and coaching.

At times you also might have to do someone else's work, during emergencies I do not mind jumping in as it is team work at the end of the day, but if that happens repeatedly then I will have to be assertive, explain the reasons why I should not complete someone else's work again and again so that along with everyone else I can also maintain a proper work life balance.

Q 28: Are you ok with a bond of 2 years?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have any issues with the bond as many people start making issues after joining the company. Moreover, interviewer also wants to check if you have any plans of leaving the company very soon.

Common mistakes: ‘Yes sir, I am ok’. Avoid a one liner answer as this response does not mention the reason why you are ok with the bond.

Sample answer: I am completely ok with the bond. I have already gone through the job description and the terms and conditions of the bond.

As mentioned earlier I believe that an employee should always try and stay with a company for at least 2 to 3 years. During this period he should try and learn as much as possible, spend at least 10% of daily time on upgrading his existing skillsets, explore growth and other opportunities.

If someone starts switching companies after every 3 to 4 months for short term benefits like a small scale monetary benefit, in the long run he would be questioned on his stability, and he would also lose out on growth opportunities as he would have to join the other companies at the entry level and start from the beginning.

Q 29: Why do you want to move in the sales & marketing role after pursuing B.Tech?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you are just applying for this job as you have not yet got a placement in your core area, or you actually want to make a career in the sales and marketing domain, will normally be asked only when you are applying for sales and marketing profiles. Try to give examples from your college life, you might not have sold any product, but might have given solutions to complex problems. This is nothing but selling solutions.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I have a family business/ shop where I have gathered a lot of experience; hence I want to move to sales and marketing’.Never say these things as it will lead to cross questions like ‘You already knew that you had a family business, then why did you study B.Tech, you could have completed normal graduation’. You should have a solid logic for this question; else the interviewer is not going to accept your response.

Sample answer: I am a goal oriented person, and also someone who is aware of his strengths and weaknesses. I joined Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University with a dream of getting a job in a reputed company after completing my course. I started preparing myself accordingly, but as I entered my pre-final year, I realized that I should not only get prepared in my core area but also in sales and marketing because I would get opportunities in the sales and marketing areas as well. Moreover, I realized that I have all the skills that a good sales person should have, and they are effective communication skills, empathy ( to understand the customer needs), active listening (you always have to patiently listen to the customer, try to give a solution to his problems rather than selling products to him) and effective negotiation and persuasion skills. As I have mentioned earlier, I think one should always choose a profession as per his passion and strengths so that work becomes interesting, and he can excel in is work. Moreover, today you have sales everywhere; it is even there in my core area. Maybe I have not sold any products, but I have sold solutions. If you have to solve a complex problem in your core area, you have to present a solution in front of many people, have to sell your logic, and then only your solutions will be accepted. This is nothing but sales.

So considering all these reasons, I think I have taken the right decision of making my career over here.

Q 30: If you are rejected today, then what will you do?

Description/purpose of the question: To check how you handle bad news. (This is nothing but your stress management skills)

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I will learn from my mistakes, develop myself and apply for future jobs’. This response is ok, but the mistake that people make over here is that they tend to become upset, and that gets reflected on their face. Be a little careful, try to take this sportingly as it is just to check your stress management skills, and your non-verbal communication (facial expressions) also plays a major role in this answer.

Sample answer: I am confident that I will clear as I have tried answering all the questions professionally and in the best possible way.

I will definitely feel a little upset if I get rejected as I think the interview went on pretty well today, and I came here with a lot of hope as these types of companies are my dream companies.

But still if at all I get rejected, then I will try to work on few of my technical as well as soft skills aspects ("give a couple of examples”) which are my development areas and keep applying for other jobs in a better way.

I also have effective stress management techniques that will help me to come out of this and handle the situation in a much better way.

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Q 31: What all qualities are needed to become a successful salesperson?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your awareness about sales and marketing, will normally be asked only when you are applying for sales and marketing profiles.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I think one should have good communication skills’. Yes, communication skills are important, but you should talk about the other skills that are also needed. Please be prepared to explain certain terms like negotiation and persuasion in case you use them as they are also essential skills for a salesperson.

