1. What are your long-term goals? What are your short-term goals?
This is to check your commitment towards the job. A casual query like this can turn into a probe into your maturity and the levels of dedication you maintain towards your overall work graph.
Why this question:
From a recruiter’s perspective, the job interview is the best time to get focused information from a candidate, which will help them make a decision about them. Asking about their goals, both short-term and long-term goals, helps these recruiters understand where they are coming from and what plans they have for their lives.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
This also lets them decide whether the candidate would be a good hire and would stay in the company. What motivates them and where would they go, if they face an opportunity in line with those goals – both internally and externally.
How to Answer:
Haven’t thought about your future, five years down the line, let alone in the coming six months? Start thinking. This is how you can answer this fresher interview question.
- Think of what you want to do in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years
- Include the Company in your plans
- Begin explaining short-term goals.
- Include long-term goals, but don’t talk about salary or explicit details
So, don’t say you want to earn a lot of money and then run away to Prague. Yes, there are interviewees casual enough to answer that. On the other hand, don’t say your long-term goal would be getting “your chair” (the interviewers). That will pretty much take away the job from you.
2. Create an imaginary difficult work situation and tell us how you will overcome it?
Making up an imaginary work situation on the spot can be difficult. It is considered one of the toughest interview questions which test a candidate’s natural characteristics that can’t be analyzed in a short interview.
Why this question:
Interviewers ask this question in order to know how you will deal with an unprepared situation that might arise during your work tenure.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
A basic, open-ended question this allows the interviewer to understand the candidate beyond scripted answers and the brief on their resume. It also lets them understand the likely ways in which the candidate would respond to challenges and the kind of situations they may face in their role.
How to Answer:
When this question is thrown at you, stay calm and composed. Go back to the past and think of any difficult situation you might have faced. It can be anything related to your past academics or professional career.
You can tell about the dilemma of choosing your stream in the college, or about the unconventional career path you had to choose for yourself. You can mention who helped you during that stage of your career. Or, if you had to choose an unconventional career for yourself, how you persuaded your family members.
If you can’t link this question to any incidence from the past, you can instead relate it to your job description of the current job. You should develop an idea of unusual scenarios that might arise while in the job and the possible outcomes of that. Avoid giving a long and unnecessary description. Your ideal response should be short and supported by relevant facts.
3. Are you comfortable with late night and weekend shifts?
Another tricky question asked commonly – especially at startups, mid-size companies and with volume-oriented roles, like sales. So, be ready for this one if you’re going to one of these interviews.
Why this question:
The question doesn’t mean your company is planning on ruining your weekends. But depending on workload, companies do need flexible candidates who can handle the pressure at the workplace and work late when required.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
The recruiter is asking you:
- How flexible are you?
- Can you take initiative to sacrifice personal time for a situation?
- Can you handle workplace pressure?
- Can we rely on you to step up, if required?
How to Answer:
Ideally, a carefully enthusiastic response towards being occasionally willing to do so, is a good way to go.
If you aren’t comfortable with it for some reason, state the reason politely. Or you can just say that it would be fine once in a while but you normally prefer maintaining a work-life balance
4. What’s your dream job?
This is a very tricky question. It might happen that your dream job has nothing to do with the job for which you are being interviewed. Still, avoid mentioning it. Rather try connecting it to the position for which you are being interviewed.
Why this question:
Interviewers ask this question to know how this position motivates you. Or, whether you will stick to the position or you just want to take this up as a short-term assignment.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
When a recruiter asks you about your dream job, they’re really asking you these questions:
- What is your motivation
- What are your positive stress points
- Do these idyllic aspirations match our work environment
- Would you fit into the current role/organisation
There are also instances where the recruiter may not be a company employee, but a consultant. In that case, if they’re asking you about your dream job, they may have evaluated you as a good candidate for future positions and may connect with you, if they see something similar.
How to Answer:
Ideally, you should not answer specific job titles. Don’t share your ambitions about a job whose responsibilities are far from achievable while staying in the position that you are applying for. A good idea is to focus more on skills and not the designation.
