New Freshers HR Interview Preparation Guide

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The purpose of this question is to see if the candidate is ambitious enough to grow. Recruiting a candidate is a time consuming and costly affair so they also want to see if the candidate is over ambitious to stay in the company for long.

You can say something like “5 years down the line I would like to see myself in a responsible position where I can make important decisions for company and the company treats me as its asset. I am sure that this company can offer me such growth opportunities.

The purpose of this question is to see if other companies are also interested in hiring you. If you are in discussion with some other companies you can say, Yes, I am in discussion with some other companies and waiting for the results.

This can be the very obvious next question you may face. If you are not comfortable in revealing the names of the companies you can simply say, “I respect the confidentiality of those companies so I would not like to name them in the interview.”

This question will usually arise if it has been sometime since you finished your studies and are still in the market without a job.

You can say that, I have been offered some tempting positions in the last few days but had to turn them down as I did not find them right for my candidature. You can follow it up with some examples.

This is a dummy question to re-check your answer

Any job you take up will have an element of redundancy and the interviewer wants to see if you get bored of it. You can say something like: I like to do creative work but I also know that any job has an element of redundancy. So, it is fine with me.

Most of the work these days requires you to work in teams. This needs you to be able to adjust with all type of people. So, you can say something like, I am fine with working all type of people as long as they are sincere to their work.

Your answer to this question signifies whether you can identify problems with yourself or not. So, you can say something like: “If I see a problem with my own performance, I’ll try to find out and analyse the factors behind it & work on each of them.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

• 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 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

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 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.”

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 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.

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.