Questions asked in HR Interview / PersonaI Interview

A list of all possible HR nterview Questions can be found in this article. t is very important we
prepare to answer these HR round related interview questions.
TeII me something about yourseIf?
This is the most common and very first question usually asked in any interview. When you answer this
question you usually have to tell about the following:
O ducationaI QuaIifications: When you talk about educational qualifications, don't talk about
percentages unless they are very good. f you have made any achievements like topping college
academics or secured a gold medal make sure you tell about it.
O amiIy Background: Do not spend too much of time here. Let the interviewer know your father's
and mother's profession and how many siblings you have.
O Hobbies/Interests: This is very important section and be prepared for follow up questions. f you
say my hobby is reading books. nterviewer might ask a follow-up question like, what type of books
you usually read. f you say read fiction books. The interviewer might ask you, Who is your favourite
author.

So be very careful when you are making up hobbies. t is better if your hobbies add value for the type
of job you are doing. For example if you are going for a software engineer interview, you can say
browsing internet as one of the hobby. f a software engineer has good browsing skills he might find
solutions online quickly and solve the problem at hand in less time. When you say browsing as one of
your hobby, be prepared for the follow up interview questions like, What do you usually browse on the
internet? What is your favourite website? Who is your favourite technical article writer?
O $trengths: Tell interviewer about your strengths with example. Examples of strengths are listed
below. Make sure you back up each strength with an example from your past experience.
O Hard Working in nature.
O Dedication.
O Commitment.
O Good Team player.
O Communication Skills
O Problem solving skills
O Taking nitiatives
O Beging Pro-active
O Design Skills
O eakness: When ever you say you have a weakness, make sure you also have a plan and
working on it to over come your weakness.
O Too invloved : Some times when there is a technical issue or a problem tend to work
continuously until fix it without having a break. But what have noticed and am trying to
practice is that taking a break away from the problem and thinking outside the square or
taking suggestions will assist you in identifying the root cause of the problem sooner.
O ver confident : Very rarely become over confident, especially when a simple task is given,
get to solving the issue without spending much time planning. So am working on applying
the 80/20 principle of planning and implementation. Spend 80% of my effort and time in
planning and 20% on implementation.
hy shouId we hire you?
This is another common question asked in your interview. This question deals with your ability to
market yourself with the experience and skills you have.
The interviewer is asking this question to find out how can your skills and experience be a value add
for the job you are being interviewed for.

nswers that wouId get the interviewer's attention:
O have three years of experience in this technology and my skills enables me to develop better
products in less time
O have what it takes to fill the requirements of this job - solve customer problems using my
excellent customer service skills.
O have the experience and expertise in the area of customer support that is required in this
position.
This is a time to let the interviewer know what YOU can do for them and why they should listen to
what you have to offer. The more detail you give the stronger your answer will be. This is not a time to
talk about what you want. t is a time to summarize your accomplishments and relate what makes you
unique and therefore a viable fit for this position.

Look at the job description. Find out requirements of the job? Make a list of these requirements. List
your skills and think of two or three key qualities you have to offer that match each requirement that
the employer is seeking.

ther ways of asking the same question:
O What can you bring to this position?
O What can you bring to the table if selected?
O Why do you think you are qualified for this job?
hy are you Iooking for a change?
Don't talk bad about your current organisation, Manager or your co-staff.

What ever may be the reason why you left your present job, don't speak badly about your previous
employer. The interviewer may think, you will you will talk bad about his company next time you're
looking for another job.

Reasons why you might have Ieft your job:
O They didn't pay you enough.
O Odd shift timings.
O You did not like the management.
O This new job offer pays much more than what you are getting now.
O You are fired for poor performance or bad code of conduct.
nswers that couId get interviewer the attention:
O My organisation is very small and have already spent 3 years and as there is no scope for
growth with my current employer and 'm ready to move on to a new challenge.
O 'm looking for a bigger challenge and to grow my career and couldn't job hunt part time
while working. t didn't seem ethical to use my former employer's time.
O 'm relocating to this area due to family circumstances and left my previous position in order to
make the move.
O am interested in a new challenge and an opportunity to use my technical skills and
experience in a different capacity than have in the past.
O was looking for a position like this which is an excellent match for my skills and experience
and am not able to fully utilize them in my present job as there is very limited scope for
growth.
ther ways of asking the same question:
O Why are you leaving your job?
O Why did you leave your job?
O What made you leave your current job?
O
hat do you Iike/disIike most about your current or Iast position?
The interviewer is trying to find the compatibility between you and the open position you are being
interviewed for.

$o do not say anything Iike:
O You dislike overtime.
O You dislike management.
O You dislike your immediate manager or co-workers.
O You dislike deadlines.
It is safe to say:
O You like challenges.
O Opportunity to grow into design, architecture, performance tuning etc
O Opportunity to learn and/or mentor junior developers
O You dislike frustrating situations like identifying a memory leak problem or a complex
transactional or a concurrency issue. You want to get on top of it as soon as possible.
How do you handIe pressure?
Another common interview question, asked to find out how well you can handle on-the-job stress.

$o do not say anything Iike:
O dislike stress and cannot perform well under pressure. All organisations work with deadlines
and at times there will be a crucial need to work under pressure. This is the reason why most
interviewer's ask this question.
It is safe to say:
O First, understand why there is a need to complete the given task at hand with in so less time
and react to situations, rather than to stress. That way, the situation is handled and doesn't
become stressful.
O actually work better under pressure and 've found that enjoy working in a challenging
environment.
O Prioritizing my responsibilities so have a clear idea of what needs to be done when, has
helped me effectively manage pressure on the job.
O f the people am managing are contributing to my stress level, discuss options for better
handling difficult situations with them.
hat are your career goaIs? or here do you see yourseIf in 3-5 years?
When you answer this question make sure you give realistic answers. For example a person with 1
year of experience cannot say would see myself as a Project Manager in the next 3 years.

Every organisation has a career path and we have to spend the required time at each level, learn the
stuff what it takes to get it to the next level and move on. Hence set your expectations reaIistic.
O Next 2-3 years to become a senior developer.
O Next 3-5 years to become a team lead.
Also, let the interviewer know that in terms of my future career path, you are confident that if you do
your work with excellence, opportunities will come your way and you will be able to achieve your
career goals.
How did you handIe your most chaIIenging experience in your previous job?
Think of a stressful thing that happened at your last job. Then write a short description of what it was
and what you did. Did you work to resolve the problem? Did you remove yourself from the problem
and let other handle it? Stuff like that. Just a short explanation of what happened.

This is more related to problem solving., first, think of a problem you had in you work and what is the
action/ solution you have taken to resolve. t is always better to explain the point in logical order with a
good example.

hen answering a question Iike this, you shouId aIways try and remember two things:
O use an example.
O use the word 'teamwork'.
Employers want to know how you handle stress, how you worked through that problem, and if you're
a team player.

f you are a fresher with no work experience or does not have any challenging experience, talk to your
seniors or people who has experience. They may give you some examples.