JOB SEEKERS POINT..

Here are some excerpts from the book
“How to Answer The 64 toughest Interview Questions”
along with some other tips



Question:
Tell me about yourself.
TRAPS: Beware, about 80% of all interviews begin with this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters.


BEST ANSWER: Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position.
Remember that the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for.


Do all the homework you can before the interview to uncover this person's wants and needs After uncovering what the employer is looking for, describe why the needs of this job bear striking parallels to tasks you've succeeded at before. Be sure to illustrate with specific examples of your responsibilities and especially your achievements, all of which are geared to present yourself as a perfect match for the needs he has just described.



Question :
What are your greatest strengths?


TRAPS: You don't want to come across as egotistical or arrogant. Neither is this a time to be humble.


Prior to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive achievements.


You should, have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed to memory that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake at 2:30AM.


As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:


1.A proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up with the employer's greatest wants and needs.


2.Intelligence...management "savvy".


3.Honesty...integrity...a decent human being.


4.Good fit with corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team player who meshes well with interviewer's team.


5.Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor.


6.Good communication skills.


7.Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.


8.Definiteness of purpose...clear goals.9.Enthusiasm...high level of motivation.


10.Confident...healthy...a leader.


Question : What are your greatest weaknesses?


TRAPS: Beware - this is an eliminator question, designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a weakness or fault will earn you an “A” for honesty, but an “F” for the interview.


PASSABLE ANSWER: Disguise a strength as a weakness.


Example: “I sometimes push my people too hard. I like to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same wavelength.”


Drawback: This strategy is better than admitting a flaw, but it's so widely used, it is transparent to any experienced interviewer.


BEST ANSWER: (and another reason it's so important to get a thorough description of your interviewer's needs before you answer questions): Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest qualifications.


Example: “Nobody's perfect, but based on what you've told me about this position, I believe I' d make an outstanding match. I know that when I hire people, I look for two things most of all. Do they have the qualifications to do the job well, and the motivation to do it well? Everything in my background shows I have both the qualifications and a strong desire to achieve excellence in whatever I take on. So I can say in all honesty that I see nothing that would cause you even a small concern about my ability or my strong desire to perform this job with excellence.”


Alternate strategy (if you don't yet know enough about the position to talk about such a perfect fit): Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like least, making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not essential.


Example: Let's say you're applying for a teaching position. “If given a choice, I like to spend as much time as possible in front of my prospects selling, as opposed to shuffling paperwork back at the office. Of course, I long ago learned the importance of filing paperwork properly, and I do it conscientiously. But what I really love to do is sell (if your interviewer were a sales manager, this should be music to his ears.)


BEST ANSWER: (and another reason it's so important to get a thorough description of your interviewer's needs before you answer questions): Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest qualifications.


Question The “Silent Treatment”
TRAPS: Beware – if you are unprepared for this question, you will probably not handle it right and possibly blow the interview. Thank goodness most interviewers don’t employ it. It’s normally used by those determined to see how you respond under stress. Here’s how it works:


You answer an interviewer’s question and then, instead of asking another, he just stares at you in a deafening silence.


You wait, growing a bit uneasy, and there he sits, silent as Mt. Rushmore, as if he doesn’t believe what you’ve just said, or perhaps making you feel that you’ve unwittingly violated some cardinal rule of interview etiquette.


When you get this silent treatment after answering a particularly difficult question , such as “tell me about your weaknesses”, its intimidating effect can be most disquieting, even to polished job hunters. Most unprepared candidates rush in to fill the void of silence, viewing prolonged, uncomfortable silences as an invitation to clear up the previous answer which has obviously caused some problem. And that’s what they do – ramble on, sputtering more and more information, sometimes irrelevant and often damaging, because they are suddenly playing the role of someone who’s goofed and is now trying to recoup. But since the candidate doesn’t know where or how he goofed, he just keeps talking, showing how flustered and confused he is by the interviewer’s unmovable silence.


BEST ANSWER: Like a primitive tribal mask, the Silent Treatment loses all it power to frighten you once you refuse to be intimidated. If your interviewer pulls it, keep quiet yourself for a while and then ask, with sincere politeness and not a trace of sarcasm, “Is there anything else I can fill in on that point?” That’s all there is to it. Whatever you do, don’t let the Silent Treatment intimidate you into talking a blue streak, because you could easily talk yourself out of the position.