Focusing on the industry is the key to answering this question.
5. When can you start?
This may seem to be a simple question, but it isn’t! For most candidates, it can feel like the most exciting question of their interview. But please stay calm as this doesn’t necessarily indicate that you have been selected for a position.
Why this question:
Usually, employers ask this question when they hire for an immediate joining and the position is essential to company’s operations.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
The recruiters are judging your position right now – how eager you are for this position and how soon would they be able to close it, if they hired you.
A quick as soon as possible means you need this job straight up – maybe you’re between jobs and gives them an upper hand in the negotiation process.
How to Answer:
While answering this question, avoid sounding too desperate (even if you want to start it right at the moment!).The best way you can respond to this question is by conveying that you wish to start it as soon as possible.
- Communicate your eagerness to join soon.
- Factor in your current commitments – for a fresher these could be the time you graduate, any upcoming plans
- Give a clear date
- Ask about the company’s needs and requirements
6. What are your hobbies?
This question is necessarily not asked to judge you on your job role. By asking this question, an interviewer wants to get an idea of how you are as an individual.
Why this question:
A recruiter might be interested in knowing about your health, energy level, or your ability to gel with your colleagues. Doing things apart from the job means that you are an all-rounder and your hobbies give an insight into the type of person you are.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
Specifically, the question behind the question on your hobbies and interests depends on who is asking it. If it’s the HR or the first-line recruiter, they want a better understanding of you as an individual and your commitment levels to your interests.
If it is from your reporting manager, then it’s to get a better sense of you and whether they would be able to get along with you, beyond the formal office structure.
How to Answer:
There are certain hobbies and interests that should obviously not be discussed in an interview. Even if your favorite time-pass is partying, it is advised not to say it at all. Same goes for activities like gambling, drinking, smoking, or any other illegal activity.
While answering this question, make sure that you are honest and your hobbies are genuine. Don’t say that you are a fitness enthusiast even if it’s been more than a year since you last hit the gym.
Whatever you say, be prepared for follow-up questions. For example, if you say you love watching movies, be prepared for the last movie you watched, or the type of movie that excites you.
In short, include these things:
- Mix professional and personal interests
- Mention positives – things that contribute to you (health, education, learning)
- Mention positives with community good – volunteering, green initiatives, helping others
- Include your passions and be prepared for follow-ups
7. What are your thoughts about working in a team?
It is an unsaid rule that companies look for employees who can gel in well with their teams. Team players are future leaders, and a candidate who can’t work well in a team is more of a liability to the company than an asset.
Why this question:
Beyond core skills, the move towards finding the right-fit candidates is also dependant on their employability skills. It is these, which ensure that a candidate remains productive for the organisation and helps it along on an upward trajectory. And team skills remain core to these employability skills.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
The recruiters are asking you:
- Do you gel well within a team?
- How do you perform, when you have to collaborate and coordinate with both within the department and outside?
- Would you be a negative influence on the team? Would you hinder or hamper operations?
How to Answer:
Provide instances from your college or internship life to tell your interviewer how you are a team player.
8. Do you have any questions from me/us?
It is the most commonly asked question towards the end of an interview. As it is one of the last questions of your interview, it leaves you with a final opportunity to leave your mark on the interviewer. And, that is why there should be no chance of not preparing for it.
Why this question:
Often interviewers ask this question to understand how well you’re prepared for this interview. They’re checking your preparation, enthusiasm, and readiness to work with the organisation.
What are they ‘really’ asking:
They are asking you:
- How keen are you on the job?
- How confident are you about your chances?
- Are you willing to learn from your experiences?
- How eager are you to do this work?
‘How to Answer:
Prepare a list of questions that you want to be answered. Your question should be asked to the relevant interviewer. For example, if your interview is with the HR, your question should focus on the overall interview process or the organization’s structure. In case you are giving an interview to the person who will be your Manager, your question should focus on the kind of work and the work responsibilities.
Keep in mind that you don’t ask questions related to off-work activities like party and vacations. Avoid asking personal questions to the interviewer. Try asking one question at a time and make the whole process feel conversational.
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