Crispy Answers to

Behavioral Interview
Questions
[For CA Students]

By Muhammad Sagheer & Saboor Ahmad

CA-FINALISTS
 Crispy Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions By Muhammad Sagheer

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Best Regards:

CA Professionals Pakistan Team

Saboor Ahmad
[Senior Tax Advisor at BDO Riyadh]
Muhammad Sagheer
[Audit Associate at KPMG]
Sawaira Nazeer
[Audit Associate at Baker Tilly]
Ahmad Yousuf
[Audit Associate at Crowe]

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 Crispy Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions By Muhammad Sagheer

Q:1 Introduce yourself?

Strategy: Match your qualification to what the interviewer is looking for. Ask questions from
interviewer to know about what he is looking for.

Thank you for this opportunity to talk about myself. My name is Muhammad Sagheer and I
belong to Multan. On an individual front I perceive myself as a confident and hardworking
individual. I am fast learner; In case of any doubt I never hesitate to put forth my questions.
I am a CAF qualified student with background in pre-engineering. Along with my CA Journey I
have completed finance related online courses in MS Excel, MS Word, Reading financial
statement and foreign exchange. In my last attempt of CAF, I realized that soft skills like
communication skills, teamwork, time management, multitasking are very important for
growth in professional career, that’s why I joined AMAL academy. I was selected from over
than 4500 applicants for a 3-month long fellowship. I have invested 150 hours in improving
business skills that will help me to make a better impact on the job. I have worked in a team on
a project related to financial literacy. (You should add points relevant to yourself. Take this as
guidance or framework for your answer).

Q:2 Why CA?

Answer: The most important thing why I choose CA is 3.5 year effective training program
which is a type of experience and it will help us in job hunting after qualifying. I believe that if
this mandatory training period is without any stipend then It will also be completely Okay.
Secondly, CA gives Opportunity to work in more diverse portfolio of clients. (You can mention
names of different sectors i.e. Power Sector, Hospitality etc.). It gives us the exposure that many
other fields do not provide. And that is one of the strongest reasons why I choose CA.

Other Points: Working with different organizations, working with people from diverse
backgrounds which helps us to polish our communication skills, working in different areas
around the world. As Chartered Accountants work for organizations of all shapes and sizes
and across a wide variety of sectors and industries.

Q:3 Why this firm?

Answer: Diverse range of services (Auditing, Tax, Advisory), Name of major Clients of firm.
I believe working with [Firm Name] would give me an opportunity to learn from working in
some of diverse clientele this firm have, opportunities for Professional development as these
will help me to become a better professional. (Explain about professional development activities
as well, check website and look what they provide in relevance to professional development).

Other points: Performance Appraisal and recognition, Competitive Environment,

Professional Culture, and an opportunity to work under experts of the field. (Then, Look at

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 Crispy Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions By Muhammad Sagheer

annual reports, corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the company, advertisements, and
articles about the company.)

Partners: (You can mention names of some partners, like council members etc.)

Q:4 Where do you see yourself in next 10 years?

I want to continue to grow myself professionally. And if given the chance I hope I will still be
working with (Name of firm). I am interested in making a long-term commitment to my job. I
am confident that if I do my work with excellence, I would be given the chance to work here
after my mandatory training period as well.

Q:5 Why we should hire you?

Strategy: Tell your relevant strengths like Teamwork, Multitasking etc. with examples of each
strength (Read Job description and find what they need and tell them what they need from facts
of your life?).

As I understand your needs, you are looking for a motivated, committed, good fit for
corporate culture, and an individual with good communication skills. (Now give related
examples of these strengths from your life). So, sir I am highly motivated and committed to my
work. I have invested 150 hours in 3 months long fellowship for improving communication
skills. And I believe that I am good fit for this corporate culture because I have worked in
teams consisted of people from more diverse areas like KP, Quetta, Karachi, Multan, and
Lahore. That’s why I think I am best fit for this position.

(These examples are from my personal career; you can take this as pattern of your own answer).

Q:6 How you will handle conflict?

First, encourage team members to resolve conflict by themselves. If conflict ever does occur, I
will tackle it immediately and gather the facts. If we ignore conflict between team members, it
not only has the potential to escalate, but it can have negative impact on other team members
as well.

Speak to everyone and try to know the reason of conflict. I will facilitate to resolve the conflict
by listening to the point of view and identify points of agreement and disagreement. At all times
dealing with conflict I would remain impartial; I would not take sides and I would use an open
positive style of communication to reach a successful resolution. Once the conflict was over, I
would request all team members to re affirm values and work harmoniously.

(If they ask about when did you resolve a conflict then say in this way like situation-task-
action-result.)

Q:7 What are your strengths?

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 Crispy Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions By Muhammad Sagheer

Strategy: As I said earlier that you should explain your strengths with examples from your life,
otherwise your strengths will only be taken as exaggeration, and no one will take them seriously.

1: Punctuality:
I think I possess this trait as I never become late in my class during my whole journey of
professional and school education. I always try my best to be on time anywhere I must go. I
can do this by keeping a margin in my deadline to reach on time.
2: Commitment:

I am always committed to my work either in my personal or professional life. I show my

commitment by completing work on time and doing it with passion. My top priority is my
work and my education. This trait helps me to strengthen my other aspects of life. For
example, people will trust me.

