When was the last time you lost your temper at work?

Losing temper may reflect your working style. Be cauntious while answering such questions. Such questions may have following intentions.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you get off balanced frequently.
• To know if you can handle a situation calmly. If you cannot keep yourself cool in a certain situation then how you look at it after it is over.
• To know if you use such opportunity to play a blame game and say your anger was due to someone else's mistake.

Insights:

• Make sure that you are not playing a blame game.
• Try to give a safer response which would not hurt anybody.
• You can always blame yourself in a way and elaborate what you learned from incident.
• Good opportunity for you to say you get annoyed and angry on your own performance or way of handling the situation. This shows you strive for continuous performance.
• State the circumstances do not dictate or force emotions. This will demonstrate high Emotional Quotient.(EQ).

Example Answer:

I was reviewing my work on test cases to be sent and before saving the computer had some problem. I got frustrated as the deadline was near. But now I have learned to keep my cool handle such situations.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not blame other people like team mates, managers or clients.
• Make sure that while describing the incident you do not get too much exited and aggressive. You may unknowingly say something which will call for trouble in the later part of interview.
• Do not give a message that whole world is against me and I have to fight and get angry to set things right. It would never be the case that due to your anger you achieved something right.

Interviewer's Interpretation

• If you blame other people it indicates that you are not a good team player.
• If you get angry with yourself but learn something from the incident then it is a good virtue.

With anger and frustration nothing can be accomplished. You need to keep your cool.

What is your opinion about working on weekends ?

Just YES or NO is not sufficient for such question, You always need to support what you say. Such Interview Questions may have following Insights.

Possible Insights:

• To know if you are flexible enough to come on weekends to work if need be.
• To know how is your work style and planning and do you usually overrun schedule.

Insights:

• Response should say that are flexible to come on weekends, holidays; work over time etc. whenever it is critical for the project.
• Make sure that overrunning the schedule is not a usual case for you because you plan better.
• Proactively you can also add what you will do, so that you do not have to face this situation often.

Example Answer:

I will be ready to work on weekends or holidays if it is really critical for the project. However, generally, that is not the working style I would like to adopt. In my opinion, if the initial planning is done with care, such situations would not occur frequently. In my last project, we had similar issues in the schedule, after the first client delivery, we had team meeting to understand the schedule slippage and then corrective action of adding a domain of expert in the team who was missing initially to deal with the problem.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not just say "yes" or "no". Elaborate.
• Never say that in my last project we have worked all weekends and holidays thinking that your hard work impress the interviewer.

Interviewer's Interpretation;

• Just saying yes indicates you are gullible whereas saying no indicates your inflexibility.
• Interviewer would form an opinion that if you have to work all weekends for a longer duration, someting is wrong with you or previous organization you worked with.

If I provoke you to fight with me what will be your reaction ?

Most Students find difficult to answer such questions when asked in interviews because they never experience such conditions. Such questions may have hidden intentions. 

Possible Intention:

• To know if you have a spirit to fight.
• To know you stay firm on your stand or give up easily.
• To know if you can distinguish between aggressiveness and assertiveness.
• To know if you can take a stand and have clarity of thinking about it.

Insights:

• It is a very crucial quality not to give up easily.
• If you are sure that your point of view is legitimate, stand for it. You may have to work little extra to convince.

Example Answer:

If the fight is on legitimate issue, i will fight. This means that I will not give up when I am convinced that my approach is correct. I will try to give more information to prove my point and simultaneously be open to positive views.

Anti pattern:

• Never claim that you are correct all the time and others should change their views.
• Never leave your politeness while answering because this is still acting and not real situation.
• Do not loose temper if any such type of hurting question is asked.
• Do not accept things because interviewer is senior. This shows you are gullible.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Gullible or confused candidates are not good because they can land into trouble while dealing with aggressive clients.
• Too much aggressive body language and tone indicate defensive nature.
• Polite, calm and firm response is what interviewer looks for.

What would be your reaction if somebody finds your error?