Question Why should I hire you?
TRAPS: Believe it or not, this is a killer question because so many candidates are unprepared for it. If you stammer or adlib you’ve blown it.


BEST ANSWER: By now you can see how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the employer’s needs before you answer questions. If you know the employer’s greatest needs and desires, this question will give you a big leg up over other candidates because you will give him better reasons for hiring you than anyone else is likely to…reasons tied directly to his needs.

Whether your interviewer asks you this question explicitly or not, this is the most important question of your interview because he must answer this question favorably in is own mind before you will be hired. So help him out! Walk through each of the position’s requirements as you understand them, and follow each with a reason why you meet that requirement so well.


Question Where do you see yourself five years from now?


TRAPS: One reason interviewers ask this question is to see if you’re settling for this position, using it merely as a stopover until something better comes along. Or they could be trying to gauge your level of ambition.


If you’re too specific, i.e., naming the promotions you someday hope to win, you’ll sound presumptuous. If you’re too vague, you’ll seem rudderless.


BEST ANSWER: Reassure your interviewer that you’re looking to make a long-term commitment…that this position entails exactly what you’re looking to do and what you do extremely well. As for your future, you believe that if you perform each job at hand with excellence, future opportunities will take care of themselves. Example: “I am definitely interested in making a long-term commitment to my next position. Judging by what you’ve told me about this position, it’s exactly what I’m looking for and what I am very well qualified to do. In terms of my future career path, I’m confident that if I do my work with excellence, opportunities will inevitable open up for me. It’s always been that way in my career, and I’m confident I’ll have similar opportunities here.”


Question Would you lie for the company?
TRAPS: This another question that pits two values against one another, in this case loyalty against integrity.


BEST ANSWER: Try to avoid choosing between two values, giving a positive statement which covers all bases instead.


Example: “I would never do anything to hurt the company..”
If aggressively pressed to choose between two competing values, always choose personal integrity. It is the most prized of all values.


Question What would you say to your boss if he’s crazy about an idea, but you think it stinks?


TRAPS: This is another question that pits two values, in this case loyalty and honesty, against one another.


BEST ANSWER: Remember the rule stated earlier: In any conflict between values, always choose integrity.


Example: I believe that when evaluating anything, it’s important to emphasize the positive. What do I like about this idea?”


“Then, if you have reservations, I certainly want to point them out, as specifically, objectively and factually as I can.”


“After all, the most important thing I owe my boss is honesty. If he can’t count on me for that, then everything else I may do or say could be questionable in his eyes.”


// Last year an interviewer asked “If you come to know that your Boss steals pens from office what will you do?”


Question The “Hypothetical Problem”


TRAPS: Sometimes an interviewer will describe a difficult situation and ask, “How would you handle this?” Since it is virtually impossible to have all the facts in front of you from such a short presentation, don’t fall into the trap of trying to solve this problem and giving your verdict on the spot. It will make your decision-making process seem woefully inadequate.


BEST ANSWER: Instead, describe the rational, methodical process you would follow in analyzing this problem, who you would consult with, generating possible solutions, choosing the best course of action, and monitoring the results. Remember, in all such, “What would you do?” questions, always describe your process or working methods, and you’ll never go wrong.


Points to remember 1.Research as much as you can about the company - products, services, markets, competitors, trends, current activities, priorities. Prepare your answers for the type of questions you'll be asked, especially, be able to say why you want the job, what your strengths are, how you'd do the job, what your best achievements are.


2.Everyone is nervous on interviews. If you simply allow yourself to feel nervous, you'll do much better. Remember also that it's difficult for the interviewer as well.


3.In general, be upbeat and positive. Never be negative.


4.Rehearse your answers and time them. Never talk for more than 2 minutes straight.


5.Don't try to memorize answers word for word. Use the answers shown here as a guide only, and don't be afraid to include your own thoughts and words. To help you remember key concepts, jot down and review a few key words for each answer. Rehearse your answers frequently, and they will come to you naturally in interviews.


6.Find out what people want, than show them how you can help them get it.


