I have a section on this site about so-called "tricky" interview questions.

But there is a lot

of debate that comes up around the entire topic of interviewing lately and, I guess in
reality, the sort of issues swirling around the process of getting a job have always been
there. What I want to do here is just present a some general thoughts on the process, more
from a tactical perspective than an overall theory-based approach. I think we can break
this down into a general consideration of interview styles and a breakdown of common
questions and why they are probably being asked.

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Interview Styles
Understand that there are different styles of interviewing that all have one thing in
common: getting information from you to determine to what degree you are a fit for the
position under consideration. Some example styles:

Telephone Interview:
Some organizations are using telephone interviews to help them make the selection of a
short list of good candidates that are worth bringing in. These usually last about fifteen
minutes, at least in terms of directed questioning with perhaps another fifteen minutes for
filler about the company and the position or a chance for you to ask questions. The
interviewer will probably have an interviewing matrix or list of questoins, which will
obviously be structured around the basic requirements of the job. You will need to
prepare well to ensure that you make an impression in this short space of time.
Remember that this is often a tactical strike, so to speak, to see if you have the basic skill-
set.

Criteria-Based Interview:
A criteria based Interview is a structured interview designed around the key competencies
of the job you are being considered for. If the job requires skills such as teamwork,
communication skills, interpersonal skills, leadership, problem solving, negotiation skills,
etc., then the interviewer will ask questions designed to allow you to provide evidence of
your ability in those specific areas. As some examples, you might get asked the following
types of questions: Give me an example of when you worked as a member of a team?
What was your contribution to that team? Tell me about the most difficult situation you
have had to deal with. How did you handle it? What was the outcome? What did you
learn from the experience?

Behavioral Interview:
This is similar to criteria-based interviewing, in that it is designed around the key
competencies of the job you have applied for. However, in this case, the interviewer will
ask questions about and focus on your past behavior. A behavioral interview is much less
about your specific skill-set, at least at a surface level, and more about how you behave in
a given situation. For example, one idea might be to test how you respond to certain
situations or certain means of being questioned. A so-called "stress interview", for
example, might test how quickly or readily you get flummoxed or upset by a certain type
of questioning. As an example of this, you might be asked questions like: Tell me about a
time when your work was criticized and you felt it was unfair. What was your reaction?
Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a superior. How did you handle the
situation? Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something with which you
disagreed. How did you handle it?

Behavioral questions are very common and it is important for you to feel comfortable
answering them. These will generally be relatively open-ended questions that encourage
people to describe job-related experiences from their past on the theory that people's past
performance is a good predictor of their future behavior (assuming, of course, that they
are telling the truth about their experiences). To answer such behavioral questions, a lot
of people recommend using the so-called STAR Method, where STAR is used as such:
Situation: Describe the circumstances? Task: What were you trying to do? Action: How
did you achieve your result? Result: What was the outcome?

Let us consider a brief example. Say that an interviewer asks the following open-ended
question: "Describe a time when you went beyond the call of duty to do get a job done?"
Using the STAR method, you might answer like this:

Situation: "Well, our site was due to be previewed on a popular morning show and we
knew we were going to get a lot of traffic from this. Management was convinced that we
had enough bandwidth to handle any influx of visitors."
Task: "I sat down with my manager and we worked out a rigorous performance test plan
to make sure we could handle the traffic."
Action: "We worked a lot of late nights and a lot of extra hours running all of the
performance simulations we had come up with."
Result: "We found our servers could not handle the expected workload. So we got
permission to upgrade the servers. The site was shown and we did get a whole lot of
traffic and, sure enough, the performance testing paid off because we had upgraded our
servers. If we had not, the site probably would have gone down. So while we put in a lot
of unpaid overtime and gaves ourselves a lot of stress with management initially, we not
only got good press but also looked good to our managers who took what we said a little
more seriously from that point on."
Above all, try to not provide hypothetical answers to behavioral questions. The
interviewer wants what you actually experienced and how you dealt with real situations.

Situational Interview:
In this, the interviewer will often give you a hypothetical situation (or a series of them)
and ask you a question about that situation to see how you respond. What they are often
seeking here is to test your thought processes and your logical thinking. They may want
to see what kinds of questions you ask (or if you even ask them). They might want to test
what kinds of assumptions you seem to make. They might want to determine how you
assess situations and how you now analyze those problems in hindsight.

Stress Interview:
This sort of differs depending upon the context. In general it means a situation where a lot
of people are interviewing you at once, usually with relatively "rapid-fire" questions.
Alternatively, it might just be one person interviewing you but the person takes on a
somewhat combative stance with you. Also some people refer to stress interviews where
the questions are designed to cover a wide range of topics, some not even directly related
to the job at hand (or, at least, seemingly not related to the job at hand).