In the list of interview questions and answers this question is one to the favorite question asked by the HRs.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you are honest and open.
• To know if you take responsibility for what you have done.
• To know if you are ready to accept your mistakes or hist shrug it off.

Insights:

• You need to give confidence to the interviewer that you accept the mistake you did and ready to do whatever to correct it.
• To err is human. Nobody would be upset if you make mistakes. But disowning it is bad.

Example Answer:

If I am genuinely unaware that i have erred, i will apologize and will be ready to do whatever required to fix it. If it involves apologizing to the level of client, obviously, I will feel bad; but I will do it. I would use this incident to improve to myself and ensure that nothing of this sort would happen again.

In my project, it happened that some of the bugs which I put in the defect management software were rejected by developers. After discussion I could find that my interpretation if the requirements stated in the Software Requirements Specification (SRS) had some problem. This gave me an opportunity to sit with the developer and understand the business domain better. These helped me gain a sound understanding of the domain.

Anti Pattern:

• ' This has never happened with me and I would take care that it would not happen with me ever' is crafted answer very difficult to believe to be true.
• Do not just say that you would apologize and fix it. Important point is that you will learn from it.

Interviewer's Interpretation;

• Making an error is human nature and you learn from mistakes. Accepting your mistakes shows you are honest and willing to improve.
• Shows politeness and willing to learn.
• it also shows leader attitude of accepting your own mistakes and being responsible for the consequences rather than passing the buck to process, system or others.

What additional knowledge other than academic knowledge have you learned?

This is one of the most anticipate question in the list of questions asked in interviews. This question has following:

Possible Intention:

• To know if you are aware and care about other aspects like soft skills required for a job.
• To know if you take initiative and learn something additional other than what is mandatory or easily available.

Insights:

• People always like somebody who takes initiative and has a positive outlook and is keen to learn.
• While responding, substantiate what you learn with examples.
• This is an opportunity for you to push forward any of your achievements in extracurricular activities, sports. social work etc. Demonstrate your strength.
• Small and simple things like time planning during exam preparation, discipline for project, punctuality etc are good enough.

Example Answer:

Other than academics I acquired and implemented many skills like time management, planning activities for project, and working as team member. I was reserved initially; however i have become more outspoken now and do not hesitate to make new friends. While presenting a technical paper, learned how to put a new concept or knowledge concisely. I have also participated in sports competitions for which regular preparation, practice and discipline is important.

Anti Pattern:

• Never say that you did not learn anything extra excepts academics. This can not be true; you may not be aware of it.
• Do not use big words like management, interpersonal skills, etc. That may sound like a rehearsed answer and not spontaneous or true.
• A list of things you learned without any evidence or example would fail to create the desire impact.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• You are open to learning only from academics but from the environment.
• You are good observer.

Where do you see yourself in next 5 years.

"Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?" This question is strongly asked to not to know your future goal but to know the steps you takes to achieve the goal.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you have really thought through on what you are going to do in your career.
• To know if you can think of bigger picture.

Insights:

• Think through what you want to do in life and why? write down and have a tentative plan of what you want to achieve.
• Obviously expect a next question like how will you achieve it? Or how this job which you have applied for fits into the gamut of what you aspire to do.

Example Answer:

I was passionate about technology from my childhood. I am very curious to know how things work. Applying technology and doing new creative things is what gives me satisfaction. I want to become a software architect who will be able to use technology in the best way to create solution for real world problems. I know that it is easier said that done. I have discussed this and understood about an architect's role from some relatives who have that kind of experience. I have read many articles and related blogs about architecture. From my study, i came to know that the basic characteristic required to become a good architecture are thinking skills, technology knowledge and hands-on experience. I think this job would give me the required exposure to that i can move a step further towards achievement of my goal.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not give standard answer like CEO or interviewer's position like project manager without thinking.
• Do not suggest any role without knowing what they are or what it takes to became that or what you will get if you become one?

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Any well thought answer displays seriousness and commitment towards your career and hence the job work.
• Any shoddy answer without substance would ruin any good impression created so far.

