TIPS TO HANDLE JOB INTERVIEWS

TIPS TO HANDLE JOB INTERVIEWS

TIPS TO HANDLE JOB INTERVIEWSI only came to the interview to confirm my feeling that I should never have been called for the interview” - job applicant during a sales interview. His gut feeling was confirmed. The company never asked the candidate to return! Have you too ever left a job interview knowing you blew it? Suddenly all the painstaking pre-interview research went down the drain. Your grades in school, your dazzling resume, and your cover letter- everything took a backseat. You lost your dream job only because of that one single mistake in your interview. Preparation is the key in leaping over the interview hurdle. In reality the prospective employer wants to know only three things through his questions: Can you do the job? Will you do the job? Will you fit in with their organization? Here is the list of 50 traditional questions asked by interviewers across the world. Armed with research about the company, its products and reading up your specialization, it is vital that you prepare the answers to the following questions before going for the interview.WORKPLACE RELATED

* Suppose your boss got angry with you for no fault of your own. How would you handle that?
* How will you deal with a boss belonging to the opposite gender, whom you find difficult to handle?
* How would you handle a subordinate in your team who is pregnant and cannot put in 100% in the office?
* What qualities do you consider most important in a superior?
* What should be the most important qualities in a team member?
* If you had to change one thing about your company, what would it be?
* What parameters would you use to rate a company as a prospective employer?
* Do you carry work home on weekends?
* If ‘no’ is this because you are not working hard enough?
* If yes is this because you are so inefficient that you have to carry forward your work to the weekend?
* Tell us about your work experiences in your previous employment.
* How did you contribute to the organisation where you were employed?
* Why do you want to leave your job?
* How would you handle a co-worker who is not getting along well with the team?

BACKGROUND RELATED

* Tell us about your subjects in school and college?
* What was your favourite/ least favourite subject at school and why?
* Tell us something about yourself that is not mentioned on your CV.
* Tell us about your family background.
* What is your father’s profession?
* Tell us briefly about your academic background.
* How did you take decisions at each stage of your life?
* Do you feel that your grades are an adequate indication of your academic years? If not, then why not?
* Tell us about your extra curricular activities.

PERSONALITY RELATED

* Where do you see your career 5 years from now?
* Tell us about problem you faced in your previous organization and how did you overcome it?
* What are your job expectations?
* What will you do if you don’t get this job?
* What are your strengths and weaknesses? Give examples. Will your weaknesses impede you in the job? How do you plan to tackle them?
* Give examples of your failures. What have you learnt from them?
* What values do you consider most important? and how will the value system help you in this job?
* What has been your greatest accomplishment?
* If you were asked to describe yourself in three adjectives what would they be?
* Why do you want to join this company?

JOB SKILLS RELATED

* Give an example from your previous employment to demonstrate your skills in handling people.
* How would you handle a boss who is younger than you?
* How would you handle labour management problems?
* Give us reasons on why you are the perfect candidate for this job?
* Do you have any questions to ask?

SITUATION RELATED

* If you are stranded on a desert island, what are the three objects you would need most?
* Your boss takes credit for your work, what do you do?
* You are supposed to co-ordinate with a team of people who are neither responsible nor accountable to you, to complete your project. How would you do it?
* You are posted abroad and an your family members call you home for an emergency. You have an important meeting the next day. How would you tackle the situation?
* One of your colleagues is inflating the expense statements. What would you do?
* You have to bribe a government official to get major contract. If not you then the competitors would bribe him and get the order. Would you do it?

OTHER QUESTIONS

* If there were one sentence that you could say to ensure your selection, what would it be?
* How do you think you have conducted yourself during the interview?
* If selected, how soon would you join?
* Why do you want to join this company?

As Dick Bolles, author of the best-selling job guide, ‘What Color Is Your Parachute’ says, “The more time you spend in preparation, the less time you spend on the pavement.” So the next time you answer that question about your weakness, prepare beforehand.
Remember! your job depends on your answer…