Sample answer: I think in order to become a successful salesperson one should have the following qualities:

Communication skills, persuasion & negotiation skills, process and product knowledge, empathy (to understand customer needs), active listening, passion, eagerness towards learning and self-development.

I think the very first step is active listening. A customer might tell you a long story, but still you have to listen to him patiently. If required paraphrase (confirm your understanding with the customer like ‘if I understood you correctly, you mean xyz’). We should empathize with him if he is facing problems and try to give him a solution. Every customer wants to be helped and no one wants to be sold.

One should have immense product and process knowledge so that he can explain all the benefits of a particular product and at the same time handle all sorts of possible queries.

Negotiation and persuasion skills are also required so that you can convince your customer that you are giving the best solution to him.

Last but not the least I think communication skills, your passion and eagerness to learn new things play the most vital role. You might come across a couple of difficult customers , and a lot of time might get wasted while interacting with them without any effective results, but still the next customer has to be treated as a your first customer of the day. You have to help him with the same amount of energy that you had in the beginning of the day. All these would not be possible if you do not have passion in what you are doing. You have to learn from your own mistakes and always try to carry a smile on your face (non-verbal communication skills) while you are interacting with your customers, and all these will surely help people in their sales careers.

Q32: Why do you want to start working, rather you should go for higher studies?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you are applying for his job as a stopgap, and would run away after sometime when you get a chance of higher studies.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I am a fresher and I want to support myself and my family financially’. Yes, this is a valid point, but everyone will give the same answer. Please try to think of some other pointers while answering.

Sample answer: As mentioned earlier, I have some specific goals. The day I joined this engineering college, I prepared a long term goal of getting a job. I started preparing myself accordingly, and also started preparing step goals to evaluate my position after every 2 to 3 months to ensure that I am always on track with respect to my long term goal. Today I am confident that I have the required skills (domain knowledge and soft skills) to get a job. I think you should choose a profession that is your passion and your strength, and that is when you will achieve success.

If I start working now, I will be able to utilize the knowledge gained over the past few years. If I get this job, I am pretty sure that I will be able to contribute as per my deliverables and also develop myself so that I can get promoted to the next level as soon as possible as per the company policies. Had I gone for higher studies, it would have taken 2 to 3 more years to complete the same, and then only I could have joined some company. Agreed that it would have added to my existing skillsets, but at the same time I would have lost out this opportunity of gaining work experience for these years and also promotion opportunities that might come my way. Moreover, if required I would enroll myself in some distance education courses so that I can learn while I earn.

To summarize, I have decided to prioritize work over studies now considering different factors like time, money and existing skillsets and think that it is a wise decision.

Q 33: Explain a situation when you had successfully completed sales, and what all did you do to ensure successful completion of sales?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have practical experience in sales. These questions will normally be asked only when you are applying for sales & marketing profiles.

Common mistakes: ‘No sir, I have never sold anything to anyone’. Many people might not have sold any product, but think of examples where you had sold solutions.

Sample answer: I feel that you need to have good sales skills in order to become successful in any profession. For example, even if someone is working in a non-sales profile, like a technical profile and he has come up with a better solution, he will have to sell his idea to his seniors, convince them and then only the new idea will be accepted and implemented.

I had a similar experience before. Once I had to sell a new idea. ("Talk about any new idea that you had proposed which got accepted. The approach should be (RADPAC: Rapport, analyze, discuss, propose, agree and close").

Although I have never been involved in selling a product, I am sure, if someone follows the technique mentioned above, and if he has certain key qualities needed for sales, he will be successful in making a career in the field of sales.

Q34: How do you work under pressure?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your emotional intelligence, your capability to handle stress during tough times.

Common mistakes: ‘Yes sir, I have worked under stress’. Avoid one liner answers like these and give proper examples to justify your answer.

Sample answer: All of us are quite used to stress and pressure as we all have to go through stressful situations in our lives. A few of them could be competitive examinations, quitting certain hobbies that you had once liked due to studies, stress about project deadlines etc.

One should find out ways to handle pressure. For example, a daily ‘to-do’ list should help people in time-related stresses. A proper planning (primary and backup plans) also help people to handle difficult situations without much of a hassle. Lastly you should have hobbies, and spend at least half an hour everyday on them to maintain a work-life balance.