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Interview Questions
There are certain questions that you get asked and sometimes you cannot see the reason
such questions are being asked. Usually, however, there is a good reason and, regardless
of whether or not you see that reason, the fact is that you will be asked some of these
questions and how you respond will be indicative to the interviewer.

Where do you see yourself in x years?

This question is one designed to trigger a candidate's "wishful thinking" mechanism or

thought patterns. If it seems as if anything and everything candidates say will weigh
against them, you are a step closer to realizing the pitfalls of this question (both as an
interviewer and interviewee). For example, let us say the candidate's five-year goals have
absolutely nothing to do with the job being offered. In that case, would a company want
to build long-term plans around that person? On the other hand, if the person's five-year
goals indicate they plan on staying at the company (if they are hired), does that
automatically mean they are telling the truth? What if the candidate indicates they want
the bosses' position. That might be a threat (at least to that boss). But what if they say
they do not have advancement concerns. Does that indicate they have low ambition for
furthering their career?

A lot of people might say, in response to this question, "I see myself in an executive
position." Or: "I see myself as further up the ladder in management." However, note that
what this does not talk about is how you plan to get there. It is a totally passive response.
(Granted, the question is somewhat passive in that regard as well. But that means it is a
chance for the interviewer to put a little spin on it.) Often, if you answer with something
like the above, you need to discuss learning specific skills, networking with people,
getting into the right positions and how you feel you can do that. That is what shows that
you have a real plan as opposed to the ability to just offer up a statement. Many times it is
more appropriate to talk about what you hope to become, such as "I hope to develop a
real expertise for a variety of different techniques in Quality Assurance." Also consider
that many times an interviewer might want to hear about where you want to be in terms
of yourself rather than in terms your position in the company. To that end, you might talk
about things you want to conquer, personality traits you want to improve, etc.

If you are an interviewer and someone, in response to this question, says, "Well, I would
like to see myself in a management or lead role", realize that this shows ambition and
there is nothing wrong with that. But what you might want to do (and what you should
expect if you are the interviewee) is to be asked some follow-on questions, such as: "How
long would you expect to have to work in our company to realize that goal? What skills
and experiences would you have to master in order to make that five-year dream a
reality?" A realistic response will typically show that a candidate has long-term goals and
understands what they need to do in order to achieve them, at least at a general level. In
general, a good (and smart) response will often avoid naming specific job titles other than
the position the candidate is applying for. The proper candidate response will, instead,
place more emphasis on the assumption of broadened responsibilities at the current
position. The real goal of this question, from the point of view of the interviewer, is often
to see if the candidate has a a balanced, logical, and realistic self-assessment. Your goal
as an interviewee is to attempt to address the organization's needs and your ability (or
abilities) to provide solutions to those needs.

Tell me about your greatest strength?

Sometimes this question will also be asked as: "What do you feel is the greatest asset you
will bring to the company?" The "greatest strength" is one of those old standby's and, if
nothing else, it does serve as a nice way to get the interviee comfortable because often
people do not feel threatened by talking about what they perceive they are good at. That
is really the basis for this question from many interviewer's standpoints: a way to reveal
something about a potential candidate's self-perception. One thing to avoid as an
interviewee (and to watch for as an interviewer) is if the person gives the basic
generalities: hard-working, intelligent, loyal, committed, etc. All of these may be true, but
how will you determine that? Remember that the goal of the interview (from both sides)
is to gather evidence that the candidate is the right fit for the position and will be able to
contribute to the organization as a whole. So, as a candidate be prepared to be asked to
back up your strengths with requests for practical applications of those strengths. As an
interviewer, make sure you ask for those practical applications.

The idea here is really to qualify any generic responses, otherwise there is little point in
asking the question. One thing to look for as well is if a candidate's strengths match the
organizational needs. Basically you want this question (and its response) to help identify
a candidate's motives and expectations as well as how well their strengths could be
utilized at the organization and to what extent they will be challeged. Unfortunately, tihs
question is rarely followed-up with questions that would probe a candidate's response.

What is your greatest weakness?

This question, like the "greatest strength" one, is designed as a self-evaluation query. The
key here is that very often people do not want to discuss any of their shortcomings. The
one real bad answer is: "I have no weaknesses." Interviewing, again, is about determining
fit and capability. People who lie (and it is a lie, because everyone has weaknesses of
some sort) are not a good fit. On the flip side, perhaps they feel they are telling the truth
and, in that case, the person probably has little capability for self-evaluation. Also, keep
in mind that the interview process is partly a way to see how a potential candidate deals
with uncomfortable situations and how they land on their feet, so to speak. A lot of times
what the interviewer might be looking for is not to castigate you on a perceived
weakness, but rather to determine to what extent you have poor communications ability
(in order to directly answer the question) and lack of openness (in order to answer the
question honestly).