Why should we hire you?

The question Why should we hire you? is mostly in the end of Interview. This may have following intentions..

Possible Intention:

• To know if you believe that you are better fit for the job in hand.
• To know how you position your strengths, skills and experience in context of their usefulness for the job.
• To know if you can really defend and handle such type of questions.

Insights:

• This question is asked with the positive intention that you may be a good candidate for the position.
• You need to know what are the skills and competencies needed to perform the job well.
• You also need to demonstrate with the example your other relevant skills which make you stand out.
• When you are fresher for a particular industry, play the card of potential.
• Confidently answer whether an experienced or a fresher.

Example Answer:

I am B.E./ Bsc with specialization in computer science. I am passionate about programming and information technology. I like to keep track of new technologies like cloud computing, mobile application etc. When I realized during my project/ internship that i am better at finding errors in programs, I started studying software testing and quality assurance in more detail. 

            I completed training in software testing and even completed ISTQB certification. In one of my recent projects, I was responsible for creating test cases. Compatibility testing on multiple browsers and hand-held devices was really challenging. I enjoyed doing information research for various hand-held devices along with an approach of testing them. With all my past experience, my passion for technology and quality assurance, i feel i would be able to carry out my responsibilities really well and deliver the best performance.

Anti-Pattern:

• Do not think that this question has something to do with experience and would be asked only to experienced candidates.
• This question is not asked with a belief that you are not a good and now you need to prove this to them.
• Do not take in a negative spirite.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Knowledge of job competencies and skills shows that you are serious and have studied the industry in which you want to make career.

Given a chance, which few things would you like to change about you?

Given a chance, which few things would you like to change about you ? This question reveals following intentions..

Possible Intention:

• To know about if you have been introspective and found some things about you that could have been different, e.g. had you studied consistently well throughout you academic life, you would have had better opportunities earlier.
• To know that you have courage to admit your mistakes and take them positively.

Insights:

• Choose weakness in such a way that it is not seen as big hindrance in your job performance.
• Also narrate how you are working on improving it.

Example Answer:

I am little impatient when it comes on my work. While learning some technology or creating some program, if it doesn't work quickly according to my expectations then sometimes i get annoyed. This actually increases the time to reach the correct solution. I have realized this and trying to cope up with it. Sometimes still it take over. I would really want to change it so that i do not lose my focus even for some amount of time.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not say you get angry quite often.
• Do not demonstrate your aggressiveness while answering such questions.

Interviewer's Interpretations:

• If weakness is not going to affect the team spirit and the work to be done on the job, it is acceptable.
• You are aware of weakness and working on improving them. Such candidates are always welcome.

Tell me about any of your three strengths.

The question "Tell me about any of your three strengths" is asked to check your top qualities and preferences in your professional life.

Possible Intention:

• To know how you look at your strengths and are they really strengths considering the context.
• To know more about you personality.

Insights:

• Remember whatever you regard as strength has downside of being weakness when put in another context.
• Substantiate your strength with an example situation where you demonstrate this strength.
• You need to be ready with analysis of your strength.

Example Answer:

I have a lot of patience, perseverance and am hard working. During our final year project, there was one module which was not working at all. Everyone in our group vainly tried to debug. Finally, i took it upon myself to take a lead and solve the problem because we did not want to accept a defeat and do some petty work aground. We together worked for around 8-10 days to fix the issue and finally the module was working. We enjoyed the efforts put in and things which we learnt in various tryouts. We were able to achieve success only because of co-ordinated team effort.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not tell something completely irrelevant like "building muscles" is my strength. it's out of context.
• Do not give just a list with no relevant example.
• Do not state your strength, however attractive, perseverance, hard work, team spirit, passion for learning and for making things work against odd.

Self Introduction

Tell me something about yourself.

It's one of the typical initial question to start a conversation.

Possible Intention:

• To know what kind of a person you are.
• As a response to open ended question, you end up giving information which you feel is most important about yourself.
• To judge your priorities in life.
• To check if you believe in yourself and have of thinking.
• To judge your power of expression.