Q 35: How do you feel about doing repetitive work?

Description/purpose of the question: No matter how much passion people have for their work, they start getting bored after they have spent a year or two in their current job role and that starts impacting their quality of work. Companies want to check what all can you think of to ensure that the same level of enthusiasm remains even after you have spent a good amount of time @ your workplace doing the same thing.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I do not get bored easily’. Again very generic and not at all a good response. All of us get bored, and we all should develop ways to come out of boredom.

Sample answer: One can attain perfection, and also find out better ways of doing things if he has done that many times.

As per the competency theory of learning one has to move from the phase of unconditional incompetence to unconditional competence (Step1: I do not know that I do not know; Step2: I know that I do not know; Step3: I know that I know; Step4: I do not know that I know) and then only he can be called a master of doing that activity. This also boosts up his self-confidence.

At the same time, while doing the same thing again and again, he can come up with better ways of doing that thing, and this is what we call continuous improvement.

However, everything has its saturation point, and someone cannot keep doing the same thing endlessly. He will definitely start getting bored after he has exhausted all possible ways of improvement, and has done that activity for a very long time. In these cases he should take up some hobbies, take short breaks after every 2 to 3 hours, and keep on upgrading himself so that he can move to some other role.

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Q 36: What motivates you?

Description/purpose of the question: All of us have some sources of motivation. Few people get motivated by music, few by story books etc., but what the interviewer is concerned about is how you can keep yourself motivated @ your workplace.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I get motivated by listening to music’. This is not at all an appropriate response. Think of a better response and examples.

Sample answer: I am a self-motivated individual. I believe if you put effort, it will improve your performance, and your improved performance will definitely help you reach your goal (the one that you always want to achieve)

During hard times also, I keep my goal in front of me and that keeps me going. I always try to learn everyday, and I try to find out solutions in the midst of every problem.

To summarize, my goal and the continuous learning process are the secrets of my motivation.

Q 37: What do you dislike about this job role?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have gone through the JD and have any further concerns.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I do not like the salary part, it will be good if the salary can be increased’. These are killer statements, please never say these types of things and try to answer in a positive way.

Sample answer: I have a passion to make sales and feel that everytime one should try and think of better ways to sell solutions or products. There is nothing that I dislike in this role. The fact that everyday there will be new customers to handle will make this job even more interesting, and once I have handled a few customers I should be able to use the best practices to drive better sales numbers.

Q 38: Which salary is better for a sales industry (a fixed or incentive based)?

Description/purpose of the question: This question will only be asked in sales and marketing interviews and companies want to check your thoughts about incentives.

Common mistakes: ‘Both should be there’. Yes, right but please share the reasons as well.

Sample answer: I think the salary should contain both the components.

People should get the fixed component for doing their core job and completing some basic targets.

Incentives should be there to motivate the employees to go an extra mile and achieve something over and above the basic targets.

This way there will be a healthy competition to outshine each other in terms of performance which will benefit the organization as well.

Q 39: How do you respond to change?

Description/purpose of the question: Adaptability is one thing that is looked @ in every industry these days because today’s technology might become obsolete in the upcoming years, and we might have to learn something new. This question is to check your thoughts about the dynamic changes that happen in the field of science and technology every day.

Common mistakes: ‘I respond to change very quickly’. Please share reasons and possible examples where you had changed yourself and got better results.

Sample answer: Change is the only constant thing, but everyone is resistant to changes. This is because we do not like changes, and do things the way we have been doing even though they might not have been the best ways of doing things.

However, if we believe in continuous improvement, learning, challenge conventional ways of doing things and stay focused on what we want to achieve, I do not think that it becomes very difficult to accept changes.

If you spend 10 to 20% of your day on self-development, I do not think it becomes a huge challenge to keep yourself at par with the latest technologies. With so many things happening in the field of technology nowadays, it becomes essential to explore the opportunities regularly and keep upgrading yourself else these opportunities get converted to threats, and one becomes obsolete in his own domain even.

