Common Interview Questions

Most people say "Yes" and do not add more to it. Use this opportunity to market yourself and express interests and activities that are aligned with job role you are applying.

Why Are You Looking For A New Job?

Purpose - This question is asked to get some insights into your personality and your relationship with your last job, colleagues and employer. So you should be careful while answering this question.

1. Never bad-mouth your former employers.
Why? It is very simple as the interviewer will envision that you will bad-mouth them when you decide to leave, and nobody wants bad rumors about themselves or their company.

2. Never bad-mouth your previous co-workers.
Why? This world is too small, your co-workers could be a friend, relative of the interviewer.

3. Never bad-mouth about the responsibilities and tasks you performed at your previous job.
Why? Thinking that the new employer would give you great responsibilities and tasks and if you give a hate speech on the previous job responsibilities and activities and to your surprise if your interviewer is thinking about similar tasks for this position, you have already given a reason to quit the new job which you have not yet got. So guess, the chances of you getting the job is Nil.

Keep the answer short and try not to disclose too much. A straight answer is best and as stated above avoid negative statements about yourself, your work, or your ability to get along with others.

E.g.
My organization was forced to downsize.

Our department was eliminated due to corporate restructuring.

I am looking for a bigger challenge and to grow my career.

I am relocating to this area due to family ( Marriage, Kids Education etc...)

I received degree and want to utilize my new skills in this new position.

I am interested in a job with more responsibility and challenges.

I am seeking a position with a stable company with room for growth and opportunity for advancement.

In most cases, the best answer to this question is answering yes. Working well under pressure is a good trait to have. However, I think if you answer that you work the same with pressure and without pressure, the interviewer will be more impressed. However, you will need to explain in words why this is better. Here are some of my answers.

1. "I work well under pressure because I use the pressure to help me work more efficiently."

2. "I enjoy working under pressure because I believe it helps me grow. In my previous experience, I always worked well during deadlines, and I always learned how to work more efficiently afterwards."

3. "I work well under pressure because I don't panic. I maintain self control and work as efficiently as possible. In all my experiences, I did well and I always enjoyed the experience."

One of the interview questions you may be asked is what you are looking for in your next job. The interview wants to know whether your goals are a match for the companies needs.

You can begin your answer with this question: Tell me, Mr./Ms. Interviewer, what is a typical career path at OPL for someone with my skills and experience?

(Based on the answer you can then respond to the original question using the phrases from the answer to frame your response).

What is important to you? Two things are very important to me. One is my professionalism at work; the second is my family life.

Motivation means to arouse your hidden qualities and use them against something to overcome. As only motivation makes you successful in life, Without motivation one is like without any goal in life. Motivation is the only factor that could even make an adrift person to become successful.

When I was working on a software employment team at XYZ Company, we took over one more company and had to turn many clients to a new product in a short period of time. It took a lot of planning, hard work, time and effort, but we were able to finish the project in a timely manner.

Why they ask this and what they are looking for:

This question "What areas would you like to further develop professionally?" will uncover whether you are interested and knowledgeable about your own development and as such will can be a cloaked attempt to discover your weaknesses.

A common target of the question is to discover how motivated you are to extend yourself. If you are motivated to learn, then you are probably more motivated to do the job well.

How to answer this:

First show that you are concerned and active about your own development. You can indicate how development has worked for your in the past.

You're right, continued learning and development is important and I continue to work to improve key skills.

Do answer the question, of course, but do not show gaping holes in your skill set and especially those in key areas required in the job. A good trick is to talk about developing your skills in new areas that will be of future benefit to the company.

For example : I am in programming now and love the work, but one day I would like to develop into a management role.

Hope this helps you..!

Sometimes it's best to talk about short-term and intermediate goals rather than locking yourself into the distant future. For example, "My immediate goal is to get a job in a growth-oriented company. My long-term goal will depend on where the company goes. I hope to eventually grow into a position of responsibility."