SOME COMMON HR QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1) TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF??

• This is a certain question(with exceptions sometimes),you should be well prepared for this question coz if you are not then certainly you can make sure you are going to blow up the interview.
• Make 5 points which are you own unique selling points(for example : if you are passionate about photography then you must tell him that so that whenever photography comes to his mind he/she should think of you)and tell him irrespective of whether he asks you or not !!!!
• I believe anyone’s strongest answer should be this one and one should really prepare for this one.

2) WHY SHOULD WE SELECT YOU?

• Tell him you loved the job profile and you feel your profile meets his requirement and then talk about your strengths backed up by examples to support your answer.

3) WHAT ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION?

Few sample answers:
A. If given an opportunity I would like to pursue but presently there is financial crisis so getting a job is the only thing that is there in my mind.
B. Sir I would like you to apply whatever I have been learning for the past few years and I believe one can actually master the trade only by practical application in real life of whatever he learnt.
C. Sir my seniors who are already working in the company have told me wonderful things about the work culture and the overall growth of a individual and I want to be a part of such a company and seek growth in the line of company’s growth.
 

These are just a few sample ones don’t rely on them completely your job is to assure the interviewer that you won’t be leaving the company for the sake of higher education at least for a few years (only in the worst case you admit about your immense urge to pursue higher education but you should assure him that you will work for at least 3-4 years (you need not work jus bluff that you would do it)
 

If you in any sense give him a hint that you will be pursuing higher education for sure after engineering, cent percent you won’t get the job. (Obviously when he/she finds out that you are going to leave then why waste time and money by selecting you)

4) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK ABOUT YOU??

•  Again you talk about your strengths and highlight those strengths which make your profile meet the required job profile. For ex: if you are applying for a managerial post then you should highlight strengths like leadership qualities, organizing capability, etc 

If you are applying for some design company then strengths like creativity (all your strengths should be backed up by some or the other examples to prove them), team player etc!!!

5) DO YOU HAVE ANY WEAKNESSES?

• “No I don’t “is the worst answer you could give coz no one is perfect.
• “Not weaknesses only weakness” never mention more than one weakness.

Why the hell do you want to show the company your negative side?

• Always remember there are a few weaknesses which are not acceptable at all by the company for ex: laziness, fluctuating mind, ill health etc By telling them these kinds of weaknesses you are only conveying that you are unfit for the job and asking him not to give it you.
• A weakness should be a moderate one (lol moderate: P) i.e. something which doesn’t adversely affect the company or the work.
• “Always your weakness should have a correction factor” (for ex: communicating in English “correction factor: you are trying to overcome it by reading the newspaper and talking to friend in English”)
• Whenever you admit your weakness you show him that you are honest. Also if use a correction factor it would impress the interviewer coz you are making an effort to overcome your weakness and that is what the company looks for, people who make constant effort to improve their personality.

6) DO YOU HAVE A GIRL/BOY FRIEND?

• If yes is the answer then no problem just tell them, if no then immediately back up your answer by telling him that even though you don’t have a girlfriend you have many friends who are girls. This question is just asked to see if you can interact comfortably with the opposite sex or not.
• If you support your answer immediately next question would be why don’t you have a GF? What do you seek in a girl to make her your life partner??

Better you don’t let the interview sail in that direction coz all those are debatable topics, unnecessary headache.

7) WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS FROM NOW?

• Its asked coz they want to check whether you have a goal in your life or not.
• There are usually two types of goals:

           I. Short term goal

           II. Long term goal

• Short term goal is nothing but where you see yourself in the near future(4-5 years)
• Long term goal is what you probably want to do 15-20 years from now.
• You need not be specific about these goals just a vague idea would be enough.

*** For short term goal never mention about higher studies ( For ex: I would want to pursue my post graduation or masters…because as soon as you say this he/she would get an idea that you will be moving out of the company in a couple of years which isn’t good at all…so better avoid anything like this !!! )

8) WHY DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THIS COMPANY?

• Tell him/her that this is your dream company (even if it’s not: P) and more importantly it is the job profile because of which you are so much interested in joining the company. The mentioned job profile is what you are looking for and you posses the ability to perform those tasks ( tell him about your strengths like leadership skills or man management ability or proficiency in technical knowledge or adaptability to diverse environs or organizing capability etc ALL BACKED UP BY EXAMPLES)
• SAMPLE ANSWER: Sir the job profile which was explained in the seminar earlier this morning is what I have been looking for and I strongly believe that I am capable of doing those tasks efficiently.