Insights:

• Safe answer would contain a bit of education, training backgrounds, success stories elaborating your competencies and passion.
• Keep the answer relevant and interesting. Success stories are very handy here.
• Challenge is, what to speak and how much speak. Remember, in the interview you are selling yourself through your success stories.

Example Answer:

Let me start with my educational background. i am B.E/B TECH/BSc with specialization in Computer Science. I am passionate about programming and information technology. I like to keep track of new technology like cloud computing, mobile application etc. When I realized during my project/internship that i am better at finding errors in programs quickly, I started studying software quality in more detail. I competed training in software testing and am ISTQB certified. In one of my recent projects, i was responsible for creating test cases. For the project compatibility testing on multiple browsers and hand-held devices was really challenging. I enjoyed doing information research and hand-held devices along with an approach of testing them.

Anti Pattern:

• Interviewer is not expecting your autobiography or education and work history in reverse chronological order.
• Do not make it too long and vague.
• Stick to your success stories and put forth your strength.
• Do not give any information which may backfire later.
• Do not provide any unrelated information which will not contribute to your success.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• You are passionate about the work you have chosen. Examples given by you highlight that
• From a complete open ended question, you can drive the discussion to the relevant point.
• It is interesting to converse with you further.

Please leave you valuable Comments.

Preparation for Interview

Preparation for Interview/Performance

Now that you have cleared the hurdle of initial filters like aptitude test, group discussion etc. You have received a call for interview. Lets us see how you prepare for this big day.

Research The Company:

Visit company website to know more on company's clients and business. Read and note down important points like clients, their location(countries), business domain, and technologies.

Practice Interview:

Go through the common question/answer asked in interview. Frame your own answer based on your experience and expertise. Use example answer as guidelines. It is even better if you can practice a mock interview session with your friend.

Enough Rest:

Make sure that you sleep sufficient time in the night before the interview. You would be fresh and energetic in appearance, acting in your advantage.

Dressing For Interview:

Your first appearance would make a long lasting impact and would be decisive in the final selection. Make sure you appear clean, neat and polished.

Employment Portfolio:

Do remember to carry your Employment Portfolio, your own pen.

Reaching The Interview:

Make sure that you arrive at least 15 minutes early at the interview place. Observe the place, make yourself comfortable, take deep breadth and sit. Accept the greeting with a smile and polite manner.

During The Interview:

Many candidates believe that in HR round, the interviewer judges only confidence and communication skills. This is too simple to be true. Way of presentation is as important as correctness of information.

         The interviewer is trying to find out how close you are in terms of attitude, behavior and communication for the superman(best fit job) he is looking for. Lesser the gap, higher the chances of selection.

Give attention the following points while responding the questions.

• Ensure consistency in your responses.
• Responses should be mapped to your published resume.
• Know essential details by heart. e.g. Month and Year of passing various examination.
• Maintain eye contact.
• Avoid repetitive use of words like- important, basically, typically, normally etc.

Dos and Don'ts in Resume

Following are the quick dos and Don'ts while creating a resume or CV.

Dos:

• Give relative information.
• Highlight your achievements.
• Should be easy to read and follow.
• Detailed and accurate.
• Be truthful.
• Highlight skills developed.
• Create professional email id e.g. name.surname@gmail.com

Don'ts:

• Give irrelevant information.
• Give mere list of job titles and responsibilities.
• Give vague information which also lacks required details.
• Be dishonest.

Please join the site and visit the blog weekly for upcoming posts.

Thank you!

Selection Process In Recruitments.

Selection Process

As a candidate seeking a job, the selection process may appear like a race of hurdles where you are to beat other candidates to get job. The selection typically has following stages. The exact numbers and nature of the stages would vary based on the policies of recruiting companies.

Short Listing of Profiles:

It is done to filter out the most suitable candidates since application received by any organization. Often, selection criterion is the candidates with a first class academic record (Graduation, 12th, 10th class). Many candidates are filtered out here. If you have an excellent academic record, you need not to worry about this round.

