Shivaji Mohinta, Bhubaneswar, 4 August 2024
Interviews in the early days of our career can be stressful. We are nervous as to what type of questions will be asked and how we can answer them with confidence. This article is meant to just do that – help you prepare the oft asked questions to leave a strong positive impression.
The objective of an interview is mainly two-fold:
a) Why the employer will hire you;
b) The applicant should make a compelling case that he/she is the most suitable for the job.
Any interview process comprises one or more rounds of discussions or tests, depending upon the position you are applying for, and finally it boils down to some common questions which are directed to discover the suitability of the candidate. Although the questions can be common or cliched, but your answers need not be. Some of the tips being shared here can differentiate you as a unique candidate, with some planning and preparation. So, follow the steps which can help you craft authentic responses to the interviewers’ questions.
Pre-Interview Preparation
Who would be interviewing?
Check beforehand who would be conducting the interview. Is it the HR Manager or Reporting Manager or multiple people? Generally, the initial round, which is the screening round, is done by the HR Manager. They check the candidate’s fitment, qualifications, background, and interest for the job. The direct supervisor, on the other hand, evaluates your specific knowledge, past accomplishments, experiences, and skills required to excel in the job. If there are more than one persons, then it is worthwhile to shape your responses as per their roles and the perspectives to make the best impression.
What is the type of industry?
Every industry has some underlying practices, traits, or work methods. Make a list of them and assess your strengths and weaknesses to answer the questions objectively. Go through the company’s website, press reports, and analysts’ reports for a deeper understanding of the culture, leadership, financials, and external opinions.
What are the types of questions?
There are three basic question formats – Behavioural, Situational, and Resume based. Behavioural questions are typically the most common ones, which use your past behaviour to predict future behaviour. It is about understanding your past experiences, your strengths and weaknesses or give an example of how you handled a price objection, etc. Situational questions are about your awareness, problem solving skills, and analytical skills to test how you can handle a work-related problem. It is about your ability to think on your feet. Resume based questions pertain to what you have mentioned in your CV like education, employment history or achievements.
Common Question No 1:
What are your strengths and weakness?
This is obviously the most favourite question of most of the interviewers. To answer this in a authentic manner, study the job description (JD) properly in advance. The JD lists the critical requirements, or the skill sets for the job role. If the job role requirements are customer tele-calling, then patience and cool temperament can be your strengths. In the same way, there would be some skills which you might not possess. Check the lower order skills required in the JD, often denoted as preferable or nice to have skills. It is given that any candidate will not have 100% of the skills. In this case, you might not be proficient in Excel or PowerPoint, which you can mention as the improvement areas that you want to work upon. Aligning your answers to the JD makes it realistic and honest.
Common Question No 2:
Why are you interested to join our Company?
This question is to evaluate how you can effectively contribute to the position. Here they probe whether you have genuine interest and long-term commitment in the new role or you are just a job hopper. Understand the strengths of the organization, interact with current or past employees, and their trade partners to get a fair idea of their philosophy and values. You can highlight how much you are excited to join the company as you like the culture and values of the organization or you have been a great admirer of the company’s products/services, which you have experienced earlier. Expect follow-up questions as the interviewers might go deeper to check the veracity of your answers; so do your research.
Common Question No 3:
Why did you leave your previous company?
This can be a tricky question if you have left your earlier job within a short tenure, or you had to quit due to some unpleasant reasons. Better to break this question into 2-3 parts and then answer. You can start with how you can bring your learnings to the table and contribute to the new position. Do not bad mouth your past employer. Instead, you can honestly state what issues or shortcomings you faced in your earlier organization and what positives you have learnt for the future. If there was an unfortunate situation in the past, which led to your quitting, then mention what you could have done differently, in hindsight, and what lessons you carried from that.
Common Question No 4:
How you have handled a disagreement situation with your boss?
When we work with people there are bound to be disagreements. This question seeks to understand how you can manage such conflicts, which may arise with your boss or co-workers. While answering this question, choose a specific example where you demonstrated your positive attitude, honesty, listening and understanding ability to tackle the problem, keeping the primary interest of the organization at the top. Share the outcome as well and it is okay not to have got the desired result but explain the lessons learnt from that episode. Showing that you have patiently heard the other viewpoint is a big part of handling the conflict.
Common Question No 5:
When have you gone above and beyond your work?
This is a behavioural question. To answer this, you can use the STAR framework – Situation, Task, Action, and Results – to describe it in a structured way. It is good to present it like a story which will make it interesting and impactful. An example can be how you stayed back late at office waiting for a customer to do a software upgrade in his phone, as he was unable to send mails. Have a few situations ready where you exceeded expectations of your team or customer. Do not be vague, as authenticity is the key. The interviewers would be keen to hear something which will make you a good fit but also know about your motivation to exceed expectations.
Common Question No 6:
If you can transform yourself to an animal which one will you choose and why?
This is a creative and unconventional way to get insights about a candidate’s self-awareness, personality, and their character. It provides insight into their preferences, values, and how they perceive themselves in a metaphorical context. The answer needs to be tied with the job role. For example, if you are being interviewed for a supervisor role for a courier company, you may choose yourself to be a horse. Horses are often associated with speed, resilience, and collaborative nature, which are the qualities that the job would demand.
Common Question No 7:
Have you ever come across a situation where you had to do something unethical to achieve a critical goal?
This can be a real tricky one, as any dishonest answer will be apparent. You can approach this by stating that how you strive to maintain high ethical standards both in personal and professional life but there have been situations that you are often challenged to take short-cuts to meet the immediate goal for survival and convenience. The organization’s culture and values would determine how you need to answer and how it would be perceived. If you choose to talk about an unfortunate incident where you had to compromise on ethics, then explain the scenario, other people involved in that, and the learnings from the past. How it has shaped you as an individual, both personally and professionally.
Common Question No 8:
If you can transform yourself to a brand, which one will you opt for and why?
This challenges the candidate to articulate a brand’s values and personality, which is a sneak peak into their own character, aspirations, or identity. Once, while interviewing a candidate for a frontline sales position, I heard the candidate say he wants to be the Parle G brand. It embodies easy availability, value for money and friendly attitude with all his customers. It was a great answer from him. You can relate to the critical traits the job role demands and craft your response.
Common Question No 9:
If you could have a meeting with two famous business personalities, who would they be and what questions will you ask them?
This question prompts the individual to think on their feet and relate to some business personalities. The questions would reflect on their curiosity to learn from the great personalities and how they have impacted the candidate’s way of thinking. It may be Elon Musk or Indra Nooyi. Elon Musk may be asked what success means to him or what is his purpose in life. Indra Nooyi could be asked how she faced adversities and challenges to become the CEO of PepsiCo, being a woman.
Common Question No 10:
Do you have any questions for us?
Usually at the end of an interview, you might be asked if you have any questions for them. Many choose to avoid this by gesticulating their non-interest. Do not waste this opportunity. Be prepared to ask some relevant work-related questions, which will show that you are keenly interested in the position. The questions will vary depending upon the role of the interviewer. If he is from HR, you can ask about the Company’s onboarding process, reporting tools, or appraisal policies. To your direct supervisor, the apt questions could be, “What am I expected to deliver in the next 60 days” or “What are the best practices to be successful at work.” So, by spending some upfront time on research and practicing these questions, you can come across as anything, but a common candidate.
Remember that Common Interview Questions can indeed have Uncommon Answers!
