Startup a Fashion OR a Passion?

Startups are becoming too sexy now a days. Young entrepreneurs treating it like a new fashion which is true up to some extend but one should never forget that the list of failed startups is much more long that successful startup. Number of startups have been reported which does not make any sense, some of them are being created for sake of funding. Changing the world or becoming a billionaire with a new creative idea is a dream of every entrepreneur. But honestly! what excites you about a startup? Funding, success, fame or challenges? The answer itself is self explanatory, decides the duration of startup and shapes the future of your startup.
Just picking one of these options can not predict success of your startup. Building a company and making it great is not a one day process. Various vertical heads like failure of other startups, market analysis, support and more importantly understanding the customer and marker plays critical role.

So What should you know before you start?

1) Passion.

Passion is key to keeping a business strategy moving. "Refused to give up" is the most used word by most successful people. Half-hearted efforts will chip away at your drive to succeed. Keep your hope and passion alive even if other do not believe in you.
So here are the main items to take into consideration if you’re trying to develop a business platform. These elements constitute will support a smart strategy for any new enterprise:

2) Take baby steps.

Jumping all in is rarely ever successful. There are success stories about people who invested everything once and came out winners after six months or a couple years, but those are rare. Risk management is an essential factor in any startup, and balance is vital. You can absorb losses more easily if you take smaller risks in the beginning. Those will provide essential and productive lessons.

3) Learn from others.

Successful entrepreneurs often worked for others in their field of choice before striking out on their own. Spending a few years in the industry under an excellent mentor will provide a good launching pad. Learn from your predecessors’ mistakes and brainstorm about how to improve upon their model. Find someone willing to teach, and think about starting your business elsewhere when you leave.

4) Learn how to self-promote.

Confidence and a good elevator speech can take any pitch to the next level. The first marketing any company experiences comes from its founder. Spend time learning how to share your vision without coming across as “salesy.” Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale, but remember: the client is always the focus.

5) Constantly take action.

Entrepreneurs are movers and shakers. They can’t afford to analyze every detail or they’d never get anywhere. There is no place for procrastination in a startup. It’s a 24/7, no-vacation-or-sick-days kind of job that demands constant forward momentum. Make a brief assessment at every step and move on it. Trust your instincts.

6) Make a plan.

Read about successful businesses. Take in the wealth of knowledge that’s been provided by successful entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs and the personalities from Shark Tank. A successful business plan does not have to be a book. A 10-page plan is digestible yet long enough to include everything you need to start.

7) Build a reputation.

According to Brandi Bennett at HostGator.com, maintaining a blog on a well-hosted website, or volunteering your time and skills, shows instead of tells the community, and thereby builds expertise and trust.

8) It’s never too late to start.

Many successful entrepreneurs started later in life. J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter author), Julia Child (chef), and Sam Walton (Wal-Mart) all started their wildly successful brands after they were comfortably along in their lives. Having the experience that comes with age can give you a unique outlook on your business. Life experiences bring depth that the most educated young adult, by his or her nature, is less able to foresee.

9) Build your "A team".

Finding the skill sets and attitudes that support the culture of the brand you want to promote will foster innovation and enhance your reputation. Include folks from outside the company for the people you rely on. That will start a free marketing chain reaction that can build confidence and revenue.

10) Be mindful of your attitude.

The attitude of the founder will set the tone for the business. Negativity, laziness and entitlement waste time and money while they tarnish your reputation. Success largely depends on making mistakes and accepting blame in stride. Owning up to and facing challenges head-on is what makes a mere business owner a leader.

Starting a business can wreak havoc on the owner’s personal life. While all the above tips are necessary for success, taking care of yourself mentally and physically is also imperative. Exercise, sleep and diet play a central role in ensuring you implement these policies successfully. All of them drive attitude, motivation and relationships.

Successful CEOs tend to follow a structured, daily schedule of rising early, exercising, having snacks on hand for fuel and socializing many evenings of the week.

source: entrepreneur.com

What an startup entrepreneur should never miss while building a team?

Now a days all entrepreneurs are busy to build a great team, they look for a young passionate crew who not only has team leading quality but also can burn his/her energy to make the startup successful. But most of these young passionate crew lack one thing i.e. what is and how to follow a proper process? If not implemented in individual it slows down the growth of the company while their competitors do well.