3: Consistency:
My third strength is consistency. I am consistent in my educational career. I always do my
homework daily without any lag. My professional requirement helps me to attain this because
without consistency I would never been able to succeed.
4: Professional Networking:
I am good at networking with people. I think networking is a key to success in our profession.
That’s why I give much importance to networking and making connections. Therefore, this is my
strength.
5: Multitasking
I give my CA papers and I was enrolled at Amal Academy at the same time and I believe that I
have a very good grasp on making sure that I can manage more than one thing at a time.
6: Good Fit for the corporate culture
I think I am good fit for this corporate culture because I have worked on projects in teams
comprises of people with diverse backgrounds.
Q:8 Tell me about your weakness?

Strategy: Again, explain your weakness with examples and your weakness should be relevant to
your professional life and not personal life. You can also use neutral statement. When you are
explaining your weakness then, please explain what you are doing to improve it.

Explain Like this: Weakness-Examples-What are you doing to improve it

1: Lack of experience

I have technical knowledge but at this stage of my life, I am lacking professional experience.
These days I am trying my best to start an article ship to gain experience in my field. I am
very hopeful that I will overcome this weakness. The first job is very difficult to get because
without experience, no one is willing to pay you. Therefore, if anyone offers me an unpaid
internship then I will surely accept that offer.

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 Crispy Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions By Muhammad Sagheer

2: Don’t like to be interrupted while focusing on something

My weakness is that I don’t like to be interrupted while concentrating on something. I also
sometimes behave like a perfectionist in certain situation however I do believe that there is
always a room for improvement.
3: Neutral Statement
Nobody is perfect but as far as I know about this position, I would make an outstanding match.
I know that when recruiters hire people, they look for two things most of all which are
qualification and motivation. Everything in my background shows that I have both the
qualification and motivation to achieve excellence in my professional career.

Q:9 What question to ask If interviewer gives a chance at the end of interview?

Strategy: You should not ask about things which should be included in your research about that
firm, for example What services they provide, Name of partners, clientele, and their international
affiliation etc.

Ask them about some specific policies, for example their policy regarding secondment
opportunities in other countries, policy for retainership (As per what criteria they will retain us
after mandatory training period). You can ask that “What do you like most and least about
working for this company?”, by asking this the recruiter will think you just asking an intelligent
question, listen closely for the finer details to get an overall idea of the company culture. You
can ask that "Can you tell me about the company's approach to professional development and
training?", It's shows you keen on developing yourself., you understand if there are learning
opportunities. You can ask that What’s one challenge you occasionally or regularly face in
your job?, It shows you ready to tackle these challenges the role has, This tells you if you
comfortable to take on these challenges.

Q:10 If a senior is given an important task and you are given a trivial task, how would you
see the situation?
I will work with passion because this is learning which is required at the end. Once at a time my
senior also had worked on that task for learning purpose. So, this is completely Okay. Someone
Said, to build a strong team you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your
weakness not a threat to your position or authority.
Q:11 Talk about a time you’ve managed multiple tasks to finish a project for a deadline?

I attempted my CA papers and I was enrolled at Amal Academy at the same time and I believe
that I have a very good grasp on making sure that I can manage more than one thing at a time.
(Try to find an example from your life).
Q:12 What are the qualities that a Chartered Accountant must possess?

Integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, Professional Behavior

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 Crispy Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions By Muhammad Sagheer

Q:13 Are you a team player or a lone ranger?

It depends upon a situation. But one thing I may assure that I am not a lone ranger. Because
whenever I am assigned a task at an individual level. I tend to seek advice or help in cases of any
doubts. While in a team activity I keep my communication-channels open all the time to ensure
that the project stayed in track. I believe that everyone is unique so when we combine skills of all
the team members, we produce a result which is impossible to produce individually.

Q:14 Hard work or Smart work?

I believe that a well-balanced combination of both hard and smart work is the formula of
success.

Q:15 Do you have any regret?

As I don’t have any professional experience yet therefore, I could not think about any regret in
professional life. And in case of personal life, I don’t have any regret. Because there is a very
beautiful reason behind. I believe that the best way to avoid regret is to avoid causing them in
first place. This is my habit that at the end of each day I review the day’s conversation and
double check their impact on others. Sometimes I see things do need more follow ups.

Q:16 Silent treatment?

Keep quiet yourself for a while and then ask with sincere politeness and not a trace of sarcasm
“Is there anything else that I can fill in on that point” That’s all.

Q:17 If you get a joining call from another firm, what will you do?

The most important thing is that I am looking to make a long-term commitment in my career. I
have had enough job hunting and want a permanent spot at this point in my career. I am really
looking to make a long-term commitment of 3.5 year or if I give the chance I would love to work
here even after my mandatory training period.

Q:18 How do you feel to report to women, younger person etc.?

I greatly admire a firm who hires and promotes on merit alone. The age gender would
certainly make no difference. Whoever has that job, has obviously earned it. Both the person and
the position are fully deserving of respect. I really appreciate that working environment.

Talib e Dua!!!!!

Saboor Ahmad
(0302-9114479)
Muhammad-Sagheer
(0344-4549234)

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