General Interview Questions

& Pointers for Answering

1. Why should I hire you?/ Why do you think you fit in this job? / How do
you think you will be able to contribute to our organisation?
Purpose
To evaluate whether you have done your homework on the organisation
To understand whether you know the job requirement
To assess your ability to think through the situation
To assess your enthusiasm/ passion for work
Pointers for answering:
This question provides a perfect opportunity to persuade the interviewer about your suitability
for the job. This is an opportunity to sell yourself. The most important ground work you should
have done to answer this question well is: complete research on the company and, the job role,
likely tasks and responsibilities vis a vis your experience, knowledge, skills and capabilities and
matching the both.
You should talk about your most appealing qualifications and successes educational, industry
and extra-curricular and also your most appealing skills, characteristics and qualities that will be
a value add to the company. You must convincingly communicate all your achievements and
accomplishments that will be relevant for the job.
You can talk about the behavioural skills (as appropriate) like focus, task orientedness, team
work, initiative, innovation, creativity, selling skills, assertiveness, problem solving skills, tenacity
of purpose, decision making skills etc.(with demonstrable examples) and link them with the job
requirement.

2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Purpose
To understand whether you have assessed yourself
To see whether you are a balanced person with self awareness
To assess your ability to improvise
To know whether your strengths align with the organizational needs

Pointers for answering:

Strengths
i)

Make a list of about 10 of your top strengths. These could include strengths from the
following areas:
Knowledge-Based Skills: Acquired from education and experience (e.g., computer
skills, languages, degrees, training and technical ability).
Transferable Skills: Your portable skills that you take from job to job (e.g.,
communication and people skills, analytical problem solving and planning skills)

Personal Traits: Your unique qualities (e.g., dependable, flexible, friendly,

hardworking, expressive, formal, punctual and being a team player).

ii) Shortlist 3-5 strengths that you are comfortable discussing and which will be more relevant
to the job for which you are being interviewed.
iii) Prepare Examples. Develop at least one example/ compelling story around each of your
strengths, , at the same time ensuring that you are not spending more than 1-2 minutes in
each strength,
iv) While choosing the right strengths, ensure that you are.
Accurate. Choose strengths that you actually possess. You will be much more convincing
and likable if you talk about authentic strengths.
Relevant. You should take the time to analyse the job description and identify the most
important strengths for each opportunity.
Specific. Choose specific strengths. Instead of people skills, you may say,
networking, working in teams relationship building or persuasive
communication. Let it not be generic. Try to create a strength that is your own, not
what 90% of the population says.
Weaknesses
Do not talk about any of your trait/ characteristic like anger, impatient, slow learner,
lack of concentration etc. as weakness
Try to talk about 1-2 weakness that are more on the professional skills side can be your
presentation skills, public speaking skills, tend to be more detail oriented and hence miss
deadlines, computer skills, being organised etc.
After indicating your weakness, ensure that you explain how you are working to get over
the weakness. Ensure that the weakness you are indicating does not have a bearing on
the job you are being offered.

3. Tell me something about yourself.

Purpose

To understand your confidence level

To understand your clarity of thought
To understand how well you are aware of self

Pointers for answering:

Your first sentence should be an introduction to who you are professionally, an overview
statement that shows off your strengths and gives a little sense of your personality too. Develop
a strong and well laid out story around:
Your strengths
The way your life has evolved, the things youve learned, events, turning points in your life,
achievements, failings, dreams etc.
Crisis/ failure in your life/ job and how you responded/ recovered/ learnt from it.
A time when you functioned as a part of a team and what that contribution was.
A time in your life/ job where you took leadership role
The key events that happened during your life/ career that caused you to change direction
and how that worked out for you.
Discuss only those points that are relevant to the job. A good way to start the answer for this
question could be like this:
I can summarize who I am in three words
My personal philosophy in life is
People who know me best say that Im
My passion is
The compliment people give me most frequently is
My colleagues used to say that I am
My friends always refer me as.
My professors tell that I am
The 3 strengths that I value most in me are
The skills that I am proud of are
(you can think of more impressive starts on these lines)
Whatever your start is, ensure that the answer is structured and concise. It should not be a long
ramble. You must prepare and rehearse for this thoroughly since this is one of the most widely
asked questions in the interview.
The answer should not be a biographical data and need not be a repeat of your resume [unless
the interviewer asks the question before he/ she goes through your resume].

4. Where would you like to see yourself 5 years from now? / What other
goals you have set for yourself in 5/10 years?
Purpose

To understand whether you have thought ahead of your life

To know your goal orientation, initiative, self motivation and drive

Pointers for answering:

You must talk in terms of achievements, responsibilities and professional development, rather
than specific positions and money. Highlight that you would like to see yourself as successful
and one of the top performers. You may talk about the skills that you would like to acquire and
responsibilities that you would like to take up. You should also highlight the value you should be
bringing to the company and how you will make a difference to the role/ function/ organisation.
You must demonstrate your enthusiasm for the job.

5. Are there any questions you would like to ask?

Pointers for answering:
It is not really required that you must ask questions. But even if you do not ask questions, you
should withdraw politely, by telling the interviewer that you have got all the information in the
pre-placement talk and from the company web site and you look forward to hearing from the
company about the result.
However, asking a few questions from among those listed below will put you in positive light.
But the tone of putting the questions should be on eliciting information rather than
interrogating the interviewer.
1. How do you evaluate success here?
2. What distinguishes this company from its competitors?
3. Can you please tell me how the role relates to the overall structure of the organisation?
4. How would you describe the work culture here?
5. In what way is performance measured and reviewed?
6. Can you tell me more about the day-to-day responsibilities of this job?
7. What do you think are the most important qualities for someone to excel in this role?
8. Who do you consider your top competitor, and why?
9. What are the biggest opportunities facing the company/department right now?
10. What are the biggest challenges facing the company/department right now?
11. What do you like best about working for this company?
12. What is the typical career path for someone in this role?
13. What's your timeline for making a decision, and when will we know the result?
The last question to be asked only when you are confident that the interview had gone on well.
You can also ask questions on something you read about the company only positive things.
Some of the questions you must NOT ask are:
What does your company do?
What will be my salary?
Will I have to work long hours?

 Where is my job location

How many days of leave I will be eligible?
How quickly could I be considered for a promotion?
Do you do background checks?
Can I arrive early or leave late, as long as I get my work done?
How did I do in the interview?
Did I get the job?
And such other negative questions

Things to remember

Though some pointers for answers are given, eventually you must
customise the answer to suit your profile and the need.

You must be as open, honest and truthful as possible instead of faking.

Thorough preparation for the interview is a must; Rehearse on your own/

with your friends; write down the questions and your answers

Prepare well for the technical/ subject questions

Loads and loads of information are available in the Net on resume,

interview preparation, grooming etc.. You may go through them for
additional learning