I am wrapping it up for both entrepreneurs as well as employee. An entrepreneur should ask and an employee should be aware of the questions like;

What kind of process improvement have you done in your working tenure?

Possible Intention:

• To know if you understand in real sense, what process improvement is.
• To know if you have applied the theory, you learned, in practice.
• To know if you have a 'big picture' understanding from process point of view.

Insights:

• Read more to develop a sense of 'big picture' understanding on process improvement.
• Think of this process improvement more from your productivity perspective. 
• It may be very small improvement but it tells a lot about your project understanding and approach.

Example Answer:

In our project, we used to perform ad-hoc unit testing and completely missed testing of some peculiar cases like null, empty string for some methods. And this used to be discovered in integration testing of the system. When team lead found this, we did root cause analysis and decided to write unit test cases using framework like JUnit. We formed a small team of two members for proof of concept. Once it was successful, we used tools like eclipse to generate unit test cases. Later on it was adopted as best practice for the project in java. 

Anti pattern:

• Do not tell about some improvement which you have not been part of.
• first you need to be absolutely clear about the basic process followed and only then you can suggest something. The suggestion may not be very technology intensive etc., however it should have perceivable benefit which you can substantiate.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• You have process understanding and orientation, plus experience of working on process driven culture.

Tell me 4-5 important things which you will carry if you have to stay below sea for a month.

Possible Intention:

• To know how creative you are.
• To know if you get baffled by a bouncer question.

Insights:

• Stay calm and use you creativity.
• Give a disclaimer that you are not expert or have any experience of staying below sea, so you are guessing.
• What is expected is, some logical guess work and not the right answer.

Example Answer:

Before giving the answer I would have really searched on Google for the kind of environment and gears required to stay below the sea.

Now let me guess, I need to carry following things:

• Diving gear.
• Sufficient supply of oxygen.
• Any medicines needed because of environment change.
• Food that will be appropriate.
• Equipment that I will need to survive, for e.g. a knife, pressure meter, compas etc.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not get baffled.
• Do not say you may not not be able to answer the question as it is not your area of expertise. Sometime the correctness of the answer is less important than the attempt.

Interviewer's interpretation:

• Logically good answer indicates your basic thinking is fine.
• Witty answer would show creativity.
• Any answer which is not right at least shows that you are willing to encounter problems even if you are not well-versed in it.

What qualities in you make you a team player?

The Importance of a Good Team Player.Teams are created for several reasons. They may need to deliver a one-time project, or work together on an ongoing basis. Either way, if you take advantage of a group's collective energy and creativity, the team can accomplish much more in less time.

Possible Intention:

• To judge whether you are a team player.
• To know if being a team player is important to you.
• To know if you respect your team and can contribute to its business.

Insights:

• This is a tricky question and interviewer may reject and turn down whatever answer you give.
• Imagine that if interviewer is one of your team member, then how you would support him/her.
• Listen calmly for opposite views which you do not agree. Be firm on your opinion and convey it assertively being adamant. Politely agree to disagree.

Example Answer:

• As a team member, I respect the opinion though I may not agree to it.
• I can communicate my views clearly and firmly.
• I support the team by doing some task which may not be directly assigned to me.
• I always take interest and guide my junior team members.
• I seek opinion and help from my senior team members when required.

If possible, give example incidents from your project to support your statement that you are a team player.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not ever give an impression that you will go all out to help others. That might compromise your own deliverables.
• Team player does not mean only helping others; its about seeking timely help.

Interview's Interpretation:

• Here, interviewer is judging your attitude towards team and people who you work with. Question is not about whether you are an independent performer or not. Question is how you would fit in culture of project team where you would never know everything.
• Any derogatory remark about team, manager or any person from the team gives an impression that you are not a team player and find it difficult to accommodate.

7 secrets to ace your job interview.

Most advice on acing a job interview is about memorising answers to an endless number of possible questions. And there, we've got a fundamental problem. Because the interview is not an exam; it's a discussion to establish if you are competent, motivated and trustworthy.Do you want to win your dream job? We have some radically different advice for you. Are they secrets? Well, we don't know, but, for sure, they are tips based on our experience and research:

      

1. Prepare, don't just show up:

Interviews are not walk-ins. Always know the role you are applying for and the company you will be interviewing with. What business are they in, how do they make money, and how will hiring you make a difference to them?

