Can some one answer for these general questions?
Hello gurus,
I was reading through this forum and getting a lot of valuable information. I still trying to find the better answers for the below general interview questions.
1. What motivate you?
2. Describe your ideal job.
3. Describe your ideal manager/supervisor.
4. How do you spend your free time?
5. What are your short, medium and long-term goals?
6. How do you react to criticism?
7. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses? (how to answer this question any examples)
8. Why should I hire you?
9. How could you contribute to our organization?
10. What are you proudest of in terms of your accomplishments at your present position or former position? (Any examples)
11. What do you think will be the toughest aspects of the job if you were to accept the position? What will be the most enjoyable aspects? The least enjoyable?
12. What do you think your greatest contribution will be or what aspects of the job or the company do you think you would be able to make your greatest contribution to?
13. If you are selected for this position, how would you deal with the situation of individuals in the company who were competitors for the job for which you are being interviewed and who may feel that they are better qualified? (Some of them may be your subordinates.)
Thanks in advance
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
Very very interesting set of questions... I love to answer such questions in an interview... I gave my answers here that I gave during my interviews... may not be for a similar question... but I tried to relate as much I could.
1. Basically I am a self motivated person as I take each assignment as a challenge and try to complete it accurately in time. Other than this, I get my motivation from success stories of other experts in the industry.
(Have at least 1 example success story in mind)
2. My job is basically to help people analyze the technological differences between our advanced products and other similar products in the market. Helping them in choosing the right product from our vast range of products is another part of my job. Apart from this I also take initiatives in helping them use our products, helping my subordinates and junior colleagues in understanding the kind of problems they may face while dealing with clients. My experience in this business helps me conduct forum sessions to discuss all this with my team.
(This would be an Ideal answer for a Marketing Head)
3. My Ideal manager would be one who gives opportunities on merit. He should have faith in his subordinates when he had chosen one for an assignment. But, if the person is relatively new, he should keep an eye on the job is progress.
4. “Free time!!!” (with a smile on the face)… this phrase brings a wide smile on my face. At home, I spend my free time with my family (with wife/husband/kids if applicable) and if I am alone at home, I watch TV channels like Cartoon, Discovery, NGC etc.
At work, I spend my free time on google, wiki etc.
5. Short term goal would be “to be able to handle the job responsibilities on my own as quickly as possible and contribute towards value additions. Also upgrade my skill sets to prove my ability in handle additional responsibilities.”
Medium term goals would be “attaining a key decision making role to run a project as a higher authority by implementing my own ideas/plans/strategies.”
Long term goals would be “attaining the topmost authority to run a project with all my experiences in the lower levels.”
6. Criticism these days is becoming a part and parcel of life at all carrier streams. But I observed that, the one who has dumped all the criticism, and concentrated on his/her own work has been successful.
(Have few examples in mind)
7. (Well, this differs from person to person)
My greatest strength has to ensure error free work.
I have noticed that, if the job/activity is not documented enough during its progress, it becomes very difficult to discover the cause of errors if any.
And the time taken to detect and correct such errors would be as much as 5 times the time to complete the job plus the time to document it.
Since I started documenting my work, I realized, I have not been in panic during the last stages for any assignment.
8. (This could be a little difficult to answer)
One could say,
I see quite a few reasons why I could be hired for this position. They are as follows; my experiences and qualifications match the requirements, in my previous experiences, I have been handling most of the situations I anticipate here, my ability to analyze the situations and arrive at decisions would be a great help for this role, my ability to quickly learn new technology/methodology would take this project to great heights.
9. Well, here u can copy the last 2 points from the answer to the previous question.
I would quickly learn new technology/methodology to implement in this project and would take this project to great heights.
With all my previous experiences, I would quickly analyze the situations and arrive at effective decisions which would be a great help for this project, considering its timeline complexities.
10. I am very proud about my contributions in the project named “XYZ” for which I also won an award & a recognition certificate personally signed by our head of technology or head of business area etc. I was not only involved in the day to day activities of this project but was part of team discussing the impacts it would create on the business. Also, I was prompt in making the business understand how and why it would be delayed when it did. I got the opportunity to involve in such high level discussions considering my communication levels.
