Interview Q and A
1. Tell me about yourself.
Keep your
answer short and focused on your professional life. This is not the time to
bring up relationships, childhood experiences, family etc. A brief history of
education, career and special interests is what is called for here. End it with
why you are interested in this particular job.
2. Why are you
applying for this particular job?
Show
interest and demonstrate that you have researched the job and know what you are
getting into. Bring up evidence from past work/ studies that support your
interest in this role and any skills you have acquired in preparation for the
role. You can say something like 'I would like to work for a leader in
innovative network and telecommunications solutions and my college degree in
computational mathematics have given me a solid background for this role.
Mention the value-added you can bring to the job.
3. What do you
know about our company?
Indicate
what you have learnt from your research activities - from their annual reports,
newspapers, word of mouth, other employees etc. Use this to flatter them and
show that you have done your homework.
4. What makes
you qualified for this particular job?
Again,
explain that you are very interested in the job and demonstrate what it is
about your past experiences, education and qualifications that makes you ideal
for the job. Show enthusiasm and support your answers with evidence wherever
you can (e.g. my summer internship at Citibank gave me broad exposure to the
area of equity analysis and I think I can apply many of the tools I learnt
there in this job). Elaborate on all the past experiences and skill sets that
make you suitable for the job.
In cases where your past experience is not directly relevant, you can still
find elements of it that can be useful. Play up team skills, computer skills,
leadership roles, specific courses and independent research activities that can
be useful to the job at hand to show your initiative even where you don't have
directly relevant job experience.
5. What can you do
for us that someone else can't?
Demonstrate key
strengths, skills and personal characteristics.
6. Why should we hire
you?
See 3. Because
you have all the experience/ traits/ credentials demonstrated in 3 and in
addition to being qualified, you are enthusiastic, intelligent, hardworking,
flexible and willing to learn. Also mention any key relationships you may have
that may assist you in the job.
7. What do you look
for in a job?
Be honest. Also
mention keywords such as challenging, steep learning curve, good work culture,
demanding, rewarding, opportunities for advancement and growth, team
environment, opportunity to build and maintain client relationships etc.
8. Why are you
looking to make a career change?
However
insignificant that can support your move in this new direction. It is quite
common in this day and age to make a career switch. You need however to show
that you have very carefully thought about the change, have a strong interest
in the new career and can use some of your previous skills/ education/
relationships to make that move.
9. Why did you leave
your last job?
Do NOT use this
as an opportunity to badmouth past employers or peers or talk about a failure
of any sort. Any of these answers are acceptable: you were looking for a new
challenge, your learning curve had flattened out in the previous job and you
were looking for a new learning opportunity, the
company or department were restructuring, you were ready to start something new
after achieving your career goals at the previous company etc.
10. Why do you want
to work for us (as opposed to the competitor companies)?
Demonstrate that
you know something about the company, that you believe they are leaders/
innovators in what they do, or you think their work culture is exactly what you
are looking for, or you like their product(s) or you have friends who work
there and have always been attracted to the company etc. Flatter the company
and show you know something about it.
11. How long will it
take you to start making a meaningful contribution?
Show that you are
enthusiastic and willing to learn and will put in all the hours and effort
necessary to learn the ropes and start making an immediate contribution.
Indicate that your past experiences/ skills/ credentials will enable you to
make an immediate contribution at some level while you quickly learn all new
aspects of the job. An Interviewer wants someone who is willing and able to learn
and will make a return on his investment sooner rather than later.
12. What are your
strengths?
See 14 below. In
addition, keywords such as good team player, work very well under pressure,
very creative, very strong quantitative or computer skills, and very strong
client relationship skills may be appropriate depending on your chosen field.
13. What are your
weaknesses?
Do NOT mention
key weaknesses here. This is not the place to say you are bad at meeting
deadlines or you never mastered high school mathematics etc. Turn this question
around to your benefit. For example, you are 'overambitious' or 'extremely
attentive to detail' or 'like to take on too many projects'. Make it sound
positive.
14. What are your
career goals?
Show you have thought forward and are committed to your career.
15. How would you
describe yourself?
Any of these are good examples of attributes employers are looking for:
intelligent, hardworking, quick to learn, enthusiastic, honest, efficient,
productive, ambitious, successful, and compassionate (in the medical fields).
16. How would your
colleagues describe you?
Do not bring up anything negative here
17. How would your
boss describe you?
They will check references anyways so bring up the most positive attribute you
can think of about yourself eg hardworking, honest etc. and leave it to your
Boss to say anything to the contrary.
18. What did you most
like/ dislike about your past job?
Do not use this to badmouth past jobs/ employers. Keep it light and in your
favour (e.g., I outgrew the job, there wasn't a clear career progression, I
wasn't learning anything new etc). Ideally, you will have loved your last job
and would like to achieve the same kind of success and job satisfaction in a
more challenging area as you have now 'outgrown' that job and are ready for
'new challenges'.
19. Describe a
situation in your past where you showed initiative?
You could describe any new methods you came up with to do your job or to save
money for the company or to turn around a bad situation. It can be something as
simple as changing a filing system, or establishing a relationship with a
vendor that saved your department a lot of money. If you are in sales, you may
want to talk about how you brought in that big account. Creative’s may talk
about how they came up with that cutthroat image or design that brought in the
business.
20. What were your
main responsibilities in your last job?
Have these ready and list them all. Dwell on the ones that are most relevant to
the new job. This answer should be smooth and practiced.
21. What do you
consider your greatest accomplishments?
Many of us have one or two milestones in our career that we are very proud of e.g.
that early promotion, that 'huge' deal we brought in, the design we came up
with, the costs we saved, the revenues we increased, the people we trained, a
new invention or process we came up with etc. Examples of accomplishments may
be: 'Reduced costs by X%; or renamed and repositioned a product at the end of
its lifecycle, or organized and led a team to do XYZ, or achieved sales
increase of X% etc. If you are a fresh college graduate, talk about
extracurricular activities, leadership roles and grades.
24. Do you work
better in teams or independently?
Show that you are a proactive team player and like to bounce ideas off others
and get input; however you are very capable of working independently (give
examples).
24. How do you work
under pressure?
Well. Give evidence.
25. What other jobs
have you applied for?
Don't mention jobs in different career directions (e.g. advertising and
investment banking). Do however bring up any other offers or Interviews from
competing firms.
26. How did you do in
college?
Keep it positive. It's okay to say you were very busy making the most of
college and were very involved in sports, activities, social life etc.
Employers want human beings not robots. Mention the areas you did very well in
even if it was just one or two courses you excelled in. They will check for
themselves.
27. What kind of
hours would you like to work?
Employers want to see flexibility. Indicate you are willing to put in whatever
hours are necessary to finish the job. Do however mention any constraints you
have e.g. you would like to be home to pick your kids up from school at 3:30.
Most employers are willing to work around your constraints if you show
flexibility on your side as well.