UNITED COLOURS

OF
INTERVIEW
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Tell me something about yourself

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*Very first question to make you comfortable and see
your confidence
*Chance to tell them who you are and how your skills and
qualifications align with the job description
*Employer might make a decision in 3 mins
*wants to see crispness and clarity
Tell me something about yourself
Words to Showcase Skills
*Keen/ eager/ attentive learner/ skilled communicator/
expert/ adept/ Productive/imaginative/ Sound decision/
sound choice/ Compassion/insight/ highly self- motivated/
Supremacy/ earned certifications/ hard working abc
graduate/ from a very early age / I am very passionate in
management
*I would describe myself as highly curious and focused on
learning in all parts of life/ Client Management skills/
analytical skills
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Follow ‘SHE’ formula
*Make it impactful.
*things about yourself that would make you a good fit to
the course
*Be aware of skill sets required by the company.
*Be honest.
*Highlight skills like Adaptability, Communication,
Creativity, Decision making, Empathy, Leadership,
Multitasking, Resilience, Readiness to learn and grow.
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
*It’s all written in my resume/ False information
*Memorized content
*Myself/ coming from/ belongs/ weaknesses/ earning
money/ becoming rich/ parents happy
*too many personal details
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Tell me something about yourself

Which is not in your CV
Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview *Keep your answer under 30 seconds
* Follow the ‘MIGHT’ formula- motivation/ incident/ goal/
habit/ trait
*To check confidence level *Talk about a volunteering or extracurricular experience 
*know who you are as a person *Talk about any productive hobby which helped you in
* To know about anything in which you are good at developing skills
*Any recent appreciation

Tell me something about yourself

Which is not in your CV
Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*One experience I left out of my resume is Avoid
*I possess proficient skills/ I have a keen interest in/ I
aspire to become *Everything is there in CV
*Talk about inspiration in life, favourite book, subject, *Avoid negatives or unrelated personal stories.
your values and beliefs, happiest moment of life, *I don’t have anything
favourite quote, hobbies, areas of interest, favourite
cuisine
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

What is your Aim in life

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*To check your firmness for goals
*To visualize what truly matters to you
*Help you in analyzing your path
What is your Aim in life
Words to Showcase Skills
*My keen interest/passion/fascination
*Highly fascinated
*Eager to gain exposure
*I want to have an immense knowledge
*I plan to pursue certifications/upgrade my skills
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Start with the long term goal then short term goal
*Search for skills required in it
*Explain the action you will take
*Align your aim with the job profile
*keep practicing
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
*I don’t have any aim yet
*One line answer
*Don’t focus on goals related to earnings, raises, bonuses,
or perks.
*Do not get into too many details. 
*coming across as arrogant or overly confident
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview
*What is the scope – does it align with the job profile *Emphasis should be more on short term goals
*What is the vision of yours *Certifications/ skills/ webinars/ conferences/ seminars/
*To know about goals projects.
*Candidate is worth of recruiting or not

Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*Analytical mindset/ fascinated/ passionate/ analyse/ Avoid
observe / keen learner/ urge
*I don’t know
*I haven’t thought about it yet
*I will think
*I hope so
Why is this question asked in
Interview
*To check your long term vision
*To see your action plan to achieve it
*This is a test to see if you can explain yourself.
*It also helps to determine whether your approach
meshes with the company’s own culture
Where do you see yourself in next
Words to Showcase Skills
*I love to be a true apparel industry expert
*I plan to pursue certifications/upgrade my skills
*Managerial or leadership experience/ Industry
expertise/ end-to-end project management, strong
relationships with clients
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Good leaders can explain their values and priorities in a few
words.
*Discuss the proper action plan by dividing it into the time
frame
*If the goal requires some skills-how you are acquiring
*Helps in flourishing both company and employee
*Your answer must match the job profile
*Offer professional aspirations leadership roles, expertise
5 years?
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
I don’t know/ I am not sure
I want to go with the flow
I want to become the richest person/ express
unreachable goals.
Too unrealistic goals in 5 years like I see myself as CEO
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Why should we hire you?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*Nerve-racking question
*Favourite question among hiring managers.
*Offer you another opportunity to explain why
you’re the best candidate.
*To check your passion and determination for
the job
*What would they gain by hiring you.
Why should we hire you?
Words to Showcase Skills
*My passion and proven abilities
*Uniquely Qualified/ highly organized candidate,
quantifiable accomplishments/ deep belief in
company’s mission, great fit/ pay acute attention to
detail/ role aligns well with my experience
*My resume demonstrates that I’ve been successful
with key responsibilities
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*should address the skills and experience you offer and
why you’re a good culture fit/ Study the job posting
*Tie your background to the job posting
*Find commonalities between the employer’s want and
what qualities you have to offer.
*Be the best version of yourself/ Cite results,
credentials, and other people’s praise so you don’t
seem self-absorbed.
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
*I need a job and this one looked interesting
*Avoid talking too much in your response or else
hiring manager will loose his interest.
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

How do you spend your free time?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*To know your prioritization, dealing with pressure,
dealing with ambiguity
*such as asking about your hobbies, special
interests, volunteer commitments, and
extracurricular activities.
How do you spend your free time?
Words to Showcase Skills
*Avoid living a sedentary/lethargic lifestyle
*Inactive routine
*time to recreate
*I look forward to enhancing my skills by
*I love to explore/ I am very passionate for/ I draw
inspiration from books
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Check their LinkedIn profiles or even Facebook
profiles online-will give an idea of the activities they enjoy
doing in their leisure time. 
*Active lifestyle will always win you some extra points
*Mention productive activities only
*Make sure that your answer is positive and to the point.
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
*Don’t overshare things
*Don’t lie
*I do nothing
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