11. (Another difficult question, again it depends on the job)
Things go tough when we are not planned for them in advance. It was tough for on board authorities of Titanic to control the number of people who wished to save themselves with life saver boats. But, the authorities were not prepared for failures, and had no enough life saver boats in the ship.
Issues arise in a project only in large numbers. So, one such tough situation I anticipate in any project is, when timelines are reduced and at the same time resources are moving out. A proper planning from day 1 would help overcome such situations. Coming out successful from one such situation would be the most enjoyable aspect. And not being able to cope-up with it would be the least enjoyable.
12. (To answer this, one needs to know the company policies and the job responsibilities well in advance)
Whatever the greatest strength that was talked about in the answer for Question 7 could be used here again.
My ability to adequately document my work, my ability to learn new technology /methodology, my ability to transfer knowledge effectively would be my greatest contributions.
To the company as a whole from all my experiences, I would like to organize and conduct seminar/forum sessions on best practices, basic principles (on any subject of my knowledge), team building activities, communication development etc
13. First of all, I would understand that, they are the ones who could be approached for any clarifications on the business aspects which may be new to me.
I would work in close interaction with such individuals to learn from the depth of knowledge that they have obtained. I would have 2 advantages in doing this, one for myself and other for them. And of-course, both would be advantageous to the company. The first one is, it would help me in achieving my short term goal faster (see the answer for Question 5 - short term goals). Secondly, I would identify who all really have it in them and who other are faking it. I would involve all the ones who have it in them in the decision making at my level and also recommend my seniors to involve them in the discussions. By then, the ones who are faking it would have understood what they lack.
Thnx :)
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
[QUOTE=sutnarcha;19607]Very very interesting set of questions... I love to answer such questions in an interview... I gave my answers here that I gave during my interviews... may not be for a similar question... but I tried to relate as much I could.
1. Basically I am a self motivated person as I take each assignment as a challenge and try to complete it accurately in time. Other than this, I get my motivation from success stories of other experts in the industry.
(Have at least 1 example success story in mind)
2. My job is basically to help people analyze the technological differences between our advanced products and other similar products in the market. Helping them in choosing the right product from our vast range of products is another part of my job. Apart from this I also take initiatives in helping them use our products, helping my subordinates and junior colleagues in understanding the kind of problems they may face while dealing with clients. My experience in this business helps me conduct forum sessions to discuss all this with my team.
(This would be an Ideal answer for a Marketing Head)
3. My Ideal manager would be one who gives opportunities on merit. He should have faith in his subordinates when he had chosen one for an assignment. But, if the person is relatively new, he should keep an eye on the job is progress.
4. “Free time!!!” (with a smile on the face)… this phrase brings a wide smile on my face. At home, I spend my free time with my family (with wife/husband/kids if applicable) and if I am alone at home, I watch TV channels like Cartoon, Discovery, NGC etc.
At work, I spend my free time on google, wiki etc.
5. Short term goal would be “to be able to handle the job responsibilities on my own as quickly as possible and contribute towards value additions. Also upgrade my skill sets to prove my ability in handle additional responsibilities.”
Medium term goals would be “attaining a key decision making role to run a project as a higher authority by implementing my own ideas/plans/strategies.”
Long term goals would be “attaining the topmost authority to run a project with all my experiences in the lower levels.”
6. Criticism these days is becoming a part and parcel of life at all carrier streams. But I observed that, the one who has dumped all the criticism, and concentrated on his/her own work has been successful.
(Have few examples in mind)
7. (Well, this differs from person to person)
My greatest strength has to ensure error free work.
I have noticed that, if the job/activity is not documented enough during its progress, it becomes very difficult to discover the cause of errors if any.
And the time taken to detect and correct such errors would be as much as 5 times the time to complete the job plus the time to document it.
Since I started documenting my work, I realized, I have not been in panic during the last stages for any assignment.
8. (This could be a little difficult to answer)
One could say,
I see quite a few reasons why I could be hired for this position. They are as follows; my experiences and qualifications match the requirements, in my previous experiences, I have been handling most of the situations I anticipate here, my ability to analyze the situations and arrive at decisions would be a great help for this role, my ability to quickly learn new technology/methodology would take this project to great heights.