In general, an interviewer should look for replies that center around the person's
impatience with their own performance, an inclination toward being a perfectionist
(which could slow the individual down, but which might offer quality results), or a
tendency to avoid delegating work to others for fear that it will not get done to the
candidate's high expectations. What this means is that the interviewee is often best off
chosing weaknesses that are strengths taken to a fault. The key here, like with the
"greatest strength" question, is adding a slightly broader dimension to the response given.
For example, an interviewer might ask the candidate why they think that their weakness
is, in fact, a weakness. "How has that hurt you in the past?" is one possible follow-up to
an interviewee's statement.

As a candidate, the one thing to avoid is avoiding the question by putting a positive spin
on the question rather than giving an honest answer. Note, however, that putting a
positive spin on the question is fine; just do not avoid the question. What this means is
that you can show the interviewer that you know yourself, that you are aware of your
limitations, that you aware that you have areas of yourself that need improvement. That is
honest. Now put the positive spin on things by showing how you plan to better yourself
or how you have actively taken steps to enhance your abilities to mitigate the weakness.
If you do admit to a given weakness, you might talk about how you try to handle
situations where the weakness comes up differently.

Describe a bad decision you made.

The major pitfall that interviewee's often exhibit with this question is that they make the
"bad decision" something they did when they were ten years old. The idea here is not to
avoid the question. Pick something from the relevant past. We all make mistakes and a
hallmark of honesty is admitting that and a hallmark of self-awareness is being able to
recognize when we made those mistakes. Do not put your mistake so far back in the past
that you are obviously picking something that is "harmless" but if you feel the need to do
this, you might say something like, "Well, I have more current answers but I have one
from my past that really stuck with me." If you go that route, then explain why that
decision "stuck with you" and, more importantly, how it is has guided your actions in
other areas so as to not make that kind of bad decision again. The real point here, for the
candidate, is to turn this into a "lesson learned" answer. State your bad decision, make it
clear why you perceive this was a bad decision, and then talk about what you learned
from that.

Tell me about a situation in which you disagreed with a superior and how you handled it.
This one should be easy and yet many candidates botch this one up. The idea here, as
with all interview questions, is to really answer the question. If you truly never had an
opportunity to disagree with a supervisor or boss, you can say that, but it will probably
not be believed. A good answer would be to describe the situation in terms of exactly
what you and your boss disagreed about. As far as how you handled it, generally the best
thing you can say is, "Well, I gathered facts and evidence that supported my position and
I was able to use that information to convince my boss beyond a reasonable doubt."

How many gas stations are in the United States? How would you test a toaster? How
would you design a salt shaker?

This is basically a broad range of questions about logical puzzles or things of that nature,
such as conceptual questions combined with testing insight. A lot of times people are
asking these simply because it makes them feel clever even though they have no idea of
how to determine a person's response. In general, these types of question show some
interviewers how you would handle yourself when posed with something that is
confusing, that takes a lot of thought, or that you simply do not know. A lot of times they
are looking at your body language and are really listening for the first thing that comes
out of your mouth, because they want to see how you deal with being put on the spot.

Now, of course, an interviewer might be looking for the candidate to demonstrate comfort
with numbers and analytic reasoning or critical thinking skills. Sometimes they are
interested in the speed of response. Other times they are interested in the accuracy of the
response, regardless of the speed. Yet other times they are more interested in the thought
process you exhibit rather than how accurate you are. Sometimes these questions are
designed not so much to look for analytic skill as they are to look for creativity. Unless
the question will demonstrably offer up evidence of a given person's skill-set, there is
very little reason to ask these kinds of questions. From the interviewee standpoint, if you
do not know the answer and cannot even think of a way to approximate an answer, you
are best off simply admitted that you do not know.

In any sort of logical test or puzzle-based question, the first rule of thumb is to remain
calm. Do not get flustered and show this to the interviewer because often this may be
what they are looking for. Think about the problem you were presented as logically as
you are able, including asking for clarifying information if you feel it is warranted.
Concentrate on explaining the process by which you arrive at an answer, not on
determining the "correct" answer.

Do you plan on having children anytime soon?

One thing I failed to cover in my initial pass through of this article were the illegal
questions. These types of questions are sometimes used to discover information not
possible by other means or to make decisions about you that should not be made
regarding your suitability for the job. For example, if a woman, you may be asked: "Do
you intend to have children in the next five years?" Whether you do or do not is generally
going to be irrelevant and you are okay in not answering this question. However, note
that on some kinds of positions (particularly contracts) where long hours are going to be
required, you may be asked if you have any prior commitments that would preclude you
from working those hours (such as picking up children or whatever). While an
interviewer should not ask about specific details, they are well within their rights to ask
you if anything would prevent you from doing your job. Generally, with these kinds of
questions, you should politely ask how the question is related to the job. You might also
consider looking for the underlying reason for the question and responding to that.