What is your greatest strength?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*Employers want to see if you can strike the right balance
between confidence and humility.
*Hiring managers also want to get a sense of how self-aware
and honest you are and align your strengths to the role at hand.
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Be authentic and sound humble
*Tell a story about work experience
*Be sure the strengths you share are aligned to
the role you want.
* Use both soft and technical skills

What is your greatest strength?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*My greatest strength is strategic thinking
Avoid
*I consider my leadership/ creativity/ detail-oriented *Don’t mend answer which they want to listen
skills to be one of my greatest strengths *I don’t have any strengths
*I have gained excellent communication skills. *I have too many strengths
*My people skills are my greatest strength
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

What are your weaknesses?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*To gauge that you are self-aware.
*To evaluate whether you can be open and honest.
*They see whether you work on improving the same
or not
*Looking for humility and whether committed to
learning and growing
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Give an authentic answer
*Start with the weakness and then discuss the
measures you’ve taken to improve.
*Use WAR techniques.
*Weakness that doesn’t affect your job role.
*Talk about how you've transformed your
weakness into a strength

What are your weaknesses?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*I struggle with
Avoid
*I have a hard time saying “no” *I don’t have any weakness
*I find it difficult to say *Not working on it
*I hope I can be more proficient in/ was not *Weakness which could affect your job
communicating clearly enough with clients *I don’t know what to say
*delegating work/ attention to detail/ public speaking * Elaborative answer
 Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Tell me something about your achievements

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview
*To evaluate whether you are a good fit for the
company’s culture.
*See if your accomplishments and work ethics
align with the needs of the organization.
Tell me something about your achievements
Words to Showcase Skills
*I have been enthusiastic about participating
*My participation helped me to develop----skills
*My greatest professional achievement was
*As a result of my efforts
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Give the interviewer a context– describe the
situation and why the achievement was significant.
*Discuss latest achievements
*Explain your specific actions to achieve your goal.
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
*I don’t have any
*I was a studious person during my learning period
*Giving one-line statements
*Unprofessional behavior
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Tell me about a time when you showed leadership?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview *Describe a situation where there was a lack of
leadership thus, you took initiative
*Employers want to understand your capacity to step up *Use the word “lead” to help describe the actions you
and handle tough situations that undoubtedly arise in took.
the workplace *Give credit to your ‘leadership skills’ when explaining
*Want to know when you’ve seen an opening to lean in the positive results.
and lead with good judgment. *Use "SAR" framework: situation, action, and results
*Tell compelling story

Tell me about a time when you showed leadership?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
• I implemented or persuaded Avoid
• Try to include a clincher at the end, like dollars saved
or improved profitability *I don’t remember
• I lead the team *I was not a studious person during my learning period
*Giving one-line statements
*Unprofessional behavior
*I was an average student
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Are you a leader? Give an example

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview *Use the STAR technique
*Create an answer that discusses a time when you
*Your work ethics both led and followed
*To check your ability to handle tough situations *Show your adaptability
*To evaluate your ability to be a leader at any level. *Describe skills used in working as a leader like
*To see you have balanced experience with being a integrity, decisiveness, empathy, trust, honesty,
leader and a follower. selflessness etcetera.
*To know how you see yourself.

Are you a leader? Give an example

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*I was fortunate enough to be chosen
Avoid
*I consider myself a transformational leader *I don’t have any example
*I see myself as a natural leader *I dictated the whole group
*I did the entire task myself
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview

Why do you want to join our company?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview
*Do your research and think about what you can
*Interviewers want to understand what prompted
contribute to that team.
you to apply for this job.
* See the job profile and try to align your skills with it
*They want someone who offers very specific
*Weave your story into the context of what you can
reasons for why they want this job.
contribute

Why do you want to join our company?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*the first thing that prompted me to apply is
*I have spoken to people who worked here Avoid
previously Since you were offering handsome salary
*I am keen interested/ I am passionate enough I heard you provide perks, bonuses
to join
*I see this opportunity as a way to contribute to
an exciting/forward-thinking/fast-moving
company/industry
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview?

What would your co-workers say about you?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview?
*Interviewers want to know if you’ll fit in with the
team.
*This question can also help you highlight your
strengths without feeling like you’re bragging.
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*This question gives you an opportunity to share how
amazing you are
*If you think your colleagues would say that you're super
creative, instead say “People like that I can think outside
of the box”.
*share a tangible example of your creativity that ties to
the job description.

What would your co-workers say about you?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
*you can share that your office nickname is “The Avoid
Fixer” because you're so good at solving tough
challenges I am a good looking person
*you can tell LinkedIn recommendations and They are my best friends
performance reviews so they can read the whole They praise about me
recommendation if they want more detail
Why is this question asked in How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
Interview?

What are your salary expectations?

Words to Showcase Skills Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
 Why is this question asked in
Interview?
*If this question arises early, odds are that the
interviewer is really asking: “Can we afford you?”
*If it arises much later, the interviewer may be hoping
that your salary requirements are aligned with what
they have budgeted for this role.
What are your salary expectations?
Words to Showcase Skills
Taking into account my experience and Excel
certifications
*In general I’m looking to make around  tempting to take whatever salary you can get, but
*it would be helpful if you could share what the
range is for this role
How to Answer/Skills to Highlight
*Know the industry norms for similar jobs.
*Talk about ranges, rather than exact numbers.
*Make the case that you offer premium value.
*Let them know there’s room to negotiate (instead of
starting with a specific number).
*Avoid going too low though, because that's going to
work against your interests. And don’t go too high either,
or you may freeze yourself out of the opportunity.
Words Not to Use/Mistakes to
Avoid
*When you feel like you really need a job, it might be
you’re ultimately doing yourself a disservice.