Common Job Interview Questions and Answers for Freshers and Experienced

Making yourself ready for common interview questions and answers for freshers and experienced candidates in advance, is the sure way to face the challenge of a job interview with confidence. It is a well known fact that when seeking for a job the most stressful and challenging part is to face the interview. If you are one of those job seekers who have encountered many grueling job interviews without success then this article which gives an idea of probable job interview questions and answers for freshers and for experienced candidates, is for you. Read on….

During my tenure as HR head of a big organization I made an interesting observation that for job interviews, most interviewers have identical sets of interview questions to ask, for the job seekers. Here I am going to give you an idea of these typical questions, which most of the interviewers are likely to ask the candidates, along with tips on how to answer them.

Find below a collection of common interview questions and answers for freshers and experienced candidates, which I believe, will serve as a useful guide for your next interview to make your battle a little easier.

Tell about yourself.

This question gives the interviewer an opportunity to know about the candidate. Make sure that you are at ease when talking about yourself to start a likable conversation with the interviewer. There are chances that the next question that may be asked will be based on your answer to this question. Therefore, keep your answer in line with your profession. Do not highlight the aspects of your professional background that are not related to the position you are being interviewed for.State about yourself, your education, your work experience, if any, particularly related to the post you have applied for, your special achievements, if any, and your goals.

Tell about your strengths.

This is comparatively an easier question to answer. By this question the employer wants to have an idea about your likely contribution to the company in case you are hired by them. To this you are to tell the interviewer about your best skills and personal qualities. The skill description should cover those special skills you acquired from school, college and your work areas like, any special college degree, any language skill, any special training, attending any seminars, computer skills etc. The personal qualities should describe about your unique qualities like, hard working, flexibility, result oriented approach etc.

Tell about your weaknesses.

This is one of the most difficult questions usually faced by a candidate. View it as an opportunity to express your self-awareness, honesty and problem-solving ability. Everyone has weaknesses and not admitting a single one of them during interview may not go well with the interviewer. Therefore, you will have to answer this question intelligently. To cut short the discussion on the issue it is better to site one skill area only while admitting your weakness. Also ensure that the mentioned skill area is such that, if one desires, the weakness can be improved upon. You should also clarify to the interviewer about your plan on how you are going to get the better of your weakness.

What you know about this company?

When applying for a job you should take the time to research the company by searching the company’s website or by any other means. That way you will be able to keep yourself informed in advance about all the important information about the company like services, product, history and goals. Such information would help you to come up with convincing reasons for your interest to join the company. Your knowledge about the company would also help to impress the interviewer for the interest you took to know the details about the company.

Why you want to join this company?

To answer this question you should refer to your skills and qualities and tell the interviewer how those match the qualifications and responsibilities desired in the employer’s job posting. You are also to explain to the interviewer how your skills, abilities and work experience, if any, would effectively meet the specific requirements of the company as outlined in the job description. You can also mention about how your career goals are aligned to the company’s declared visionary goals. Keep yourself informed in advance about the company. Try to have a good grasp of its corporate culture, mission and reputation which would help you to be more precise about why you are a great fit for the company. Do not answer the question in the backdrop of your monetary needs.

Why are you changing your present job? (In case of job change only)

This is a very precarious question which needs to be answered carefully. By this question the interviewer may try to make out if you are truly interested in the job or you are looking for a way out from your current job. Therefore, try to make it clear that you are pursuing a great opening by reiterating what you like about the role you're looking for in the company and not running away from a difficult situation. You should try to avoid making any negative or critical comments about your current/previous employer (for experienced candidates). Your answer to such question should be based on your career goals. Explain how your plan to move to this company for the job position applied for is in line with achieving your career goals.

Why you think you should be selected?

This is similar to selling a product to a prospective buyer by convincing him about its qualities. To convince the interviewer about your suitability for the job, mention about your skills, qualities, work experiences, if any, and achievements which you think make you ideally suited for the job you have applied for. Also explain how your skills would bring added value to the company and how the company gains from it by hiring you.

Conclusion

To conclude I can say that job interviews are always challenging, even for the experienced candidates who have gone on many interviews. Do not fluster easily like many of your competitors at a difficult question thrown at you by the interviewers. Try to be different from others by keeping your cool. Take a deep breadth and pause to think about your response. While getting in advance an idea of the common interview questions and answers for freshers and experienced candidates as given in this post, may greatly help to reduce your stress and to face your future employer with confidence, a positive attitude and confidence in yourself are the keys to tackle any type of interview board successfully.