How to Answer the Tough Interview Questions

A lot of people know how to write a resume and talk

their way into an interview. But when they get into
the make or break dialogue, they stumble upon tough
questions. Below, is some advice on approaching the
tough questions that interviewers like to throw at job
applicants:

Why did you leave your last job?

Real answer: It sucked.
What you should say: I felt my talents and abilities
were underutilized.

What are your biggest weaknesses?

Real answer: I can't concentrate for more than five
minutes, hate all forms of authority and tend to fall
asleep at my desk.
What you should say: I'm a workaholic. I just don't
know when to put down my work.

You don't seem to hold on to a job long. Why should we

think you'll stay here any longer than you've stayed
elsewhere?
Real answer: My employers have always had a hang-up
about keeping only competent employees..
What you should say: I'm at a point in my career where
I am tired of moving around. I really want to feel
part of a team, a long-term enterprise, where I can
make a contribution.
For all those of u aiming for job
switches...............

How do you handle change?

Real answer: I deal with it everyday, unless I'm out
of clean underwear.
What you should say: I think everyone knows that today
the only constant is change. I thrive on it.

How do you get along with others?

Real answer: Fine, as long as they stay out of my
face.
What you should say: I think the interpersonal
dynamics of the workplace can be among the most
satisfying aspects of any job.

What does the word success mean to you?

Real answer: It means that I don't have to drag my
sorry ass out of bed to kiss yours.
What you should say: Success, for me, would be knowing
I am making a difference working with a team of people
to make a more profitable enterprise.

What does the word failure mean to you?

Real answer: It means I continue to collect
unemployment insurance.
What you should say: Failure? I'm sorry, I don't know
what you mean. That word is not in my vocabulary.

Do you get along with your current boss?

Real answer: I get along fine, considering what kind
of a malicious person he is.
What you should say: I don't think I'd call him a
boss; he's been more of a mentor to me.

Do you ever get angry with co-workers?

Real answer: I don't get angry, I get even.
What you should say: Nothing angers me more than to
see a co-worker not pulling his weight, goofing off or
stealing. Yes, sometimes I do get angry with
co-workers.

Can I contact your references?

Real answer: Sure, but they won't know who I am.
What you should say: Some of them are out of the
country right now. Maybe I can arrange to have them
contact you.
hi.

sample HR interview questions and answers

Questions About Candidate

1. Why did you choose this profession?

Suggestion: Answer should be close to actual reason. If the job is in
advertising, the reason can be you have artistic ability, you can
visualize what people will like, etc. Avoid negative answer, such as,
for money, you don't know what to do so you have chosen this
profession, etc.
Sample Answer: I always liked math and problem solving, even when I was
kid. When I was in high school, I was fascinated with the computer and
the programming, so I decided to be a computer scientist. Now, I know I
made the right decision and I am happy about it.

2. What can you tell us about yourself?

Suggestion: Answer may include where you came from, what school you
went to, your education, skill, job and accomplishments. Try to answer
the question in one to two minutes. Use the information from your
resume and cover letter for this answer. Do emphasis your strong
points.

3. What are your strong points?

Suggestion: Talk about strong points related to this job.

4. What are your weak points? How do you plan to correct them?
Suggestion: Be honest and choose one or two less damaging correctable
weak points and tell how you are planing to correct them.
Sample Answer: Sometimes if I do not succeed on an assignment on the
first try, I get demoralized and become less enthusiastic. Since I
identified my problem, I am working on it. I am convincing myself that
it is not possible for anyone to succeed everywhere on the first try
and I am not an exception. To tell you the truth it is working. Now, if
I fail I don't give up anymore and try harder.

5. Why should we hire you for this position?

Suggestion: Your answer should include your education, skill and
experience pertaining to the job position. Talk about some skill you
have which may put you above other applicants.

6. What is the toughest problem you have solved so far?

Suggestion: Talk about a problem you have solved. If you have solved
many tough problems, choose the one that may related to this company's
work and/or which may impress them. For example, if the company is a
financial institution, talk about some financial problems you have
solved.

7. Tell us about one of your work assignments or dealings where

you failed. What should have you done?
Suggestion: Choose a less damaging situation.
8. How do you handle failure or disappointment?
Suggestion: Answer positively. Answer may include you may feel bad, and
you take caution so that it does not happen again.
Sample Answer: As a normal human being, failure hurts my feeling.
However, I do not let it get in my way.

9. Do you criticize others? Under what condition?

Suggestion: Use your judgment. Remember criticism hurts feelings and
does not help in any normal situation.