 2. First impressions count: 

From the time you keep to the clothes you wear, from your composure on arrival to the way you greet security in the lobby; it's best to assume that all of this is being observed. Don't let yourself down. Start on a professional note.

     

3. Tell your story, furnish evidence:

The interview is your opportunity to show why you should be hired. So, come prepared to talk about your biggest achievements and highlights of your professional journey. How are they relevant to the new job? How do they put you above what the rest of the herd can do?

     

4. Even freshers have experience: 

If you are fresh out of university with no job experience, talk about what worked well for you in coursework and internships, the experiences that have shaped you this far and the lessons learned. Forget the myth that you have no experience worth talking about.

     

5. Leadership skills matter: 

Companies are looking for a good match and for people who have the potential for bigger things. If the role they are trying to fill today does not exist tomorrow, will they still have a need for you? Can today's junior analyst be the leader of the business unit in eight years' time? What you know doesn't matter as much as how you work. Be ready to discuss teamwork, your ability to influence and inspire, and what keeps you going each and every day.

    

 6. An interview is not a one way: 

Use the interview to get to know the company better. Is their work culture aligned with what matters to you? Is this the right organisation for you at the stage of life you find yourself in? If you are a young parent, a 24x7 work culture might not exactly be what you are looking for. Remember that a lot of your motivation and happiness will come from the company you join.

    

 7. Rejection is part of the game: 

For all the work that you put in and the advice we can provide, interviewing is still a process loaded with unknowns. If an opportunity does not open up, take it in your stride.Maybe you didn't fit the bill, maybe the position was already spoken for, or the budget disappeared. The truth will never come out. Don't let a rejection bring you down, but learn what you can and keep going.

Think about these tips, take your time and prepare how you will convey your message. Right through your professional journey, whether you are in the final days of your notice period or in the first weeks of your new job, nurture your personal brand. How do you want people to talk about you in your absence, what would you like them to say? Careers are marathons; the interview is just an intermediate step.

Ref: TOI

What do you like about current job?

Possible Intention:

• To know what kind of interest and passion you work with in current job.
• To know whether you have generally a cribbing attitude.

Insights:

• Keep in mind that you are going to leave this current job. Do not over glorify what you like.
• Introspect and keep this answer ready. There is definitely something you like about your current job, but you may have ignored it until now.

Example Answer:

1. I was involved in projects on testing of finance and healthcare related application. As I saw curious about financial markets, working on the financial project was fun. Working on different business domains and involvement in the load testing of production ready system, exposure to new testing was really exciting for me.
2. I am working on GBD group. Lot of security configuration, server hardening, technologies such as virtualization are part of regular work. It is really exciting to work with a new set of servers, provisioning and making the network more secure from hacking attempts.
3. I am working on .NET technology project. In the group there are technology discussion on design, architecture and deployment. Every week freshers like me, are supposed to research a topic and present how that technology can be used. This environment is very conductive for learning and it helps us to learn from each other.

Anti Pattern:

• "Nothing" is the worst answer. Since there are chances that this might happen in new job also.
• Do not talk about a specific person or situation which is peculiar to your previous job. If the new organization cannot provide what you like then your performance might be affected.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Something arbitrary irrelevant answer indicates you are not appreciative of good things.
• Non-enthusiastic answer shows cribbing attitude. It will be a "task" to motivate you.
• In the new job you would be happy about certain things and that would keep you motivated.

Why did you quit your last job so early?

Possible Intention:

• To know the reason for your job switch.
• To check if you are just a mercenary who works for whoever pays more.
• To know your experience that made you leave the previous job.

Insights:

• Be ready with a convincing answer. The interviewer is trying to judge whether to hire you or not, if you have left your previous job after a very short stint.
• Have a list of reasons which do not say bad things about your previous employer.
• If you have had disagreement with your previous employer, do not wash dirty laundry in public.
• Do not give a flippant reply. It shows that you are not a responsible person and do not take your job seriously.