Q 40: How do you describe your work ethic?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your attitude and behavior and if you will be a good resource if hired.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I am honest and loyal’. Please elaborate and give examples.

Sample answer: 1: Work with integrity and respect everyone: One has to be honest in his work and should treat everyone with respect. As a leader if you are not honest, and if you do not respect people, you cannot expect it from your team members. You have to lead from the front. As a team member if you see that other team members are using unfair means to get desired results, you should act as a whistle-blower. All these are essential to keep the environment lively and ethical.

2: Demonstrate a sense of team-work and responsibility: If you have committed something to your client, you should fulfill it. You should be aware of your roles and responsibilities, and deliver asper the expectations and as per the assigned tasks. At times there will be emergencies, you should jump in to help your team and behave like a true team-player.

3: No compromise on quality of work: It is always a great idea to foster relationships @ your workplace so that the work-environment becomes a synergetic one, but never @ the cost of quality of work. Quality can never be compromised as quality means business. Once it starts to deteriorate, it tarnishes the brand image, eventually customers start looking for better partners, and suddenly we realize that we are out of the competition.

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Q 41: Why did you choose MCA and not MBA?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have specific goals, or just do something as others are also doing the same. Many people go for MCA when they see others opting for it, without even knowing the advantages properly. We should always take inputs from everywhere, but think properly and then take our own decision as per our convenience.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I chose MCA as I like computers’. Please elaborate your answer.

Sample answer: I believe that you should first identify your passion, continuously nurture your passion so that it becomes your strength, and finally choose a profession as per your passion and strength.

I was always interested in computers since my childhood, and wanted to make my career in the field of computers. I started preparing myself accordingly, and today I think I have all the qualities and skills that are needed to succeed in the professional world related to computer applications.

People often say that MBA is a better course than any other master degree, but I think that MCA also has its own advantages. If you pursue MCA you develop in-depth subject knowledge, and there are a lot of career options in the field of computer applications. On the other hand, MBA is all about managing business. I am not saying that I am not interested in managing business because after working in the field of computer applications for 2 to 3 years, I also would want to get promoted and get into the lead or managerial role, a MBA degree would be handy @ that time. So what I have planned is something like this, let me work for 2 to 3 years, do well in my current job-role, learn everyday from my supervisors, and after 2 to 3 years if I see that I should go for MBA in order to get promoted, I will surely pursue that course while I am working. Lastly the course fees of MBA is also more than MCA, so let me first be financially independent, and then as I said I can do it later on as well.

Q 42: What is the difference between hard and smart work?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your work ethic. Many people try to act smart by saying that smart people are smart workers, and foolish people are hard workers, but that is not what the interviewer expects. Remember, you first need to work hard so that you can learn everything about the product and process, and then you should try to get smarter by finding out better ways of doing things. No one can become smart without working hard.

Common mistakes: Just saying, ‘Sir, I believe in both’. Please give proper justifications.

Sample answer: I think the difference is being proactive and constantly thinking of better ways of doing things.

For example, once we were asked to complete a project within a very stringent timeline of a week. Upon analyzing, we identified that the same could not be completed even if everyone had stretched for a few hours. We all decided to go back to our lead, and explained him the reasons of getting an extension and all these were backed up with data. Had we not done that, we would have worked hard unnecessarily. So we should not always agree to our supervisors and clients, rather we should be assertive, present our own views so that our work becomes easier without compromising on quality, and redundant work is avoided.

However, at times even after analyzing we might not be able to find out the best ways of doing things, normally this happens when we are doing something for the very first time, and we end up working hard to meet the deadlines. After completing the work, we come up with the better ways that could have saved time, effort and money.

In these cases, I feel that the experience should be utilized later on to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated. As the saying goes, we should learn from someone else's or our own mistakes and the faster we learn, the faster we get smarter and smarter.

Q 43: Do you like to take risks?

Description/purpose of the question: To check if you have the habit of challenging the conventional ways of doing things, or keep doing things in the conventional ways for years.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I take risks’. Please give examples.

Sample answer: I think whenever we try to do things in a different way; other people might call it a risk.

I am open to taking risks, but that does not mean that I would always tend to do anything and everything.