10. Are you a good communicator?

Suggestion: Interviewer looks for a good communicator. If you are not a
good communicator, start practicing.

11. How do you handle criticism?

Suggestion: Choose your answer wisely.
Sample Answer: A nice and constructive criticism helps me. Although,
abusive or bad criticism may hurt my feelings, it will not reduce my
performance.

12. How do you manage your time?

Suggestion: Should be positive, and explain with example.

13. How do you handle deadline and pressure?

Suggestion: Be positive in your answer and explain with example.

14. How do you persuade someone to agree with your point of view?
Suggestion: Answer may include explaining your view, showing the
positive side, etc.
Sample Answer: By communication, I tell them what benefit my point of
view will bring for them. I explain the up side and the down side of my
proposal and most of the time they agree. I am always ready to
negotiate and modify my plan with their input, if the situation
demands. So things always work out.

15. What do you find frustrating?

Suggestion: Be positive in your answer, explain with example.

16. Are you willing to learn new skills? Can you learn fast?
Suggestion: Answer should be yes. Give them an example where you really
learn fast.

17. Do you have problem in getting along with others?

Suggestion: Be positive, should not be a problem.

18. How do you deal with surprises? For example: In an exam you have
been asked a question from a topic that has never been taught to you;
how do you handle it?
Sample Answer: I try not to get nervous. First I answer all the
questions I know and then I go back to this problem. I answer it as
best as I can.

19. Did you prepare for this interview? How?

Suggestion: Answer may include: researching about the company,
reviewing your skill, etc. Remember this question may generate more
questions and you must be ready to answer them.
20. What are your hobbies?
Suggestion: Talk about your good hobbies.

21. Do you like to travel?

Suggestion: Answer should be yes, however, be honest.

22. Do you have any problem in relocation?

Suggestion: Tell the truth. Remember, the more flexible you are the
more chances you have to get the job.

23. Where would you like to be in five years?

Suggestion: Be positive and honest. Do not give an impression that you
will leave or take over someone else's job (worse if that is the
position of the interviewer).
Sample Answer: In five years I want to be a valuable part of this
company and help it to reach its goal. I also want to manage a
challenging project and bring in the latest technology that will
benefit the company.

24. What do you want in a job?

Suggestion: Answer may include using your skills, gain new skills,
challenge, recognition, satisfaction, etc.

25. What will your previous manager will tell me about your
strengths and weaknesses, if I call him now?
Suggestion: Be positive, emphasize on your accomplishment and skills.
Do not avoid talking about your weakness (if there are any), however,
don't talk lots about it.

26. Can you work under pressures, meet deadlines?

Suggestion: Answer should be affirmative.

27. In your current work, what problems have you identified that had
previously been overlooked?
Suggestion: Explain a situation with example. Do not brag.

28. Do you feel that you will be better off in a different company?
Suggestion: Remember if you are better off in a different company (in
size or line of business), you will quit this company at the first
chance you get and the interviewer will not like it. So think before
you answer.

29. How would you describe your personality?

Suggestion: Answer positively.

30. Through our ad you saw what skills we need, is there any skill
are you missing?
Suggestion: Answer positively, if you do not have a skill say it and if
possible, back it up by something convincing.
Sample Answer: Your ad says that applicant needs experience in Java. I
do not have any work experience in Java. However, I did take a course
in Java and practiced a lot. I also have 2 years experience in C++,
which is similar to Java. So I am sure I will not have any problem
programming in Java.

Following are some questions you may be asked by the interviewer to

know about you, your hobby, how you spend your spare time and weekends,
etc. Since the answer fully depends on you, we do not have any
suggestions or sample answers. Just remember answer them positively and
honestly.

1. What magazines do you read?

2. What kind of movies do you like?

3. What is the last book you read? Did you like it? Why?

4. What kind of sports do you like?

5. Do you play any games?

6. How do you spend your weekend?

7. Do you do any voluntary work?

Questions About Organization

If you are really interested about a company, you naturally do some

kind of research about the company. Interviewers like it if you know
about their company and the industry in general. These are some
questions asked by the interviewer to know how much homework you have
done about their organization.

1. What do you know about our organization?

Suggestion: Talk about their product, size, location, reputation,
income, etc. If you are not sure about something ask questions and show
genuine interest, the interviewer will talk about it. However, never
tell anything that your are not sure about.

2. What new technology should we introduce to our company to

make it more productive and why?
Sample Answer 1: Your Database does not have any interface to handle
data formatted with XML tags. Since companies are using XML for e-
commerce, you can grow your market by making your product XML
compatible.
Sample Answer 2: Since I never used your product in any of my work, I
can not make any suggestion right now. I am confident that I will be
able to make some suggestion, once I work with it.

