Freshers HR Interview Preparation Guide

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This is another common question which increases the anxiety level of the candidate. The interviewer is not interested in your answer to the question unless you tell about a weakness which will directly affect the work. He is more interested in the way you deal with the question.

Here are some ways to deal with the question:

a.) Offer a weakness absolutely un-related to work – For e.g. I can’t cook though I have been staying alone for years now.

b.) Offer a strength posing it to be a weakness – For e.g. My friends often accuse me of being too conscious about the time to do everything but for me it is discipline and punctuality.

c.) Offer a humorous weakness – For e.g. I have a passion for speed and bikes are my weakness.

I stood first in the order of merit in class Xth sounds like you haven’t achieved anything big since then. Find out something from the near past that makes you proud of yourself. If you do not find an aswer to this question in your professional or academic life, it is absolutely fine to offer an answer from your social life. For e.g. I managed to save the life of an accident struck stranger by taking him to the hospital on time and donating a bottle of blood for him. This example demonstrates that you are a responsible person.

To answer this question try to find out a mistake you did long back. It demonstrates that you have not committed a mistake as big as that since then.

As a fresher you will not have much experience of working on various projects and even employers are aware about it. Offer your ability to grasp new things quickly as a solution to this.

The interviewer usually asks this question to initiate the talk and put the candidate to ease. You can smile and answer this question by saying: “It wasn’t difficult to find this place.”

This is the most commonly asked first question in any interview and the one which can set a ground for rest of your interview. Include details like: Your education background (not beyond 12th standard), some information about your family – father’s profession, mother’s profession, number of siblings (no need to get into their educational details) and some information about your extracurricular activities or hobbies.

The purpose of this question is to see if you are really interested in this job or you applied to this job just because you are jobless. Relate the job requirements with your candidature and explain why do you believe you are a suitable candidate for this job.

This is another way of asking the last question. A company will want to hire you if you can add some value to it. So, focus your answer on your skills and how they can be helpful for the position you are being interviewed for. Also, tell them about your ability to grasp new things quickly, adjust well into a team and flexible attitude. These are the qualities that employers usually seek in a fresh graduate.

Being on either of the extremes at work can be bad for you and the company. Your behaviour at work should be as per the requirement. To answer this question you can say something like: I behave as per the requirement of the situation. For e.g. If I am representing the company at an event which requires me to talk to a lot of people, I become an extrovert while if there is some serious issue under discussion, I think quietly and deeply on it.

This is also one of the most commonly asked questions in any interview. Your answer to this question demonstrates your preparation for the interview. Your same set of strengths can not be an advantage in every interview. This needs you to tailor make your answer as per the requirement of the position you are being interviewed for.

Before every interview, analyse the requirements of the role carefully and list out the qualities required to perform that role. Now, make a list of the qualities you have and match them with the requirements. You can offer these qualities as your strength for the role.

This answer shows your ability to make plans for yourself, have an ambitious but realistic plan:
• Say you would like to acquire certain skills and move up the ladder
• If you are interested in Management, say you would like to take up a part-time course/full time course in x years time

This is very important for a company, they want employees who are willing to change roles, to meet business demands, so the typical answer here is “Yes”. Say “I understand it will be in best interest of the business, if my manager wants me to develop my skills and take up another role.”

Again talk about some key skills that are necessary for the role, this will show them that you are ready to learn and are aware of your shortcomings:
• Tell them that you, as a fresher, have the ability but formal training to enhance your skills for a professional environment

This answer needs to be answered tactfully, they want to know whether you are going to stay for long or you are just there to use their training resources and then say goodbye in 6 month’s time.
• If you are pursuing further studies, say so. Tell them why you want to go for that course
• If you are taking up a distance education course or a part time course, they should know, as you will need to take leaves when you appear for exams

• Browse through the newspaper that morning they might ask you what was the front page headline, they might ask you your favorite columnists name
• Same goes for the magazine, make sure you have read the last edition
• When giving names of books, remember the author(s) name(s) and be ready to give out some summary of the book

This question is usually the first question they HR might ask you. This question could form a basis for further discussion.
• Discuss your family background in short
• Discuss your qualification
• Discuss your characteristics that will help you professionally
• Discuss your interest, hobbies

If you missed out on some points while writing your resume this is your chance to discuss them:
• Whenever talking about yourself, be confident, but not over confident.
• Do not praise yourself all the time
• You could discuss some personal traits or acheivements

It is fine if you do not know anyone, but if you know it will be good to give out the name:
• This shows them about your level of interest, and it is human nature if you know someone who works there you will ask them for feedback about the company or the role
• They could ask that person for your reference

This is usually a closing question and they might want to know how actively you are looking for a job. Usually give an honest answer and say why you are looking for another job with that offer at hand.

Always have a question ready to answer this one:
• You can ask whether the company allows for lateral and vertical role changes
• You can also ask whether the company encourages learning and development of employees
• Ask whether the company has plans for expansion
• You can also discuss your role in detail

Not asking any questions back demonstrates lack interest in the job, dullness or lack of research about the company.

When you are asked this question, you can ask some interesting questions like the opportunities for you to grow in the company, the expansion plans of the company and the chances for you to grow there.

If the company has been in news recently, you can ask questions related to that also.

As discussed, recruitment is a time consuming and costly affair. A company will not want to hire a candidate who will switch the job for a couple of thousands.

To answer this question you can say something like, I know that attraction of money but at this point in time growth is more important for me. In such a situation, I’ll discuss the growth opportunities with my manager and analyse the situation. If I see a growth potential in the same company, I will continue to work. However, if I don’t see any further growth, I’ll humbly inform him about my decision to move on.

As a fresher you will usually not have much bargaining power in terms of salary. Still, you can ask the interviewer about the package they offer to fresher graduates. Most of the big companies have a fixed salary for each level and there will not be a room for much negotiation.

However, if you are required to spell out a figure, offer a range rather than an exact figure. For example you can say something like: I expect something around mid twenties.

The purpose here again is to see your reaction in such situations. They do not expect you to do anything heroic. You can say something like: “First of all I’ll ensure my safety and immediately inform the fire department of the company and city to come to help. If I am in a position to help some people, I’ll definitely do that.”

Even the employer may not know the answer to such questions. The purpose of asking them is to see your reaction when you are asked unexpected things. To deal with such a question, you can start thinking aloud in a logical way and offer an answer.

This demonstrates your logical abilities.