Career

You would hit the ground if you knew exactly what a hiring manager would be asking you in a job interview. While it is almost impossible to know this, we offer you 15 most commonly asked interview questions and the most relevant answers to them.Our recommendation is to spend some time getting comfortable with what you might be asked. We aim to help you demonstrate that you’re the right person for the job.1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?Since this question seems simple many people fail to prepare for it, but it is vital. Here’s the hint: Don’t just give your complete employment or personal history. Tell your brief and compelling story that will show why you’re the right fit for the job. Begin with couple of specific accomplishments or experiences that would most impress the interviewer then finish off talking about how that previous experience has positioned you for this specific job.2. How did you learn about the position?This is another seemingly innocent question. However, it is a great opportunity to stand out and demonstrate your passion for the company. Hint: if you found out about the job through your friend or professional contact, name drop that person. Also tell why you were so excited about it. If you learned about the job through an event or article, share that and explain what made you apply to the role.3. What do you know about the company?Through this question they want to know whether you care about the company. Hint: So start off with one line that shows you understand the company’s goals, embellishing it with a couple of key words and phrases from the website. Don’t literally repeat company mission and statement, try to make it personal. Say, “I personally believe in this approach because…” and then share couple other personal examples.4. Why do you want this job?You need to have a great answer about why you want the position. It’s a must. Here is the hint: Identify a couple of key factors that make the role a great fit for you. Say, “I love negotiations because I adore the constant human interaction and the satisfaction that comes from landing a desired outcome. You can also share why you love the company and say, “I’ve always been passionate about helping communities, and I think your company is doing great things, so I want to be a part of this journey.”5. Why should we hire you?This question offers a great opportunity for you to sell yourself and your skills to the hiring manager. Your job here is to furnish an answer that covers three areas: 1. You can not only do the work, you can deliver great results; 2. You’ll best fit in with the team and culture; 3. You’d be a better hire than any of the other candidates.6. What are your greatest professional strengths?According to interview coaches you need to be accurate, relevant and specific while answering this question. You need to share your true strengths, talk about your strengths that are most related to the particular position, and share specific strengths, such as negotiation skills, relationship building. But make sure following up with examples of how you’ve demonstrated these features in your professional life.7. What do you consider to be your weaknesses?Don’t try to kid an interviewer while responding to this seemingly cliché question. They are trying to understand your self-awareness and honesty. Tell them something that you struggle with but you’re working hard to improve. Say, “I have never been strong at public speaking, but I’m recently volunteered to facilitate meetings to be more comfortable when addressing a crowd.8. Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it.Here your interviewer wants to get a sense of how you will respond to conflict. You can seem nice in a job interview, but what will happen if you’re hired and someone in ethics and compliance team starts getting in your face? You’ll need to focus on how you handled a conflict situation professionally and productively, and telling how you came to a resolution or compromise.9. What’s your dream job?In asking this question the interviewer wants to uncover whether this job is really in line with your ultimate career goals. So it would be better to talk about your goals and ambitions and explain why this job will get you closer to them.10. What are you after in a new position?To better handle this interview question, you will need to tell the same things that this position has to offer. But be specific in your response.11. What type of work environment do you prefer?The ideal answer would be referring to the one that’s similar to the environment of the company you’re applying to. Again be specific.12. Why was there a gap in your employment?If there is a gap in your employment history, be straight in your answer and direct the conversation toward how you will do the job and contribute to the organization. Say, I decided to take a break at the time, but today I’m ready to contribute to this organization in the following ways. Try to suggest specific help referring to the job description.13. What are your salary requirements?If you’ve made it to this question that might mean the company is interested in you. Before answering this question you should be doing your research on what you should be paid by using sites like Glassdoor. We recommend stating the highest number in that range that applies, based on your experience, education, and skills. You’ll also need to make sure the hiring manager knows that you’re flexible. Your position is that you know your skills are valuable, but that you want the job and are willing to negotiate.14. What do you like to do after hours?Here, an interviewer wants to “see if candidates will fit in with the company culture and give them the opportunity to open up and display their personality, as well. Try to keep it semi-professional, so: Telling them you like hanging out with your friends in a local tea-house after playing with them indoor soccer is absolutely fine.15. Do you have any questions for us?You probably already know that an interview is a great platform for candidates to get firsthand information about the employer. However, instead of asking cliché questions like what does the position offer? Or what is the main deliverables of the department, ask questions targeted to the interviewer. For example, say, “what is your favorite part about working here? Or something along these lines, “what can you tell me about your new products or plans for growth?”