Before doing anything, one should always check the pros and cons of that activity, and then take the best possible decision even if that makes you come out of your comfort zone.

I think if we follow this approach of taking calculated risks, we can come up with creative ways of doing things, doing something that we like rather than just compromising, thereby making our professional life a lot better one.

Q 44: Why did you choose BCA as a subject, why Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University as a college and finally why our company to work for?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your decision making ability, and what all factors do you take into account before taking any decision.

Common mistakes: ‘ Sir, I chose BCA as I like computers, I chose Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University as I heard about it from my friends, I chose your company as I am a fresher, and I need a job and experience’. This is again a common response without properly explaining the different factors that should be considered before taking decisions.

Sample answer: As I have mentioned earlier, I believe that you should first identify your passion, continuously nurture your passion so that it becomes your strength, and finally choose a profession as per your passion and strength.

I was always interested in computers since my childhood, and wanted to make my career in the field of computers, hence I chose BCA as a subject.

Now before choosing any college, I think there are a few factors that should be considered. You should check its overall reputation, placement opportunities and course fees. I spoke to my teachers and seniors, and got a positive feedback about Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University from everyone. You get immense placement opportunities here, and the course fees are also quite affordable, well within the reach of us. I evaluated all these, and then decided that I should go for Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University as a college.

As I have mentioned earlier, success is a sum total of talent, hard work & opportunities. I have a passion towards computer applications; I have worked hard and developed myself, and today I think your company is giving me a platform to showcase my skills. This is indeed a great opportunity for me, hence I have chosen your company so that I can deliver, learn, grow and become successful.

Q 45: What will you do if we do not promote you after 3 years?

Description/purpose of the question: To check your stress management skills. Many of us have dreams of getting promotion after 2 to 3 years, and it becomes tough when this dream gets shattered inspite of doing every possible thing.Interviewer wants to check your mindset, and how you will come out of this situation if at all this happens to you.

Common mistakes: ‘Sir, I will leave the company’. That is a very easy solution, but there is no guarantee that you will not face the same issue in the next company.

Sample answer: Sir, as mentioned earlier, I have a long-term professional goal of getting promoted after 2 to 3 years depending on the company policies, and for that I have certain step goals that need to be fulfilled. In order to fulfill a long-term goal, you should continuously review your short-term goals, and see if you are achieving them, else you have to plan your actions in a different way. If we do not do this, then the long-term goal might not be achieved, and that might come as a shocker. People then start blaming their luck although they could have done something for a better output.

I think I should get promoted if I can learn all my roles and responsibilities, can deliver, can learn new things constantly, can become one of the top performers and get positive feedback from internal & external stakeholders.

However, if still I do not get promoted, I will get a little disheartened, but I will come back strongly. I will analyze the situation, there could be a possibility of not enough openings @ that time, or some areas that I need to improve upon further. I will take necessary feedback, work harder, and come back with a better performance so that I can get promoted in the next instance.

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Q 46: Who is your role model and what all have you learnt from him/her?

Description/purpose of the question:

To check your values and what all have you learned from your role model. You can give an example, but try to think of one that can be related to your job role.

Common mistakes:

‘Sir, my role model is M.S. Dhoni’. It is ok to say this, but please give examples of what you have learned from him, and how you implement them in your real life.

However, please do not say that I have learnt how to bat in difficult situations as that does not have any relevance to the job role for which you are applying.

Sample answer:

My role model is my mother. I have learned how to keep my mind under control even in tough situations. I think that is crucial in every situation of life and will help me a lot in the corporate sector. In the corporate sector, every day will not be as per my primary plan, and I will have to think of backup plans to handle situations in the best possible way.

While dealing with all these, if you are tensed and nervous, you will not be able to take the best decisions, and your work will surely get impacted. People call this emotional intelligence, and a person who has a high EQ is expected to do well in every situation. He is not emotionally hijacked during tense situations, he can think calmly, and finally take the best decision.

To summarize, I have learnt all these from my mother, and will try to implement these in every sphere of life.

Q 47: If you won a lottery, would you still work?

Description/purpose of the question:

To find out the different factors that motivate you in a job.