3. Why you want to work in this organization?

Suggestion: Some reasons can be: It is a famous company, has a
challenging product to develop, you can use your skill, your desired
line of work, etc. Some bad reasons: Money, near home, no pressure,
can't find any other job or your parent told you, etc.

4. How did you find us?

Suggestion: Tell them your source. If someone working in the company
told you about the position, say it that may help.

5. What products do we have?

Suggestion: Find out about their product (very important).

6. Can you name some other companies who make similar products
as us?
Suggestion: Research and find out and answer it.

7. What features of our products are better than our

competitor's?
Suggestion: Find a few features, be positive in your answer.

8. What weak points do we have compare to our competitors?

Suggestion: Don't be very negative. Talk about some negative aspect of
the company that is very obvious and rectifiable.
Sample answer: Your product does not run under MAC-OS. Since MAC is
coming back, you should make a version for it, unless it is not
feasible.

9. If your family asks you about our company, what will you say?
Suggestion: Should be similar to the question what you know about the
company.

10. What do you find the most attractive about our company? Least
attractive?
Suggestion: Talk about some positive aspect of the company. Talk about
one obvious negative thing about the company (say it nicely).

11. What important trends do you see in our industry?

Suggestion: Tell them about one or two trends.

Questions About Work

An interview wants to know if your are fit for the position they want
to hire you. These are some of the questions asked by the interviewer
to know about your skill, how you do handle work issues, you expertise,
etc.

1. Why do you want this job?

Suggestion: Tell your reason, be specific.

2. Do you think you have enough skill to work in this position?

Suggestion: Be positive, explain with example.
Sample answer: Yes, I have enough skill for the position of web
developer. I am creative, good with presentations and have 2 years
experience with HTML and Internet. I know how to promote and attract
people to a web site. I made a site for myself and I am getting about
500 hits per day.

3. If we are using certain technique to solve certain problem

and you find that you know a better way to solve those problems, what
will you do?
Sample answer: I will suggest my solution. If it is possible I will
make a prototype and/or a visual presentation of the solution to
illustrate my suggestion.

4. What skills did you improve in your last work?

Suggestion: If few tell them about all. If you improved many skills,
talk about the skill relevant to this job.

5. Tell us what do you think an ideal working environment should

be?
Suggestion: Answer may include: job satisfaction, appreciation, feels
at home, etc.

6. Will you describe a situation where your work was criticized?

Suggestion: Be honest and as positive as you can.

7. What other kinds of job position or companies may interest

you?
Suggestion: Answer should relate to your field and same as this
company.

8. If you are given an assignment which is a part of a big

project and there is no detail specification, how do you handle it?
Sample answer: At first, I will do all the general tasks without going
to details. The little knowledge I get from the spec, I will try to fit
this assignment with the whole project. By then I will have a clear
idea about the assignment and the missing details. I will put all my
questions in a paper and will setup a meeting or send an email to the
designer or the person who gave me the project, and will find out all
the answers. While waiting, I will plan on how to approach the problem.

9. Your supervisor gave you an assignment in the morning that

will last for a week and he is leaving for one-week vacation tomorrow.
What will you do first?
Sample answer: I will go over the specification or requirement of the
assignment and will plan my strategy to complete the assignment. If I
find something not clear or if I have question I will write them down
in a paper. Then I will meet my boss and get all the answers.

10. Your supervisor gave you an assignment in the morning that will
last for a week and he left for one-week vacation and you don't
understand the assignment. What will you do?
Sample answer: All assignments have something common to do, such as,
setting it up, do paper work, research, etc. I will do them first. If
someone else knows about this project I will talk to that person. If
nothing works, I will ask my acting boss to give me some other work for
the time being.

11. One of your teammates quit job today. He completed half of his
assignment and it is given to you and you are not sure what he did. How
will you handle it?
Suggestion: Sometimes it is better to start over than to finish someone
else's unfinished work. Go over work requirement and find out what to
do. Check half-done assignment and take whatever you can use and
process. Your answer should be something like that.

12. Tell us about a tough project, which you helped to finish?

Suggestion: Tell then the most impressive one.

13. Do you prefer supervised or unsupervised working condition?

Suggestion: Say which ever makes you comfortable and productive and
explain it.

14. What can you do for our company? Why should we hire you?
Suggestion: Tell them about your education, skill and past experience
that you can use for this company. Use some example from your past to
illustrate.
15. How do you manage your time at work?
Suggestion: Answer should be productive.

16. What do you prefer, verbal or written (email) communication?

Suggestion: Both are OK. Whatever you say, justify.

17. How much supervision do you need to complete a job?

Sample answer: In the beginning I may need some help. Once I understand
the project, I do not need any supervision. However, occasional check
and feedback will help me to assure myself that I am on the right
track.