Written Test (Aptitude, English, Technical):

There are various type of aptitude tests - Verbal, Logical, Numerical and so on. These aptitude tests are designed on the basis of skill requirement of a particular job. For example, quantitative and verbal (English) aptitude are predominant tests for IT jobs. Some times the test papers also contains very basic technical questions about information technology and programming.

Group Discussion:

This round judges your ability to think logically and with the clarity and express your opinion and ideas in front of group. This round may be prove to be difficult for candidates who are a little reserved and shy and can not express their ideas. Excellent communication skill, presentation skill and clarity of thoughts will get you across this hurdle in the race. This is a stage that may not be conducted by every recruiting company.

Technical Interview:

Technology or subject matter knowledge is tested here. The questions asked are related to core discipline you have studied and on your work experience. When you are a fresher, questions are asked to judge your technical understanding and the work you have done so far related to it.

HR Interview:

This is final round. Here, your personality traits, and your behavior is observed. The purpose is to find how well you will adapt to the work environment and company's culture. Interviewer tries to seek answer to questions like Are you fit for the profile you will be assigned to? Will you be able to support the team members and work happily in the environment? Will you cause trouble due to your behavior and attitude? Will you stay for a long time?

Join the site and visit the blog weekly for upcoming posts.

Thank you!

What recruiters look for?

 "How to crack an interview?" (this blog) gives the best way to understand the insights of questions, Interviewer's interpretation and anti patterns. To crack an interview this is important to know that..

What Recruiters look for ?

Before attending an Interview, it is important to know, what Recruiters look for. For you, as a candidate, Recruiters perspective is more important to impress him/her the point of time you meet.  Following are the some qualities, which more attract Recruiters towards you.

Employability Skills :

Employability skills are usually classified into the so called Hard i.e technology/task related and Soft i.e.people and relationship related.

Thus to be employable, for the first-time and on-going basis, we as humans, unlike robots, must become multiskilled along these two dimensions.

Soft Skills: Communication, Attitude, Leadership, Aptitude and personality.

Hard skills: Technology Expertise, Domain Expertise, International Certification, Industry Knowledge Process and Hands-on Experience.

Ability to make difference:

Our ability to make difference depends a lot on how we "present" ourselves - to others and more importantly to out own self. Each individual has distinct persona. Confidence, fine etiquette and manners, working with style and grace play very important role in ones growth.

Leadership:

Leadership is an often used buzz word. It has many definitions. In context to work, leadership is the ability to see clearly what needs to happen, to take a stand to make it happen and to inspire the team to do what it takes to make it happen.

Expertise in Domain:

We need to built expertise in Domain as well as Technology. We are developing applicants or solutions which have to make a different in the real world. Hence an understanding of the domain has to hand in hand with the knowledge of the chosen technology.

Certification:

A Certification from various technology vendors (Microsoft,IBM etc.) and professional bodies (ISTQB, PMI etc.) is a way in which one can showcase expertise on both, the conceptual and application aspects required at workplace.

Attitude:

No matter how high-tech we get in job searches.. nothing matters now more than a great attitude and greater smile. Some of this gets back to the culture issue, yes. To the recruiter, however attitude is more than that.

Do you approach your work with enthusiasm? Are you passionate about what you'll be doing 40, 50 or 60 hours per weak? Do you solve problems with an approach that combines tenacity with poise? Are you too cool hustle, learn and grow? Are you willing to share what you know, and mentor others?

Confidence:

From the moment they meet you, the recruiter is going to be assessing how you project confidence. Several factors go into assessment.

Do you communicate well (the anxious and unprepared typically exhibit very poor communication skills)? Are you able to engage in conversation? Do you listen - really listen - before attempting to answer the recruiter's questions? Does you "Confidence" ever cross over into arrogance?

Most important: the recruiter want to know if you will earn the respect of your potential colleagues, company managers and executives. And the best way to do that..... is to exude humble confidence.

Join the site and visit the blog weekly for upcoming posts.

Thank you!