Most Common Interview Questions and Answers

1. Tell Me About Yourself.

Where to start? What do they want to know? Should I start in high school, colleg
e, first grade? Its one of the most frequently asked questions in an interview: T
ell me about yourself. The way you answer this question will set the tone for th
e rest of the interview. This can be a challenging question to answer if you are
not prepared for it, but its really asked as an icebreaker.
Most people mistakenly get on a long rabbit trail on this one. They start with t
heir childhood and work all the way through their life. Meanwhile, the hiring ma
nager pretends to be interested. So, don t go along this path.
In another case - a wrong answer: What would you like to know?. This statement com
pletely throws the question back at the interviewer in somewhat of an insulting
way and he/she is forced to reword the question. Dont ask What would you like to k
now?. They want to see where you are going to go with the question.
The best answer you can give is to assume they mean work-related. Prepare a one
minute answer ahead of time that highlights your skills and work experience. Dis
cuss 2-3 of your most significant accomplishments. Talk about a few of your key
strengths as they relate to the job for which you are applying and how they can
benefit from your strengths. Then discuss how you see yourself fitting into the
position applied for at their company.

2. What Are Your Strengths?

Never give them anything related to being a good team player, fast learner, or b
eing a dedicated worker. Those are all subjective. They are looking for more the
n that. List three or four proficiencies e.g. your ability to learn quickly, det
ermination to succeed, positive attitude, your ability to relate to people and a
chieve a common goal. You may be asked to give examples of the above; so be prep
ared. Also, pull out an example from an accomplishment you might have on your re
sume.

3. What do you feel your weaknesses are? / What is your greatest weakness?
Do not say you have none - this will lead to further problems. You have two opti
ons - use a professed weakness such as a lack of experience (not ability) on you
r part in an area that is not vital for the job. The second option is to describ
e a personal or professional weakness that could also be considered to be a stre
ngth, and the steps you have taken to combat it.
Here is an excellent answer: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2007111
2090016AAZcqdD
For more answers to choose from, you can take a look at this: http://jobsearch.a
bout.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/qt/weakness.htm

4. Please tell me about your future objectives. / Where do yo want to see yourse
lf after 2/3/5 years?
Most people are caught off guard here because not everyone has fully planned out
their career path. But it is important that you show that you have thought out
your life goals enough to at least know what you would like to be working at in
5 years time. For example, taking the responsibility to manage teams so that dea
dline can be met along with the outcome of a well-done project.

5. Why should I hire you?

Reply by asserting that you are the best person for this job and give reasons to
back up this claim. Show your passion and enthusiasm when answering this questi
on. Give examples of where you achieved your goals and/or contributed to the suc
cess of a team or organizational activity.

6. What Are Your Salary Requirements?

Worst Answer: I wouldnt consider less than.or I need at least x amount to pay my b
ills. Instead a good answer can be I am sure you will pay a competitive salary an
d I am flexible. As a fresher, I focus more on building my career by gathering e
xperience. What have you budgeted for the position?".

6. Give me an example of a project that didnt work out well?

This is one of the best interview questions that never fails to throw candidates
for a loop. Everyone has a skeleton in his or her closet. Make sure you dont pla
ce blame on you or your co-workers because it will just be your opinion and thats
not what the interviewer is looking for. Your answer has no bearing on whether
you will get the job or not. Think of a failure that happened early on in your c
areer and discuss how you have bettered yourself since.
Describe a project you worked on and what the expected outcome was. Then explain
what really happened and that you learned from that experience. This takes what
is expected to be a negative answer and turns it around into a positive one.