Immediately the next question would be what makes you so capable of doing those tasks…this is the point where you talk about your strengths

ANSWER CONTINUES: Sir I am the captain of my college football team and I lead the team for various tournaments…In fact we even won the inter engineering football tourney last year. Apart from that as mentioned earlier I have done my schooling in three different states and there was never a problem in adapting to a new place so I can easily adapt myself to diverse environs. And finally I have good organizing capability as I was an active member in NSS and organized many events like blood donation camp, save trees campaign, etc

If the company wants someone good in technical knowledge then he/she must give examples suitable to the job profile…For ex : I believe I have good technical and practical knowledge in design field as I was a part of the design team in SAE and I designed the roll cage of an ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE ( even if you dint do anything just learn whatever was done from whoever actually did the designing part) …Apart from that I have submitted technical papers for paper presentations at XXXXX…one of my paper presentation was awarded the 2nd prize as well. And whenever you say you are good with technical knowledge you can
expect a few questions in that field undoubtedly ( so must brush up your subject knowledge as well ) But don’t worry it won’t be in depth !!!!

9) DO YOU HAVE ANY INSPIRATIONAL FIGURE IN LIFE?

• It can be anyone…but make sure whenever you mention someone you have basic information about that person….more importantly you should be in a position to tell why and how has that person inspired you (Don’t make silly mistakes…Imagine yourself telling Sir, SAINA NEHWAL is my inspirational figure …I am an ardent follower of her game and I have seen all her tennis matches!!!) Along with that you should have basic knowledge like from where the person belongs or any other important highlights of his/her life.

10) DID YOU FACE ANY CHALLENGES IN LIFE? AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?

• This question is asked to test if you can handle critical situations which you are bound to face when you actually work.
• So challenges can be anything…any problematic situation which you have faced in your class or home or team or in public….Tell them what the situation was and what your approach was in handling that particular situation !!!

11) IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE A LOW AGGREGATE IN ENGINEERING, COULD YOU JUSTIFY SO AS TO WHY?

• If your aggregate is low and you can’t think of any reason to defend yourself then it is advisable to accept the fact that you do have a low aggregate but then include the correction factor stating that you have been working hard to improve the aggregate.
• SAMPLE ANSWER: Sir I do believe my aggregate hasn’t been satisfactory but I have been trying real hard to improve it, In fact there has been a gradual increase in my semester wise marks (or) In fact I have done very well in my internals this semester and I am looking forward to perform well in my external exams also.

12) TELL ME ABOUT YOUR COLLEGE?

• Whenever this question pops out never ever give a negative feedback.
• It’s just to check whether you are loyal to place where you have spent your four years of engineering.
• I do agree that there might a few things(or many :P ) on the negative feedback list but better avoid anything of that sort, but if you really want to point something go ahead but make sure you do it in a polite way and also add a correction factor. For ex : The drinking water facility wasn’t up to the mark in college so we complained to the management and they assured usthat they would resolve the issue at the earliest.

This way you have two advantages,
i. You are telling the interviewer that you are in a position to point out
errors if any
ii. More importantly you made an effort to resolve that issue by giving a
complaint.

13) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK ABOUT YOU?

• This is a real good chance to create one hell of a impression on the person your interview coz what your friends think about you is nothing but the kind of person you are according to the public, which is really very important
• So, you are again going to talk about the attributes of your character which would bring out the strengths in you. Remember to back up those statements by examples giving proper reasons.
• For ex: My friends believe I have good leadership skills coz I am the captain of the college cricket team (reason can be anything….head of a cultural club or lead in a association etc etc) and I am responsible for the team and its well being.

By doing so you tell the person that you are a responsible person, you can mange people, you have leader ship skills. Finally the example you give would stand as a proof for whatever you are saying.

14) DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES?

• Again this is the point where you have a chance to stand out of the crowd.
• A hobby can be anything…reading books, dancing, singing, collecting articles, playing a sport…anything!!!
• It’s just that you should be really fond of whatever you like to do.

For Ex:
You say that reading books is your hobby…the next question could be the name of your favorite author or even the name of the last book you read...and if you can’t answer these basic questions also…congrats you are on the way to screwing up your interview !!!

• So I request you to be a little careful when you talk about your hobby.

15) HOW DO RATE YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THIS INTERVIEW?

• Pretty rare question but if it is asked then tell them in terms of a measure
• Please don’t make a fool of yourself by giving a 10 on 10 and try to show that you are MR.PERFECT
• If the interview was not that good then rate 6-7 or even low would be fine, at least he/she would appreciate your honesty :P and who knows you might even get selected
• On the contrary if the interview was real good then give yourself a 9 on 10…immediately the next question would be why not 10 on 10 if it was so good…this is the point where you flatter him/her by saying that “Sir/Madam I believe my interview was very good according to me but there is always a scope for improvement hence the 9 “(by telling this you are indirectly scoring a 10 on 10: D )

16) DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO ASK??

•  If you really want to ask something then go ahead, make sure your question is related to job you are seeking.

Don’t ask them silly question like when the results would be out? (I did lol) or how many people are you going to select?