Discover the 5 most effective work habits for freshies starting out in the working world.Being new in the working world, I am sure you are eager to show off your newfound skills and knowledge. However, out there in the working world some basic work effective habits can increase your productivity. By being consistently effective at your work increases your chances of success in your career.The 5 effective work habits are:1.Volunteer For AssignmentsOne of the best ways to signal that you are a keen learner and are not afraid of hard work is to volunteer for assignments. Especially assignments that no one seems interested to do.However, before that do assess your own skills and knowledge to see if you can confidently accomplish it. If you are confident in completing the task in full and perfection, go ahead and volunteer for it.However, do remember one thing. Under promise and over deliver on the assignment you volunteered. Do not be too confident that you turn a perfect opportunity into mess. Once you start the project, see it till the end. You would be seen as someone who is courageous enough to take on additional assignments. You would also be seen as someone who follows through in your work. This is the first habit you need to internalize.2. Be Nice To PeopleI am sure we have all heard this often enough. Be nice to people regardless of their rank and designation. It sounds philosophical but when you are nice to people they go out of their way to help you. And being new in an organization you would never know what sort of help you would need. Colleagues often like to work with nice talented people. When you have this effective work habit you increase the chances of people wanting you to work on their team.Being nice to people is just common courtesy. There is nothing extra ordinary about this particular habit that you need special skills. A smile in the morning and a “Good Morning” is a good start. In this day and age, people working in pressurized environments often use stress as an excuse when they blow up. Is this necessary? Nice is often reciprocated by nice. In fact, it can lower your stress level.3. Prioritize Your WorkWe all love to start work on things that are close to our hearts. However, often these may not be the most urgent and important in our list of tasks in the workplace. When you select things you are more interested in rather than work that is more important or urgent, you lower your chances of success.Have a list of things to do according to its strategic importance to your company. Know your role in completing the tasks at hand in order to achieve that corporate goal. When you prioritize your work, you are more productive and that increases your chances of career success.4. Stay PositiveAs someone new in the working world it is very easy to feel down because you are new. You are not used to the work system. You have new people to deal with and people in the working world who behave very differently from school. It takes a lot of getting used to. There will be office politics to deal with regardless of how little.Be above all these and stay positive in the face of challenges. When you are positive you remain focused on your goals. You make better decisions and therefore become more productive.5. Highlight A Problem But Bring SolutionsThe last effective work habit of the five effective work habits is to bring solutions each time you highlight a problem to your boss or management. You need to remember that when you bring problems and not solutions, it is often construed as complaining.To avoid that label, offer solutions. A range of possible solutions also indicates to your boss that you have thought this through before approaching him/her with a problem. Have in mind a recommended solution amongst those you suggested.These are the 5 effective work habits I constantly drill into new employees who are fresh graduates in our company. At first glance, these may seem like common sense. However, in actual working environment people tend to sometimes forget these very basic effective work habits. And don’t practice them often enough. Internalize these and consistently practice them to increase your chances of success.

Quite a few people ask if online CV generators really work.Well, when it comes to job searching, your CV is vital. If you get it right, you will land a job interview very soon. If you get it wrong, be ready to face the unpleasant consequences.There are tons of online CV makers and free resume samples on the net some of which look really cool. However, if you use only the layout and wording offered by an automated CV generator your CV lacks one vital thing – organicness.Organic means, it has the skill(s) that put you ahead of your competitors. It also means, your CV has measurables and quantifiables letting hiring managers see how well you would meet their needs.The executive summary part of your CV is very important too. It needs to tell a story. Your organic, true story.Businesses are always after people who would help them increase their performance. They treat CVs very seriously. This is why, you need to craft a few, genuine lines that would illustrate how much value your achievements have added to the success of your previous experiences.Last but not least, no CV builder suggests what format is best for your case. So you also need to put your resume into an appropriate setup.While most employers prefer the chronological format (summary-experience-education-references), you would get the best out of your CV with functional layout (objective- accomplishments-capabilities-employment-history-education-references) if you are a fresh graduate, have a short career or lengthy breaks in your experience.So, if you want to sell your CV you shouldn’t just rely on online CV builders.