SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS :
1) Tell us something about your self or narrate your CV.
Objective:These
questions are most significant in an interview. These questions are
posed right at the beginning of the interview and act as ice breakers.
Among all questions put in the interview, these questions require the
longest answer. The answer sets the stage for further questions, rather
sets the agenda for the interview. Hence a smart interviewee will
tactfully give a slant through his answer so as to steer the interview
to a favorable direction.
The answer should be scripted before hand and practiced at home.
Your answer should be customized according to the situation.
Why this question?
The interviewer want to check your
communication skills, confidence, self-view, recall, sequencing, choice
of words, attitudes and your emotional mood. hence this question
deserves a very structured and accurate treatment. Each word should be
properly weighed and delivered with the right intonation(pitch) and
modulation of voice. The order of information should be either logical
or chronological or a proper mix of both.
Suggested guidelines:
- Build your answer on four points, without repetition, in a logical, a sequential and chronological manner overplaying your high points.
- family background
- Schooling and academics
- training / article-ship and skills development
- Road map for future
-Try to give a particular flavor to
your answer overplaying your high points of family, education,
schooling, training and article-ship. You have a good opportunity to
mention your strengths. But instead of mentioning your strengths
directly, appreciate your parents, teachers, seniors ans principal by
highlighting their qualities which you learned from them.
-Approximately you should have around 20 sentences of information. Low points of your candidature should be downplayed.
-Try to close your answer at a point where the interviewer is provoked to ask a question on the topic related to your closure point.(i.e you should be the driver of your interview, you should steer it in the direction you want the interviewers to go in) make sure you navigate the direction of your interview. Will giving your introduction, you may be stopped by the interviewer in between, then be prepared to close at a high and a positive note like mentioning your road map for the future. Basically be prepared for all kinds of situations and at all points you should be in control( does not mean that you become domination, it should be done so subtly that the interviewer does not get to know.
-Approximately you should have around 20 sentences of information. Low points of your candidature should be downplayed.
-Try to close your answer at a point where the interviewer is provoked to ask a question on the topic related to your closure point.(i.e you should be the driver of your interview, you should steer it in the direction you want the interviewers to go in) make sure you navigate the direction of your interview. Will giving your introduction, you may be stopped by the interviewer in between, then be prepared to close at a high and a positive note like mentioning your road map for the future. Basically be prepared for all kinds of situations and at all points you should be in control( does not mean that you become domination, it should be done so subtly that the interviewer does not get to know.
Remember it is not what you say that
matters, but How you say matters. You are there to sell yourself, and
make them like you and eventually choose you from the lot.
2) Tell us something that is not given in your CV.
Objective:
This question is different from the
above question. The question is intended to check your articulation,
value system, analytical power and discriminating abilities.
Suggested Guidelines:
- Tell briefly 1 or 2 things you learned from your teachers, seniors and parents.
- Mention the assignments you enjoyed most during your studies / training / article-ship suiting the job profile.
- Tell something related to your hobbies, extracurricular activities or special interests. But the answer should be in conformity to the requirements of the job. Avoid giving any negative traces in your answer like your disliking, failures or events which show you in a negative light.
3) Tell us some joke or a humorous incident from your life.
Objective:
They usually ask this question to check your sense of humor, communication skills, narration and spontaneity.
Suggested Guidelines:
- Do not push or narrate something in an unnatural manner. In case you are comfortable, share the incident. Be careful that you do not lose your dignity. Otherwise politely with a smile, brush off the question by saying, "Sir, many amusing things happen but I cannot recall anything right now".
- It will be desirable to avoid the answer to this question politely and smilingly because even if you have a good sense of humor, interview is not the right platform to narrate a joke. In all likelihood you will not be able to present the joke and after the poor narration your confidence will dip down.
4) How was your experience at the last job?
Objective:
The purpose of this question is to check your relationship and attitude with others. What in specific de-motivated you?
Suggested guidelines:
Never speak anything negative or derogatory for your past employers or past superiors.
5)Tell us 3 news of today.
Objective:
This question is asked to check your general / current awareness, communication skills, narration and spontaneity.
Suggested Guidelines:
- Make sure that you have a good glance on the today's newspaper. briefly narrate all three, otherwise one or two will also do. the kind of news you read first gives an idea about your lickings and your personality orientation.
- Try to cover the current issue, political, sports, and business news thus giving the impression of a balanced person.
- Avoid giving frivolous, provocative and disgusting happenings in the society.
6)Where do you see yourself after 5 / 10 years?
7)Why do you want to work in the banking industry?
8) What is more important to you, money or work or family?
9) What drives you in life?
10) What are your career goals?
Answers to questions 6-9
Objective:
The aim of such questions is to take
out your focus, vision, motivation, objectivity and desires for the
future. A person who has no focus for himself will not be able to create
a focus for the organization. Today the ability to foresee your own
future and the forecast for the organization is considered to be a skill
of high order.
Suggested guidelines:
Question number 6 is an extremely
relevant question in the interview. The interviewer wants to find out
whether you have a road map for your future or not. the answer will
reveal that whether your personal goals are in alignment( in sync) with
the organizational objectives.
Your answer should comprise the following steps:
STEP 1:
Looking forward to a position of
responsibility in the functional area of banking / audit / accounts / HR
etc, and prove my credential as a professional.
STEP 2:
My contribution to the organizational objective should increase year after year.
STEP 3:
I look forward to lead larger teams which are multi functional, multi business and multi-location.( As per your comfort)
STEP 4:
I look forward for a greater responsibility and accountability of key result areas and resources.
STEP 5:
I look forward to a participation in strategic planning and decision making of the organization.
These 6 steps
should be remembered and customizes by each participant and can be
appropriately used in copy / paste manner for various question /
occasions.
Suggested Guidelines for question 6:
State only step number 1 and any other from step no. 2-6.
Step number 1 & 2: Short term goals
Step number 3 & 4: medium term goals
Step number 5 & 6: Long term goals
Suggested guidelines for question 7:
7)Why do you want to work in the banking industry?
State step number 1, add further
with an optimistic tone and emotion that you see a good future of the
banking industry or organization and your role as a significant
contributer, hence you seea long term relationship with the
organization.
Suggested guidelines for question 8:
8) What is more important to you, money or work or family?
Discussion:
- In such questions never take an extreme stand, you cannot justify. taking a position in favor of one will put you into trouble, hence take a conciliatory / balanced view.
- Money and work will go together. Without good work one cannot make good money. your preference has to be work first and money second as you feel that a good work always attracts more money while more money with less work is neither in your interest nor in the interest of your employer.
- Family and career are complimentary to each other. you need a good family to support you in your career and you need a good career to have a happy family.
Suggested guidelines for question 9:
9) What drives you in life?
DISCUSSION:
- A professional organization will prefer a self driven employee. An externally driven employee only performs in response to carrots and sticks offered by the organization.
- Hence your driving force should be internal like achieving higher standards for understanding the growing and changing needs of the organization and result orientation.
- Use step number 2 with suitable expansion and modification, say that you need to understand the growing and changing needs of your organization and keep contribution to the organizational objective as you consider your growth to be a part of organizational growth.
Suggested guidelines for question 10:
10) What are your career goals?
Step number 5 & 6 are useful with suitable expansion. Emphasize the
team playing at the top. Do not insist that you are keen to become the
CEO / CFO. This is a common mistake made by many.
Make sure you use these points to make
your own answers, and not use them exactly. they should be modified to
suit your personality.
TAKE TIME TO DELIBERATE,
BUT WHEN THE TIME FOR ACTION HAS ARRIVED,
STOP THINKING AND ACT!
Good luck
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