Placement Interview Part 2: How To Answer Commonly Asked Questions

"Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?" 

In times like these, it is hard to answer a question like that. But if you have read the first post in the placement interview series, you've probably worked on your resume, understood the importance of cover letters and written an essay on yourself. Today, we’ll put that essay to good use and your efforts in writing it will finally pay off. 

Before we start looking at the common asked questions and seek answers to them, I need you to step out of the candidate mode again - like I asked you to the last time. For a moment, let’s ponder over what is the actual purpose of all the questions in an interview? And why do the same suspects keep coming back? An interview is an opportunity for the interviewer to know you - to understand your eligibility, your aptitude and attitude for the job. And that involves asking about you, your hobbies, your passions and your plans for the foreseeable future. 

Think of it as a conversation and not an interrogation masked as an interview

That'll help you relax and be natural in your responses. 

Coming back to the essay you wrote about yourself - all the answers that you need are hidden in it (provided you did a thorough job of it) You can cull out your answers from that essay. And since those are not responses to questions but a flowing account of your life, they won’t sound as standard parroted responses. One more thing to keep in mind - your resume. You and your answers need to live up to potential of your resume. The conversation might cover your projects, extra curricular activities etc and you need to be able to talk about all of it. 

So let's look at the most expected questions in a placement interview

Tell me something about yourself?

Preparing the response to this question well will ensure that you get a confident start to your interview. 

What to say and where to draw the line is one of the conundrums this question poses. Don’t hurl everything about yourself here - hobbies, strengths, career goals. Leave something for subsequent answers. For starters, don’t say the first thing that comes to mind. That is the most cliche thing we say about ourselves. Think of the professional image you want to create through this answer. Bring in some interesting elements from your resume, if you wish. This can also be the lead for the next question. In any case, never repeat things that are already on your resume. Add to them. 

Pro Tip: Ensure that your intro starts building your case for the profile you are applying for

What are your strengths? OR What sets you apart? OR What makes you different from the others?

This question is not about boasting or sounding arrogant. It’s about genuinely telling the interviewer what you are good at. 

Look at what you've written about yourself and what your friends have said about you. It is not boastful to talk about what you are good at. Also, if you are confident, enthusiastic with great communication skills, those qualities will come through in the interview in general. I have actually come across people who pause to think and then say, “I am confident”. That’s not how confidence comes across. 

Pro Tip: Think your answer through so that you have a couple of examples to support your strengths

You can also tie in the qualities with your responsibilities in your projects. This way you also cover this information instead of waiting for the interviewer to ask you. For instance, I am a team player and that really helped when I had to work on a group project last semester. I was able to not just contribute but also learn from my peers. We built a great working relationship.

What are your weaknesses? 

Why does the interviewer want to know what you are bad at? 

This question is more about how you answer it rather than what you answer. Mostly! This question seeks to bring out the human side of you. The question tests how well you own up to your weaknesses and how you cope with them. It tests your self-awareness - how well do you know yourself and honesty - don’t lie. 

Most people tend to lose confidence and become apologetic at this question. But I think it is absolutely fine to not be perfect

We are all humans and foibles are a part of being human. 

Refer to your essay to dig out the answer. Let me give you an example. I run my business by myself. And that is a lot of work. But still if someone asks me weakness, I’ll be honest and say that I am lazy. I sometimes tend to slow down and just be even when I have tons of work to do. But that is okay because I am also self-motivated and catch up with my deadlines and there’s no harm done. 

The most important part of this question is how you cope with your weakness. Or how have you overcome it. This shows that you are not just aware of your weaknesses but are also in control of them. 

There are some weaknesses that won’t work. For instance, don’t try to turn a strength into a weakness. When I coached for MBA entrance exams, a couple of students tried to wing it by saying that they could read only a few hundred words per minute and they wish it was more. The interviewer can see through such ruse. The weakness cannot be a quality or a skill related to your job. For instance, if your job is deadline oriented and you say that you aren’t good with deadlines, that could create troubles for you. Unless you have a great answer for how you plan to cope with that. Also, a bad team player, always being late, anger management issues - all such weaknesses can spell doom for you. So pick something that you actually have but doesn’t interfere with your chances of getting a job. 

Why did you apply for this job? OR Why should we hire you?

There must be technical or soft skills that made you think that you were a good fit for the role. Prepare your answer around those skills. You can also bring in some of your strengths and explain to the interviewer how you could be a great asset to the company in this role. 

More importantly, research the company. 

Understand what the role entails, what are the responsibilities and skills that the incumbent is required to have

Merge your skills/qualities with the ones that the job requires. This will help you explain how you fit into the grand scheme of things. 

What if you are changing streams? Suppose you have a lot of technical experience but you are applying for a marketing position. It all boils down to how to explain the shift. Talk about experiences that made you realise what you really enjoy. And how you wouldn’t want an academic degree to decide your entire career for you. Your convincing skills are key here. Bonus points if you’ve researched the company and can talk about what you liked about their recent marketing campaigns. 

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

If you ask me, 5 years is a long time in today's times. We get updates on our phones every other month. Technologies become obsolete every year. And with the unprecedented rate at which the world is changing, we can only guess what the world would be like in the next 5 years.

But despite the volatile nature of world affairs and life in general, this is still a valid question in an interview.

The interviewer needs to see how realistic you are about the future and how your goals align with the goals of the organisation.

Your answer should show that you are somewhat ambitious, have an idea about where you are headed and what kind of growth you are looking at in the company.

Also, I personally feel that it is alright to not have everything chalked out in your life for the next 5 years. If you have a good idea about the general direction of your career, I think that should suffice.

Things not to say: Very specific goals - "I'll be in your chair" (sounds arrogant too) or "I'll be running this place" (again arrogant) or I'll be the head of the department and probably be ready for the next promotion.

Things to say: You can say something like - I am looking forward to working on exciting projects as the manager in your company. I hope to put my college degree to practical use and hopefully grow along with the organisation.

Here are a few more examples to answer where do you see yourself in 5 years from Forbes

Before I end the post, here are a few quick tips to help you with your answers:

• Rehearse your answers
• Don’t sound rehearsed (ironic but true)
• Work on your expressions
• Gestures and body language are important
• Practice mock interviews with friends/family

The first part was on writing effective resume and cover letters.

In the last post of the series, I cover do's and don'ts in a placement interview.

I know some questions are specific to individuals and a general list doesn’t cover them. The last post in this series will be answers to your questions. So go ahead and shoot in the comments below. I shall answer as many as possible! 

(Disclaimer: All the examples and pointers in this article are just for instance. I encourage you to come up with your own answers and not look for cookie cutter responses that you think the interviewer wants to hear)

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