In an interview, all questions have an intent behind them and your answer will make or break the opportunity.
Read on to understand the intent behind asking questions like 'Tell me about yourself', 'why should we hire you' and prepare yourself for an awesome interview performance.
Some general tips also included in the last slide.
2. Session
Objectives
By the end of this presentation, you will know:
The most commonly asked behavioral questions in an interview
What is the intent behind each of these question
The structure of response for each question
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3. Tell me about
yourself
Intent of the question:
To understand your overall profile
Your experience, education, achievements
Assess your Communication skills
Your Present-Past-Future
Logical flow of thought (storyline)
How to respond:
This will be the 1st question of the interview, so write and prepare it, do
mirror practice
Maintain eye contact and a positive body language
Include more relevant experience/projects as per job you are applying to
Don’t include strengths or weaknesses unless asked to
Family details not required unless asked for
Say “I am..<full name>”. Avoid “Myself”
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4. Why do you
want to leave
your current
job?
Intent of the question:
To know your career aspirations
How you make decisions
Your stability and ambition
Research based approach rather than an escapist attitude
How to respond:
No complaining about your current or previous companies
It should also not sound like an escape
Your thorough research about the company and reading through the
JD should feed into this answer
Give a forward looking answer in a positive way
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5. Why should
we hire you?
Intent of the question:
To know your personal and professional aspirations
Have you thoroughly researched the profile and company you are
applying for
How you connect your skills/strengths to the output you produce
How to respond:
Mention your core skills and strengths
Connect them to the Job you are applying for
Focus on how you can create value in their existing system
Mention 1-2 things you could do immediately after joining, let’s say in
the next 3 months
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6. Describe a key
project.
Highlight the
challenges
you faced and
how you
handled
them.
Intent of the question:
Your role in the project
Your technical expertise
Are you a problem solver
Creativity and process orientation
How you work with other people, team player
How to respond:
If it was a team project, don’t say I did it, say we did this project
Include a successful project that was neither too long nor too short
Don’t mention conflicts that you had with other people, mention
technical challenges you faced
Mention how others supported or mentored you, it shows your humility
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7. What does a
typical day
look for you?
Intent of the question:
Planning and prioritization
Your productivity and passion
How productive are you in your current role
Are you ready to manage more responsibility
How to respond:
Don’t share either a very busy day or a very easy day. Share an
average day where you are occupied for most of the time and have
produced a few outputs
Share some key deliverables in your profile rather than occasional
projects that you worked on
Be very specific and keep this answer short and crisp
No need to include what you do after you reach home
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8. What are your
strengths and
weaknesses?
Intent of the question:
Strengths that are relevant to the job
No cliché list: hard work, team work etc.
Awareness and acceptance of weaknesses
Examples where you displayed strengths
How to respond:
Have 3 strengths ready with 1 example of each, share only 2 at first,
share 3rd if asked for
Have 2 weaknesses and action plan on them (what are you doing for
improving on those), if asked for 3rd say I will need to think
Strengths must be related to the future job profile
Weakness shall be easily manageable in the job
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9. What are your
interests/hob
bies?
Intent of the question:
Are you a holistically developed person
Whether you waste your weekends idling or learn something
What are your priorities and how you de-stress
How to respond:
Have a hobby first, and not like listening to music. Pick a musical
instrument, or play a sport, or get involved in social work.These will
actually make a better person out of you
Share the hobby and how it helps you personally
Share any achievements if you have while pursuing that hobby
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10. What would
you do on day
2 or 3 of your
job here?
Intent of the question:
Are you looking for comfort or to create value
Have you thoroughly researched the profile and company you are
applying for
How you connect your skills/strengths to the output you produce
Your vision for the role
Are you pragmatic or only dreamy
How to respond:
Mention 1-2 things that would hit the core challenges of the company
Don’t overboard with extravagant promises or big achievements
Focus on how you would create value for the end customer
Include your core skills and how you will start using them
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11. Any question
for me?
Intent of the question:
Your in-depth understanding of the role
Whether you seek clarity than making assumptions
Logical approach
How to respond:
Don’t ask for the sake of asking, politely say “No questions as of now”
If you have a question, keep it related to the role and the company,
focus on the future
Value the experience and skills of the interviewer and ask them for
their experience and opinion on the question
You can also seek feedback about your profile if you are confident
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12. Summary and
final tips
Do proper research of the role and the company
Read about the industry as a whole
Always state real-life examples to validate your skills and strengths
Focus on creating value and contributing, not what you will get
Be Honest
Practice everyday and don’t just wait for the night before the interview
Deep breathe when stuck, it really gives your brain some thinking fuel
Be polite and respectful, interviewer may try to test your patience and
emotional control
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13. ThankYou
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You can write to us at: seekhlelearning@gmail.com
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