Example Answers:

1. I had to leave in a very short period due to some family problems and continuing my job was not possible. Since I had not completed my probation, getting leave was difficult, when my family needed me the most. But I assure you that nothing of this sort will happen again now since the problem has been sorted out.
2. I had few disagreements with my manager in the earlier employment, and as I could not make compromise with my core believes, I thought it would be a good idea to seek out like-minded people who can foster those believes.
3. There was a gap between what I do with my life and what the organization needed, so rather than having a disturbance in my personal life as well as work envirnment, I decided to approach people with same vision as mine.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not say left because you did not like the work environment or the project that you were assigned. It may indicate that you are not adaptable.
• Do not say that you did not like working at the earlier organization and hence left the job.
• Do not elaborate and dwell on the problem you might have faced earlier.
• Do not portray yourself as a victim.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• The interviewer may appreciate you honesty and forthrightness as long as you can justify what you core beliefs are.
• The interviewer will understand that you have the courage to take strong decision, but not out of malice.
• That you are a sincere, thoughtful and responsible person who is capable of taking the right decisions,

How long would you expect to work for us if hired?

Possible Intention:

• To know if you are seriously thinking of staying long term.

Insights:

• "I will stay until retire" is a good answer but very hard to believe today.
• You are not expected to give time period in years or months.
• Expectation is what you like and will keep you happily going in the organization.

Example Answer:

I am not a person who switches jobs very frequently. I like to do challenging work in technology which will give me pleasure of creating new solutions. I strongly believe that the kind of projects and technology your organization is into, can keep me in high spirits to continue working for longer period.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not say time period like five years etc. without any justification.
• Never say till you get challenging work rests with the employing organization.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Display the extra commitment can be regarded as falsity.
• Some indirect indication of time would be sweet music for interviewer's ears.

Interview Tips For Success

Here are some important tips for success in personal interview.

• While answering any question, be consistent with the information you have provided in the resume.

• Never tell untruth or manufactured stories. Be honest.

• No short answers of one or two words. It shows disinterest.

• When you state any fact, support it with the real data points or statistic. It strengths the answer.

• Come what may, ever answer should end with an upbeat note.[Even when asked about your failures.]

• Every question asked is an opportunity for you to narrate your success stories though the question may not directly demand so. Hence each of your response should contain a success story.

Do you have offers from other organizations?

These words from HR are most significant from interviewee's perspective. Interviewee's reply may leave a negative impact if not handled carefully. But on the other road it also gives a chance to proof your value to him.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you actually have offers from any other organization. If you are good, then the interviewer has to close the decision quickly.
• To know if any other organization has evaluated you and found you to be worthy.
• To know where recruiting organization is in the list of your preference.

Insights:

• Be truthful
• If you have offers in hand obviously the next question would be which organization you would choose and why.

Example Answer:

I have in 3-4 organizations and have given interviews. I have already one offer at hand and by end of this week, I am expecting another from one more organization. They are in the similar technology space. However, given a chance, I would like to work in your organization considering the kind of growth I can have. Your organization really works on different business domains and different technologies which is very exciting for me.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not lie to create an impression, it may backfire.
• Never disclose the name, position etc. if you have offers in hand. This can be useful later when you would negotiate salary.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• If you have other offers then you might be a better choice.
• She/He has to take a quicker decision if you do well in the interview.

What are your views about polotics?

Politics is a trending topic since last decade. Politics has changed mindset of people as well as professionals. When politics is concerned in interviews, it has following possible intentions.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you are aware of latest happening which are related to you and might affect you in some way.
• To know if you can think and correlate the facts you know.
• To know if you have opinion and can state then firmly and support them. 
• To know if you have a habit of keeping yourself updated on regular basis.

Insights:

• Browse most read newspapers in printed format or on internet.
• Look at some important events in the last 8-10 days. And of these topics could be selected.
• While reading the news see what you agree with or disagree with. Try picking up some topic and give opinion on it as a practice.
• You need not be right or you are not expected to know everything in politics and economics etc. Interviewer judging your ability to assimilate information and opinions and draw your own inferences which you stand by.

Example Answer:

Though I do not have inclination of playing a participative role in politics, it is very important for social and Economic Development of the country. Due to lot of corruption and malpractices followed by political parties, generally educated youth is staying away from the politics and government. Politicians have enormous power in terms of sanctioned budgets to fund projects to build infrastructure power projects, educational reforms etc. Politics is being viewed as dirty game due to personal agendas rather than welfare of the country. In this era we still have people like Anna Hazare who selflessly work for people.

