When we go for an interview there are a lot of interview questions which are asked and we need to be prepared for all of them. We should just not know the answers, but we should answer them in a way that is different from others.

In the blog, let us just see the questions which are related to you and what answers we should give if these questions are asked.

Some things to keep in mind while answering the question are:

1. Be honest and give a true reply to all the questions which are asked.

2. Be the person who you are in the reality while answering the questions also.

3. Keep in mind the job profile and company while giving the answers.

4. Be careful about what you share as there is no need to share the things which put you in a bad light.

5. Demonstrate self-knowledge which is a sign of maturity and for this, you need to know yourself well.

6. Keep a track of your tone and attitude as what you say is important, but how you say is more important.

7. Make sure that you have researched well about the company and the job profile before you go for the interview as it helps you to know what to share and how much to share.

 

Many of the important questions which are asked regarding you are:

• Tell me about yourself

• Tell me about something that’s not on your resume

• What is your greatest strength?

• What is your greatest weakness?

• Why do you want this job?

• What are you passionate about?

• What are your hobbies?

• What are your pet peeves?

• Why should you be selected/hired?

• Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10?

• Where do you see yourself 5 years from today?

• How did you get to know about the position?

• Do you have any questions to ask?

Let us just see the answers of the above questions

Tell me about yourself

This is mostly the first question that is asked in the interview. This question can include many things, but you need to take care that the answer should be crisp and concise. It is very normal for people to tell a whole lot of things, but try to answer it in 3 to 4points only.

I would say to include

Current- Start with a brief overview of what you are doing right now like if you are working start with the current job or if you are studying then mention that first.

Past – Then refer to what have you then which lead to

Future – End by telling where do you want to reach in further life.

When you answer in this manner, then this is known as open-ended questioning and the employer would come up with a follow-up question which can be

What is your greatest strength?

What is your weakness?

What are your future goals?

What motivates you?

This is one of the best approach to answer the question through there can be other ways also. For the same, you need to know yourself well to answer this question. You need to know the following things which will be helpful for further questions also.

You need to know your achievement in the past

You need to know why you are doing what you are doing

You need to know your strengths and weaknesses with examples from your life.

This question can be asked in other ways also like “Tell me something which is not there on the resume?”

 

Tell me about something that’s not on your resume

For this question, the best way to answer is by telling a few things about you which talks about your strengths and skills like some function or sport you participated and then you can divert the answer to the professional front wherein you can tell about your expertise, strengths, and aims of your professional life.

So few things which can be shared in 3 to 4 points are:

1. Strengths that are not on your resume.

2. The accomplishment of one goal which you had.

3. The reason why you want to do this job.

4. Share something personal which can be your memorable moment or something which can positively impact you.

What is your greatest strength?

This is the question which can really help you to increase your chances of selection. This question can help you to tell the employer how strong you are for the job and why you are the best suitable option.

For answering this question you can do the following things

1. Have a list of your strengths which matches to the job requirement. the strengths can be education related, soft skills, hard skills, or some past experience.

2. Just cut short the list to 3 to 5 strengths.

3. Just have an example of each strength mentioned from the past.

Few things to take care of the same are:

1. Have the skills or strengths listed or know to you before you go for an interview.

2. Stay focused and discuss the strengths only related to the job profile.

3. Always share the example for better understanding.

The example can be :

I have good customer service skills and I have the potential to solve difficult situations. With my experience as a customer support executive, I have learned how to deal with and understand the situations and solve them. I also have good communication skills which have helped me in doing so. I have also been a good team member and so I have received the best team member award in 2 quarters in 2019.

 

What is your greatest weakness?

This is one of the tricky questions which interviewer can ask as many times the candidate answers it so wrong that it may lead to rejection of the candidate.

There can be various ways to deal with this question:

1. Tell non-essential or irrelevant skills which may not have an impact on you as per the job profile. like if you are going for a sales job you may say I am not good with numbers.

2. Tell the skills which you have improved recently by taking training or in your previous job. Like If you are going for an accounting job but you were not so good in communication skills then tell about that and then tell when you started your improvement and what change it has brought to you.

3. Tell a weakness by converting negative into positive as you can say that you cannot be calm till the task gets completed. This is something that every employer will love in a candidate.

 

Why do you want this job?

This is a question that seems easy to almost anyone but it can put you in a great mess if not answered correctly. While answering this question consider the following points:

1. Show your interest in the job.

2. Do your research about the company and profile.

3. Also, what is your next goal in the new job for you.

So a sample answer can be

I want this job because this job is in accounting which I am skilled in. In my previous job, i have been managing accounts and it got a reduction in expenses by 5 % which is a good industry norm. I can add my 2 years of experience to this company and help in the growth of the company.

What are you passionate about?

What are your hobbies?

Both the above questions are asked by the employer to understand how fit you will be in company culture. What else do you do when you are not working. This question is only asked when they are really interested in your selection.

When answering this question try to keep these points in mind:

1. You can mention anything exercise and health-related

2. You can mention anything were you participated in community or voluntarily

3. You can mention regarding professional development and education

4. You can also mention daily activities.

5. Do not mention anything controversial

6. Do not say I don’t have a hobby or I don’t get time.

An example of the answer can be

I have lots of hobbies like I like to hike with my dog. I also like spending time with my family and I also like to cook and solve crossword puzzles in my free time.

 

Why should you be selected/hired?

This is a question in which the employer asks to know what you think of your suitability of the job profile for which you have gone for the interview. This question needs to be answered by considering the following points:

1. Showcase how will you add value to the organization and for this you can tell your strengths, traits which can be professional or voluntary.

2. Try to keep your answer short and focused

3. If possible tell a story or incident from your past work experience or some incident.

4. Here, take due care that you are not giving memorized answer as that looks pretty fake.

5. Make sure that whatever you are saying it should talk about how it is going to be beneficial for the organization.

For example, you can say

After looking at the job description requirements which says you are looking for an accountant having experience in cash management and reporting. I can assure you that I would be fit for the job as in my previous work tenure an account assistant I have taken care of cash flow and all the reports needed by the management on a timely basis. My experience and skills will be suitable for the job profile.

 

Where do you see yourself 5 years from today?

This question talks about what are your future goals and what are your plans. You need to have a clear idea of what you are looking at before you go for an interview. The future is uncertain but everyone should have a plan in hand and accordingly, the actions should be performed. This question actually helps the employer to know are you looking for long term working options with the company or not. It basically lets him know how stable you are.

Few points to consider while answering this question are.

1. Have a clear goal plan with you and work on that.

2. Have an action plan for the same

3. The plan should take you up in the career ladder

So, the example of the answer can be

After 5 years, I would like myself to be known as expert accountant, developing knowledge in all the major processes of accounting.

 

How did you get to know about the position?

This is a pretty clear question and for which the answer should be given correctly. The answer should be clear and short. Try to show your excitement about the job position in the company which reiterates your interest in the job and company.

So, the answer can be

I got to know about the job from one of my friends who have got a friend who was an ex-employee in this organization. I am pretty excited and looking forward to work.

 

More questions can be

Do you have any questions to ask?

Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10?

These questions may be asked differently but you need to understand the question properly and then you need to answer them considering the answers mentioned above. These answers if given correctly not only have a good impression of yours on the employer but it will also increase the probability of your selection.

 

And, who does not want that?

All of us right. So, make sure you are prepared and you know the answers but also remember that you are just not giving an answer which is mugged up. It should be given with the presence of mind and taking due care of what is asked.