7.Think before you answer. A pause to collect your thoughts is a hallmark of a thoughtful person.


8.Prepare good questions to ask at the interview. Related to the above, request a copy of the company's employment terms and conditions or employee handbook before the interview, in order to save time covering routine matters during the interview.


9.Assemble hard evidence (make sure it's clear and concise) of how what you've achieved in the past - proof will put you ahead of those who merely talk about it.


10.Make sure your resume/cv is up to date, looking very good and even if already supplied to the interviewer take three with you (one for the interviewer, one for you and a spare in case the interviewer brings a colleague in to the meeting).


11.Get hold of the following material and read it, and remember the relevant issues, and ask questions about the areas that relate to the organisation and the role. Obtain and research: the company's sales brochures and literature, a trade magazine covering the company's market sector, and a serious newspaper for the few days before the interview so you're informed about world and national news. Also worth getting hold of: company 'in-house' magazines or newsletters, competitor leaflets, local or national newspaper articles featuring the company.


12.Review your personal goals and be able to speak openly and honestly about them and how you plan to achieve them.


13.Get into an enthusiastic, alert, positive mind-set.


14.If asked to solve a puzzle in the interview, it is more important to show that you have a correct approach to solving the problem than to give the correct result. Hence even if you know the answer to the puzzle, show how you arrived at the answer and in case you are unable to solve the puzzle ensure that you follow a logical approach to solving it.


15.Think about what to wear.


Basically what they look for in Infosys interview is your confidence, your communication skills, your presentation, your presence of mind, and your approach in solving puzzles.... they also look for team management skills... i.e. how would u cope with a problem in a team, how would u react to a particular crisis or unhappy result in the team, how would u behave in a team..... etc...



Some questions that have been asked in Infosys

1. You so look different in photo than in person, Why?
2. Just leave this resume. Tell us something personally about urself.
3. Tell me five plus points of ur city.
4. When did u decide that u wud eventually become an engineer.
5. Tell us something abt ur project/training?
6. What makes u different from other candidates applying for this job.
7. What are real time pratical applications of this project/training?
8. Have u ever been a part of a team.
9. Y did u leave hostel after ur first year.
10. How do define the word success.
11. Why should Infosys take you?
12. Can u plant 4 trees equidistant from each other in a piece of land ?
13. A Car travels 5m/hr from A to B and 10m/hr from B to A find average speed.
14. U find a piece of torn paper on the road and u pick it up and find
just four lines without no date or information. After reading the 4
lines u get interested in the article and want to read the whole
matter. How will you find it out?
15. In all these days what did you learn related to software?
16. How did u enjoy ur college life?
17. Any extra curricular activities?
18. Any other field other than software and multimedia that interests you?
19. U have been living in north India since ur childhood,wud u be hesitating in moving towards south.
20. What if u r required to work and stay in America for 2 continuous years.
21. What about working in Mysore?
22. How was ur day?
23. What did u have for lunch?
24. Something abt ur family background?
25. How did u maintained such consistency in ur academics?
26. Y has ur academic graph gone consistently downwards?
27. Speak on “joker” for two minutes?
28. Ask any one question to me?
29. What r ur hobbies?
30. U said u like stamp collection, which is the most expensive u have?
31. u said u like listening to music, who is ur favorite and y?
32. What was the headlines of todays newspaper?
33. What is ur opinion regarding Ganguly controversy?
34. How wud u suggest a solution for POK problem?
35. How wud u define a “leader”?
36. Y u want to join infosys?
37. If I select u and before ur joining u get another offer with higher salary, what wud u do?
38. Give a situation where u can work as a team, and what wud be ur role in that team?
39. What is ur role in your project?
40. What does ur father do?
41. What kind of man is he?
42. Give me five uses of pen other then writing?
43. five uses of shirt other then wearing?
44. ten uses of mobile phone other then calling?
45. What is the name of femina miss India universe 2007?
46. Which is ur favorite soccer club?
47. What is ur biggest weakness and biggest strength?
48. Which one word comes to ur mind when I say “George Bush”?
49. How adjustable r u, give an instance where u had shown ur adjustability?
50. What wud u do if u r caught in a scuffle with ur senior?