18. How long would it take you to get adjusted and start productive
work?
Suggestion: Answer may include, time for orientation, adjustment, etc.
should not be very long.
Sample answer: Since, I do not know anything about company's standard,
rules or style of doing an assignment, I need to learn that, plus I
need to learn about your corporate policies. Since I am a fast learner,
I can learn all that within your planned or allocated time. To do the
actual work, if it matches with my skill, it would not take much time.

19. Have you helped to increase sales? Profits? How?

Suggestion: Explain with real example.

20. Have you helped reduce costs? How?

Suggestion: Explain with real example.

21. Do you like working with figures more than words?

Suggestion: Tell your preference with some explanation.

Questions About Team Work

1. If you have a disagreement with a coworker, how would you

handle it?
Suggestion: Answer should include discussing the problem, reasoning,
etc. If one-to-one meeting does not solve the problem, help from the
common boss or an arbitrator may be asked.

2. What minimum quality should a person have to be your

teammate?
Suggestion: Be practical and reasonable.
Sample Answer: Although, I can work with any person, it will make my
life easier if the person is a team player, can communicate and nice in
behavior.

3. What behavior of a person do you not like?

Suggestion: Search for most common one, such as lazy, not-punctual, bad
behavior, foul mouth, etc.

4. If you find that your teammate is rude, racist and/or sexist,

how will you handle it?
Sample Answer: If there is a corporate policy, I will follow it. If
not, I will warn the person the first time and if he continues, I will
report it to the proper authority.
5. How do you handle a teammate who thinks he/she is always
right or knows better?
Sample Answer: If it does not interfere with any of my work, I try to
leave it alone. If it interferes with my work I will talk and reason
with the person. If that does not work I will talk to my superior.

6. If there are 4 people in your team and you think your are
doing half of the work what will you do?
Sample Answer: It depends on circumstance. If I feel that my boss
thinks I am the only person who can do the job, I will do it. Normally
if I can finish the work within the allocated time, I will not
complain. Otherwise I will just let my boss know about it and if she
still insists on my doing it, I will do it.

7. If there are 4 people in your team and you think your

supervisor assigning you only 1/8 of work, what will you do?
Sample Answer: If I feel that my boss did not give me the work because
he does not have enough confidence on me, I will talk to him and do
something to improve his confidence. In all other cases, once I finish
my current work I will let my boss know that I can take a new
assignment. While waiting for new work, l will spend the free time to
learn new skills that may help me in my work.

8. You have a deadline and no time and one of your teammate

needs some help, What will you do?
Sample Answer: If the solution is easy one and not time consuming I
will help my teammate. Otherwise I will tell him to wait until I finish
my project and then I will help him.

9. We don't know everything; that is why we have supervisor,

teammate, manuals and books? Under what circumstance will you take help
and from what source?
Sample Answer: If there is not much time and I need little help I will
ask my supervisor and teammates if they are not busy. In all other
circumstances, I will get help from the manual.

10. Do you like to work in a team? Why?

Suggestion: Tell your preference. Make sure your desire does not
conflict with the interest of the company.

11. Do you like to work alone? Why?

Suggestion: Same as last question.
Sample Answer: I have experience in working both alone and in a team. I
can work in both situations. However, I can concentrate and work
better, if I work alone.

12. Suppose you are working in a team and a project is given to your
team. All the team members want to solve that project in a certain way
and you know a better way to solve the problem. How will you convince
them?
Suggestion: Answer can include, discussing your plan with them,
illustrating with some example, etc.

Questions About Previous Work

1. How did you do in your last performance evaluation?
Suggestion: Be positive and honest.

2. Why did you quit your last job?

Suggestion: Be positive and honest.
Sample Answer: There were no regular work hours in my previous work. I
was always on call and it was taking a toll on my family life. I was
not told about irregular hours when I took the job. I don't mind
working irregular hours sometimes; however, I don't want to do it every
week. I talked to my superior to solve this problem and no hope of
change was given to me. So I started looking for new job.

3. How do you describe your previous boss?

Suggestion: Be as positive and as nice as you can.

4. What did you liked in your previous boss?

Suggestion: Be positive and honest.
Sample Answer: My boss was a nice person. She always listened to our
opinion. She made us feel part of the team and kept us informed. She
often came and asked about the work progress and if we needed any help.
She always helped us.

5. What you didn't like in your previous boss?

Suggestion: Be nice, say something common or obvious and true.
Sample Answer: It was very hard to get hold of him when we needed him.
He seemed to be always busy and had no time for us. However, it may not
have been his fault he had too much responsibility.

6. What did you like about your previous work environment?

Suggestion: Answer may include: your coworkers were friendly, you can
experiment with new technologies, etc.

7. What didn't you like about your previous work environment?

Suggestion: Be nice, say something common and true.