Common mistakes:

1: Do not say that you will stop working and start your own business.

2: Do not say that this will never happen as you have been given a scenario, and you have to say what you will do in such a situation.

Sample answer:

I will still continue to work as money is not the only motivation for me. I will get fantastic exposure while working over here, there are so many new things to learn, so much diversity, and all these will drive me over here even if I get a lottery.

I agree that money is always the biggest motivator, and that ways I will have a secure future, but I will still continue to work as I never wanted to be a part of a corporate giant like yours only for money but also for other factors as mentioned above.

Q 48: How do your friends describe you?

Description/purpose of the question:

1: To check if you are a good team player and can get along with people.

2: Please try to show a correlation between the self-identified strengths, and the strengths that your friends highlight as if certain things are your strengths, then they will be spoken about by everyone. For e.g., while talking about your strengths, if you say that you are good @ problem solving, decision making and computer applications, then your friends should also say nice things about those qualities. This is important as very often we have a false impression that we are good in certain things even when we are actually not. Try to give examples why your friends say positive things about you.

Common mistakes:

‘My friends say that I am very jolly by nature’.

Sample answer:

My friends consider me to be a technical expert in the field of computer applications. They also say that I am approachable, I am good @ problem-solving & decision making, and above all, I am a fun-loving person who knows when and how to strike a proper balance between his personal and professional life.

I am lucky to have friends who not only talk about my positives, but also share feedback about my improvement areas in a constructive way. I take this sportingly, and I always try to improve my weaknesses.

Q 49: How much would you rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 10?

Description/purpose of the question:

To check your self-awareness and your self-assessment. Often we say that we are great at something, but in reality, we do not do that well, and this shows that we cannot assess our own selves properly.

Common mistakes:

‘Sir, I will give myself a 6 or 7’. Please give solid reasons for any rating.

Sample answer:

The qualities needed for this job role are

Expertise in my core subject

Good at time management

Good team player

I would like to rate myself separately for all these qualities. I think I deserve a 7 or a 8 in my technical area.

I did not have any technical knowledge in this subject earlier, however have made a lot of progress by developing myself. I have really worked hard, tried to spend extra hours, have attended industrial training and seminars to develop this knowledge. Earlier I could answer very few questions in class, in exams & while attending online question papers; however, with the course of time, I found that I was able to answer 70 to 80% of the questions that were being asked. This did not happen overnight. I had to constantly review myself. As I mentioned earlier, initially I was possible @ a 2 or 3 as I could only answer 20% of the questions, then I started putting efforts in a proper way. I got results after 3 months and found that I was able to answer 50% of the questions, and after putting this consistent effort for 6 months I reached my target of 80% that I had set for myself as it is difficult to be a perfect 10. This boosted up my confidence and the goal that appeared to be a distant dream in the initial days appears to be within reach now.

Q 50: Tell us something about your achievements?

Description/purpose of the question:

All of us have some achievements or the other, but we are hesitant to showcase them. Please feel proud while talking about your achievement even though it may not be a major one, but say something that will be relevant to the job role.

Common mistakes:

‘Sir, I do not have any achievement’.

Sample answer:

I was not that great in my soft skills, however, after joining this college I understood the importance of soft skills in order to get a job. I realized that it was my development area. I started going through online content, regularly attended soft skills classes, participated in all the seminars, tried to always learn from the best performers, and today I can say that I possess good soft skills that are very much essential to succeed in my career. I think I was successful in identifying my weakness, preparing an action plan to achieve my goal, and developing myself. Today I can say that succeeding at every step of this journey is an achievement.

I also developed my practical know-how and hands-on experience of my core subjects after attending the industrial training ("mention the name and also explain the key learnings"). I also gained a lot of self-confidence after presenting in seminars like ("seminar name"). All these gave me a lot of exposure to public speaking, and also a kind of demo of how people work in the industries. These have helped me a lot as now I have a very nice blend of theoretical and practical knowledge.

To summarize, the entire campus to corporate journey has been a memorable one starting from goal identification, preparation of action plan, continuous development and finally coming close to the desired output, I consider all these to be significant achievements although they might appear to be small to others, and all these will surely help me achieve more and more in future.