Anti Pattern:

• Keep it short and to the point though you may be aware of certain thing due to your background.
• Do not keep quiet if you do not know anything about it. Say so explicitly or ask the interviewer can I say something about "XYZ" thing which you have read recently and remembered.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• If you can narrate well, you are well informed and and well read.
• You can assimilate information and draw inferences from it. This shows you have capability to draw good inferences and possibly take informed decisions.

Tell me about some situation which you consider as your failure.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you have courage and honesty to accept failure as your own.
• To know when you make a mistake do you learn from it.
• To know if you have the ability to own up responsibility without giving excuses.

Insights:

• Talk about the incidents that disappointed you and shed light on how you could have acted differently to change it if you were to be given a second chance.
• Do not try to shift the blame of the failure on somebody else's shoulders.

Example Answer: (For Freshers)

I had a possibility of securing First class with distinction during my SSC board examination. Due to loss of focus on my part, I missed scoring enough marks. However, I learnt a lesson; in HSC board exam I did not let that happen and scored more than 75 percent marks.

Example Answer:(For Experienced)

There was a bug which I was trying to fix on the last day of the delivery of the project. After 4-5 hours struggle, I could find out the bug and modified the required files. In hurry I forgot to add the correct file in the code repository. Before sending the code to the onsite, my lead tested the code on the sample basis and bug re-appeared. I was unable to understand why the same bug was not visible in my PC. I almost went into panic mode as it was my first project. My team lead sat with me to figure out the issue and we could get the correct  version of the file from my PC and use it in the release. I learnt to keep my head cool even in stress situation.

Anti Pattern:

Do not get into detailed explanation of why do you failed. Keep it simple and short. You are not supposed to be spending time remembering details of your failures.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

The interviewer is not really interested in knowing your failure but more so in your courage to failure and learning from it.

Are you willing to sign a bond of one year of employment worth $xxx ?

Possible Intention:

• To see if you are desperate enough to accept whatever is given to you.
• To know if you are flexible.
• To check if you can give formal term commitment for work.

Insights:

• Ask if there is any alternative to signing a bond or it is mandatory. Some companies may have a policy of mandatory bond.
• Take your time to think over; do not give an answer immediately. Ask the details such as tenure, amount to be paid in case you default etc.
• If the job profile is interesting and you have not had that kind of experience earlier, you can consider it. Think of what benefits you will get for you long term career in lieu of this commitment.
• If you are fresher, do not miss the opportunity. If you think the experience you will get by working on the project will enhance your skill inventory in some way, accept the offer. Ensure that the commitment specified in bond is not too long.
• Do not get worried and derail the interview. You can still but time and then give response in a couple of days once the interview is done.
• If you have any friend working in the same or similar company, discuss with them to find out whether it is worth to give such a commitment.

Example Answer;

I may be willing to consider signing a bond but I have a couple of questions like intention for creation such policy for hiring, details on bond and legal implications. I would also like to know the kind of technologies I would work on, in this period and more about the role. This would help me take a better decision considering my long term aspitations.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not mention that you are badly in need of a job and so are ready to accept anything.
• Do not say upfront that you are interested only in a job which does not involve formal commitments like bond.
• Do not say that you will think about it and get back after some time; they may not have the time to wait for you. Instead, buy specific time limit like a day or two day for responding.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Upfront negative response indicates you are stubborn and do not think enough before taking decision.
• You shoeing an interest in the job and querying about details shows your willingness and flexibility.

What kind of people do you find to work with?

No two people are alike. At your workplace you would be surrounded by different individual personalities. You want to show the interviewer that it does not matter what kind of people you work with, just that work gets done.

Possible Intention:

• To know more about your interpersonal skills.
• To know if you are a team player and can handle difficult team members or bosses.

Insights:

• You need to develop an important understanding about yourself. You can enhance it by listing down the people you have worked with and due to what characteristic it was easy or difficult to work with them.
• List what kind of traits you really hate at the workplace that affects the project or organisational success.
• Outcome of this answer should indicate that you are a team player and do not want to work in an autocratic way.

Example Answer:

Sometimes I find it difficult to deal with kind of people who shrug off their responsibilities at eleventh hour when deadline is near or a person who refuses to help even though he/she is not tied up with lot of work. In my opinion, the people who complete the tasks somehow just to earn their paychecks are difficult to work with.

