General Interview Questions

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General Interview Questions
1.  Tell me about yourself
Typically this is the first question that will be asked in any interview. The response to this question will determine the fate of a candidate, so always have a clear write-up response for this question. The response will determine the tone of the interview.
Start with information like your education and family background. Then talk about your strengths and abilities and conclude by talking about your most recent experience. Make certain to mention the experience or work that you have done in the past that relates to the present position for which you are interviewed.
Good e.g. – if your summer project work is more related to the position for which you are applying then highlight that in your response.
Have a good script ready for this question. Practice the response to this question few times before appearing for the interview.
2. Tell me about your Strengths
Really think through your strengths while preparing for an interview. Always be prepared to substantiate your Strengths by giving a real life example where you have demonstrated that strength. If your strengths match with the key traits of the role for which you are applying, then you stand a good chance to clear the interview.
A good response can be one or few of the following – committed, honesty, team player, positive attitude, hardworking, passionate, problem solving, stay positive, loyal, ability to prioritize, ability to stay focused, ability to work well under pressure, professional expertise, leadership skills, quick and timely, self-confidence
Tell me about your Weakness
A good approach to tackle this question is by analyzing the key skills and strengths required for the position you are interviewed for and then come up with a shortcoming which will not hinder the success in that job. Never mention a big weakness that could cost you the job.
To successfully tackle this question, make certain that the response is brief and explain clearly how you are working to overcome the weakness. It is ok to mention just one weakness unless the interviewer insists for another weakness. Never mention that I don’t have any weakness.
A good response can be one of the following – “I get deeply attached to the work I am engaged”, “I am a workaholic”, “I sometimes get impatient and become deeply involved when a project is running late”
You can give any response as long as it doesn’t make the interviewer feel that you won’t be able to perform well in the role because of the weakness.
3. How are you planning to Overcome your Weakness
Everyone has areas that needs improvement, but if you can describe how you’ve tried to mitigated your weakness then you’ll appear strong, capable, and in charge of your professional development. So, think of something that you struggle with but that you’re working to improve. You could explain that you’ve never been strong at public speaking, but over the past few years, you’ve asked for team leadership roles, run successfully meetings, and found tools to help you be more comfortable when addressing a crowd.
4.  What do you know about our Company?
Go through the company website to find out “what they are doing for business”. Identify the key products/services that the company produces/offers. Read through their mission and vision statements. Read all the latest news about the company, read about their leadership team, their key customers, and shareholders. This preparation will help you to clearly know about the company for which you are applying.
Be in a position to explain about the company in not more than 2 lines.

5. Why did you apply for this Company?
our response to question 5 would help you answer this better. Analyze the product/service that the company is making/offering and try to marry how your interest would fit into what the company is doing. This will give more confidence about the candidate.
Your response can be things like strong management team, fast growing company, part of growth story, global exposure, cross cultural work environment, friendly atmosphere, work-life balance, company’s focus on innovation, market leader, brand name, management focus to excel.

6. How will you fit into this Role?
There are two things that one can speak answer this question.
a) Strengths
Find out the key traits that are essential for the role for which you are applying. Analyze which of your strengths will help you excel well in the role. See if that strength matches with the key traits that determine the success of a role. Marry your strength to the key traits and mention that give an opportunity you will be able to excel by leveraging your strengths.
A good response could be – “My greatest strength is XXXXX. The role requires people with XXXXX strengths. I strongly feel that if I get an opportunity, I should be able to leverage my strength XXXXX to succeed well in this role”.
b) Prior Experience
Identify the work experience or projects that you have done in the past that most resembles with the new role. Mention that you will be able to leverage that past experience to excel well in this new role. You can always mention that learning/training time will be very low, so you should be able to perform well very quickly.
A good response could be – “I have worked on this SAP platform for the past three years. In this new role, I should be able to leverage my previous experience and excel well right from day one. So I strongly feel that I am the right fit for this role”

7. Why did you apply for this Role?
A good response can contain any of the below points.
a) About Company
Say things that you like about the company made you apply for this new job. Your response can be things like strong management team, fast growing company, part of growth story, global exposure, cross cultural work environment, friendly atmosphere, work-life balance, company’s focus on innovation, market leader, brand name, management focus to excel.

b) About your Career Aspiration
Mention about the career path that you would like to have. Marry how the new job would enable you to achieve your career dreams.
Mention that this new job would be a good roadmap to meet your career aspirations. Or mention that you had an aspiration to do such kind of a job.
c) Strengths
Find out the key traits that are essential for the role for which you are applying. Analyze which of your strengths will help you excel well in the role. See if that strength matches with the key traits that determine the success of a role. Marry your strength to the key traits and mention that give an opportunity you will be able to excel by leveraging your strengths.
A good response could be – “My greatest strength is XXXXX. The role requires people with XXXXX strengths. I strongly feel that if I get an opportunity, I should be able to leverage my strength XXXXX to succeed well in this role”.
d) Prior Experience
Identify the work experience or projects that you have done in the past that most resembles with the new role. Mention that you will be able to leverage that past experience to excel well in this new role. You can always mention that learning/training time will be very low, so you should be able to perform well very quickly.
A good response could be – “I have worked on this SAP platform for the past three years. In this new role, I should be able to leverage my previous experience and excel well right from day one. So I strongly feel that I am the right fit for this role”

8. Why do you think you are the best fit for this Role?
There are two things that one can speak answer this question.
a) Strengths
Find out the key traits that are essential for the role for which you are applying. Analyze which of your strengths will help you excel well in the role. See if that strength matches with the key traits that determine the success of a role. Marry your strength to the key traits and mention that give an opportunity you will be able to excel by leveraging your strengths.
A good response could be – “My greatest strength is XXXXX. The role requires people with XXXXX strengths. I strongly feel that if I get an opportunity, I should be able to leverage my strength XXXXX to succeed well in this role”.
b) Prior Experience
Identify the work experience or projects that you have done in the past that most resembles with the new role. Mention that you will be able to leverage that past experience to excel well in this new role. You can always mention that learning/training time will be very low, so you should be able to perform well very quickly.
A good response could be – “I have worked on this SAP platform for the past three years. In this new role, I should be able to leverage my previous experience and excel well right from day one. So I strongly feel that I am the right fit for this role”

9. If you were to hire someone for this role, what traits would you look for?
Analyze the key strengths that would be essential for an individual to succeed well in the new role. Mention those strengths by prioritizing them based on its importance. Perform the analyses of the new role while preparing the interview. It is one of the few important things that people should do prior to attending any interview.
For example, key traits for a Java developer role would be good programming skills, problem solving skills, team player, understanding the business needs etc.


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