Interviews are very vital in our lives and it is extremely important to go prepared. However, we can’t read minds, but we can do the next best thing: we can prepare ourselves in the general skills, behavioral approach, non-verbal communication techniques and commonly asked questions and answers.

While it is not recommended to have a canned response for interview questions, it is always better to be aware of what you might be asked, what recruiters really look for in a candidate’s response, and what it takes to show that you’re the right man or woman for the job.

Consider the following tips for your future interview question study guide.

Things the hiring manager expects you to use

Positive Language

Correct Body Language- non verbal communication

Tone, Volume, Pitch, Clarity of speech

Grammar & Pronunciation

Types of questions

About oneself

Job/Profession related questions

Company related questions

Stress Interview Questions

Questions related to Behavioural responses

1. Possible question for the about oneself section –

 Tell us about yourself

Describe yourself in 3-5 words

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

What keeps you motivated?

What is your professional dream job?

Remember

While answering, do remember that this should not be recitation of your resume. You can include your personal interests not directly related to your career. They can be creative, intellectual or volunteer interests. To give it a professional touch, include some skills that will suit the job.

What are your Strengths?

There are several strengths that you can define your personality, for example :

• Enthusiastic
• Adaptable
• Imaginative
• Courageous
• Persuasive
• Unbiased
• Creative
• Practical
• Balanced
• Friendly

Choose the strengths that would suit the job that you aspire for and work on those lines. Recollect what values we talked about earlier. Can you showcase those values here?

What are your Weaknesses?

Try and think of weaknesses that are not skills mentioned in the requirement! You can have some positive weaknesses like, double checking if the work is done or not, perfection in tasks or being organised.

Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years down the lane?

Have a career path and plan for yourself in your mind and answer this question. Think of the designation that you would want to reach. This is just one way of answering the question. Think about answering this question in terms of experiences that you would gain throughout the years, responsibilities that you would fulfil.Thus the answer definitely doesn’t have to be a designation

2. Possible question for the Job/Profession related section

• Why should we hire you?
• Why do you want this job?
• What is your greatest professional achievement?
• Which type of work environment do you prefer?
• What is your management style?
• Would you like to work in a team or alone?

Why should we hire you?

Read about the company beforehand: See how your personal values can be aligned to the company’s values. The company is trying to hire you for its needs. So answer this question by pitching in yourself suitable for that position.  Understand the job description and various challenges that it could pose. You should be in a position to face those challenges.

Why do you want this job?

This question is asked by the employer to understand your career plans and see if your interests match the position. Think in terms of the opportunities of growth, pursuit of interests and achievement of goals which you will be able to fulfil with this job and answer accordingly.

Would you like to work on a team or alone?

This question is asked to know if you are a team player or you can work independently. Both can be right. But don’t stick to one side entirely because different situations at workplace will require independence while others may require team work.

3. Possible questions for the job and company you applied for

Research about the company is a must before any interview because questions like the following will be asked:

• How did you come to know about this position?
• What do you know about the company?
• Why do you want to join this company?
• What do you think we could have done better?

Other important questions

• What are your salary expectations?
• As this question is after a few personality related questions, you should convince the employer that you are worth the figure that you have in your mind.
• This is a tricky question as the expectation should not be too high or too low.
• A smart way to answer this is to have a figure in mind that would match your experience and qualification.

Do you have any questions for the company?

• It is important to ask questions about the job and company. These questions should be reasonable.
• If questions like, “What’s in it for me?” are asked then, you may be assumed to be self centred.
• You can ask about the problem that the company facing and how the company is dealing with the challenge.

4. Possible questions for the Stress interview section

• Why did you leave your previous job?
• What do you dislike about your previous role?
• Why was there an employment gap?

5. Possible questions for the Behaviour related section

• Tell us story in which you showed leadership
• How did you solve a problem in a team?
• How do mange work pressure and stress?
• How do you work in a team?
• How do you handle a challenge?
• How do you handle disagreement with someone at work?
• Tell us how you set your goals.
• Tell us an example of how you handled a failure.

STAR Technique

Use the following Star Technique while answering the behaviour related questions –

• S-Situation (Description of the situation)
• T-Task(What was the task?)
• A-Action(How did you put the solution into action?)
• R-Result(Were there positive or negative results?)

 How do you manage work pressure and stress?

We know that work pressure results from deadlines and amount of work to be done. Talk about your time and task management techniques, elimination of distractions to focus, positive attitude and relaxation methods for reaching the deadlines.