8. In a given day, how many hours did you work, how many hours
did you spend in learning at your previous job?
Suggestion: Be practical. When a new project is given or new technology
is introduced employee spend more time in learning than working and it
changes in the latter stage. Show that you were utilizing your time
properly.

9. Why do you want to leave your present job?

Suggestion: Give real reason and refine it. Do not give the impression
that you do it for fun.

10. How do you feel about leaving all of your benefits such as stock
options?
Suggestion: You are not happy about it, but you had your reasons.

11. How would you evaluate your present firm?

Suggestion: Give your opinion. Avoid talking negative.

Questions About Managing

1. What is your management style?

Suggestion: Your management style can be open door or conservative.
Tell them about your relations and dealings with your superior and
subordinates. Give example.

2. Do you think you are a good manager? Why?

Suggestion: Your answer should be task and achievement oriented.
Explain management skill with an example. Some of the skills can be:
inter-personal skill, planning, organizing, etc.

3. What do you look for when you want hire someone?

Suggestion: Answer can be: skill, experience, adaptability, team
player, etc.

4. Did you have to fire anyone? Why?

Suggestion: If you did it, explain it in a positive way. Never say you
enjoyed it.

5. What do you find the most difficult task as a manager?

Suggestion: Pick your subject: planning, budget, deadline, hiring,
firing, etc.

6. What do your subordinates may think of you?

Suggestion: Be positive and honest. If you need to talk about something
negative, choose a less damaging situation.

7. What are your weaknesses as a manager?

Suggestion: Be honest and choose a less damaging situation.

8. What is the highest number of people you supervised?

Suggestion: Give the number.

9. How do you resolve conflict between team members?

Suggestion: Listen to each one privately. Try to reason and come up
with a solution.

10. What was the most challenging project you had?

Suggestion: Give an example from your experience.

11. What was the most difficult decision you had to make as manager?
Suggestion: Give an example from your experience.

12. How do you motivate people to do something?

Suggestion: You can motivate people by getting their opinion, giving
credit, praising, keeping them happy. Pick your answer.

Tough or Negative Questions

1. Why you were fired from your last job?

Suggestion: If you were fired wrongfully, say it nicely. Do not show
any grudge against your old employer. If you were fired because of your
fault, say it in a less damaging way.
Sample Answer: I cut prices on our product to make a customer happy
without asking my superior. The company lost money and I was fired
because of that. I agree it was my fault I should have asked my
superior. Now I learned my lesson and it will never happen again.
2. It is been six years since you started your bachelor degree;
why are you not finished yet?
Suggestion: Be as positive as possible. Explain your reason. Following
should not be the answer: you are having too much fun and do not have
time, you do not think a degree is important, etc.

3. If you joined our company, another employer offer you more

money, will you leave us?
Suggestion: If you say yes, probably you will not get this job. If you
want you can tell them the salary that will make you happy and keep you
with this company.
Sample Answer: If I accept the job that means I also like the salary I
do not think I will leave.

4. What are the things in a job that make you more productive?
Less productive?
Suggestion: Remember, no work environment is 100% perfect and to
everyone's liking. However, we adapt and make best of what we have. So
your answer should be practical.

5. Why have you been unemployed for the last 2 years?

Suggestion: You must have a sound reason for not working so long or
having a big gap in your work history. Some of the good reason can be:

· Taking care of a sick family member.

· Raising children.

· Looking for a right job where you can really contribute (it
will not work if the period is too long).

· Trying to be self-employed.

· Study or training.

· Learning new skills.

· Exploring or traveling (For a short gap only).

6. At your last employment you were working at the same position

for five years without any promotion. Is there any reason for it?
Suggestion: Avoid saying something negative. Tell the truth in a
positive way.
Sample Answer: There was not much growth in our department. None of the
people working in my department had been promoted. That is one of the
reason I applied to your company.

7. How long will you stay with us?

Suggestion: Longer is better. As long as you and your employer are
happy, you are contributing and achieving.

8. What salary are you looking for?

Suggestion: Don't be too specific, you may give a range. Better, ask if
the company has a salary scale and base your answer on that. Remember
salary is related to market value. Guess yours worth before you come.
An interviewer is not ignorant.
9. What kind of salary do you think you are worth?
Suggestion: Find your market value and give a range.
Sample Answer: I checked a few sites on the Internet and found that the
salary for a web developer range from 45K to 60K per annum, depending
on the responsibilities and duties involved. I am not entirely set on a
number and am willing to negotiate.

How many players play in soccer game?

Suggestion: This or similar question has nothing to do with your
career. So right or wrong answers do not matter. Interviewers want to
see if you can think about a non-related subject.
Sample Answer: I am not sure, but my guess will be at least 2 player in
each side, one in the goal and one to play. I will put the number
between 7 to 12 in each team. Am I close enough