            Though I have seen people with such traits and I had to use different techniques to make them work, honestly I find it a little difficult. Because I do not understand how somebody can be so casual about one's life or career.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not say that people who do not agree with my views or who do not listen to me. This your shows you are not a team player.
• List only the characteristic which are going to affect the work or the work environment.
• Do not give any irrelevent traits though you do not like them; for example people who smoke.

Interviewer's Interpretation;

• It is good that you find it difficult to work with people who are not aligned with organizational success. And hence you are not one of their kind.
• Realistic and relecant answer indicates you are honest.

What is your current salary and what is your salary expectation?

Before accepting or asking any offer, it is important to know what package is offered by similar companies for same post. Such question may have following possible intention.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you are aware of salary ranges offered for specific job.
• To know how you price yourself for job, exorbitantly high or low.

Insights:

• You need to know the salary offered for a job with your skills and experience.
• If you are asking a good hike considering you current pay package then justify what skills and experience you have added after starting your current job.
• Remember that this question does not indicate that you are hired and salary negotiate would start.

Example Answer:

My current salary is $ xxxx per month/per annum. I learnt a couple of technologies and tools like Weblogic application server and business process management suite. I have successfully executed two projects on Java technology using the said tools. Considering this, I think I am worth more and expect around 30 percent raise.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not give a figure; better give a range.
• Do not start negotiating, the job is not yet offered.
• Do not hesitate. State assertively what your worth is.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• Knowledge of typical salary ranges shows your initiative and good homework.

If some other organization gives you offer right now, will you consider it?

You can be trapped easily with this question, So be aware of the appropriate reply. This is a really tricky question asked in interviews. Do not get confused between yes or no.

Possible Intention:

• To know if you have any offers in hand.
• To judge your skills in planning and decision making.

Insights:

• The question asked has nothing to do with the real offer. It is for judging how you approach a situation where decision making is crucial.
• Do not conclude on the decision. Keep it pending, in an intelligent way, so that you can use it to your advantage later.

 Example Answer:

I have offers from other two organizations which are in the similar domain. I have to carefully many aspects other than just financial consideration. I would like to choose the job based on the basis of how it will you prefer working here if given an opportunity.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not say you will not take offer from competitor. It is logically wrong because you have not yet got offer from the interviewer. Answer would appear fake.
• Do not say "I will take other offer". Then you are directly denying or giving a negative signal for the offer from interviewer.
• Do not think this is real question related to offers. It is just a mind game to trap you.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• To see of you are desperate enough to accept whatever is given to you.
• To know if you are flexible.
• To check if you can give formal long term commitment for work.

Why did you quit your last job?

Most of the time responding for the reason to quit the job is not easy because of greedy intentions. Such question definitely can be handled if and only if you know the in and out of the question. Let's have a look.

Possible Intention:

• To know the reason for your job switch.
• To know if you are just a mercenary who works for whoever pays more.
• To know your expectation that made you leave the previous job.

Insights:

• Be ready with a convincing answer. The interviewer is trying to judge whether to hire you or not, if you left previous job after a very short stint.
• Have a list of reasons which do not say bad things about your previous employers.
• If you have disagreements with your previous employers, do not wash dirty laundry in public.
• Do not give a flippant reply. It shows that you are not a responsible person and do not take your job serious.

Example Answer:

1. I had to leave in a very short period due to some family problem and continuing my job was not possible. Since I had not completed my probations, getting leave was difficult, when my family needed me the most. But I assured you that nothing of this sort will happen now since the problem has been sorted out.
2. I had a few disagreements with my manager in earlier employment, and as i could not make compromises with my core beliefs, I thought it would be good idea to seek out like-minded people who can foster those beliefs.
3. There was a gap between what I want and to do with my life and what the organization needed, so rather than having disturbances in my personal life as well as work environment, I decided to approach with same vision as mine.

Anti Pattern:

• Do not say you left because you did not like the working environment or the project that you were assigned. It may indicate that you are not adaptable. 

•  Do not say that you did not like working with earlier organisation and hence you left the job. 

•  Do not elaborate and dwell on the problem you might have faced earlier. 

•  Do not portray yourself as a victim.

Interviewer's Interpretation:

• The interviewer may appreciate your honesty and forthrightness so long as you can justify what your core beliefs are.
• The interviewer will understand that you have the courage to take strong decisions, but not out of malice.
• That you are sincere, thoughtful and responsible person who is capable of taking the right decisions. 

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.