9. Well, here u can copy the last 2 points from the answer to the previous question.
I would quickly learn new technology/methodology to implement in this project and would take this project to great heights.
With all my previous experiences, I would quickly analyze the situations and arrive at effective decisions which would be a great help for this project, considering its timeline complexities.
10. I am very proud about my contributions in the project named “XYZ” for which I also won an award & a recognition certificate personally signed by our head of technology or head of business area etc. I was not only involved in the day to day activities of this project but was part of team discussing the impacts it would create on the business. Also, I was prompt in making the business understand how and why it would be delayed when it did. I got the opportunity to involve in such high level discussions considering my communication levels.
11. (Another difficult question, again it depends on the job)
Things go tough when we are not planned for them in advance. It was tough for on board authorities of Titanic to control the number of people who wished to save themselves with life saver boats. But, the authorities were not prepared for failures, and had no enough life saver boats in the ship.
Issues arise in a project only in large numbers. So, one such tough situation I anticipate in any project is, when timelines are reduced and at the same time resources are moving out. A proper planning from day 1 would help overcome such situations. Coming out successful from one such situation would be the most enjoyable aspect. And not being able to cope-up with it would be the least enjoyable.
12. (To answer this, one needs to know the company policies and the job responsibilities well in advance)
Whatever the greatest strength that was talked about in the answer for Question 7 could be used here again.
My ability to adequately document my work, my ability to learn new technology /methodology, my ability to transfer knowledge effectively would be my greatest contributions.
To the company as a whole from all my experiences, I would like to organize and conduct seminar/forum sessions on best practices, basic principles (on any subject of my knowledge), team building activities, communication development etc
13. First of all, I would understand that, they are the ones who could be approached for any clarifications on the business aspects which may be new to me.
I would work in close interaction with such individuals to learn from the depth of knowledge that they have obtained. I would have 2 advantages in doing this, one for myself and other for them. And of-course, both would be advantageous to the company. The first one is, it would help me in achieving my short term goal faster (see the answer for Question 5 - short term goals). Secondly, I would identify who all really have it in them and who other are faking it. I would involve all the ones who have it in them in the decision making at my level and also recommend my seniors to involve them in the discussions. By then, the ones who are faking it would have understood what they lack.
Thnx :)[/QUOTE]
Hi sutnarcha,
All the answers given by you were really fantastic.
Why it is very hard to find your posts for the past two months... We are expecting good posts from your side..
Regards,
Ganesan
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
Your 13 questions are actually pretty common in the workplace...in fact, if you do a search on any search engine you will find 'general answers' to how to tackle them. However, I would caution you that there is no 'right' answer -- these questions are attempting to gauge your style, your character, your expectations, your perception, etc and determine if you're a good fit in the organization. Like I've said in a prior post, this is about you and how you react to different situations in addition to what I mentioned above. So, you want to be truthful and stress your strong points, do NOT mention your weak areas or any questionable skills. You also want to ask similar questions back to the interviewer, because in essence you are interviewing the company to see if they match with your modus operandi, and determine if you really like working in that environment.
Afterall, you don't want to 'borrow' or 'use' someone else's answers to these questions but rather develop your own. Let us suppose - just for grins, if you do use somebody's 'best answers' to these questions and get the job. Great, right? But lets go on a little further...after a week (or month) your employer finds out you are nothing like what you portrayed yourself to be during the interview. Guess what? You'd probably get the boot quicker than white on rice!
So, is it really worth it? Be yourself mate - landing a job is not your goal. It is getting the right job where both you and your employer mutually benefit!
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
i dont know and i dont care
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
Hi All,
I am feeling good to come back to this thread and read some mixed responses.
sridharrganesan – I am glad that you liked my answers. We are working on 2 of very crucial releases in our asset. We are in the core mid of it since last 3-4 months and this is expected to continue for at least 2 more months. Or, maybe I have to learn to better manage my time. :D
odn64 – Well said. I strongly agree with you. I thought your post in this thread is more encouraging and motivating. Keep up the spirit. :)
amr hassan – I am not clear. What is that you said you don’t know and you don’t care? :confused:
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
You're welcome, Sutnarcha! BTW - it's called constructive criticism! LOL!
However, I'm not convinced about keeping up the spirit.
Have a nice day all.
Re: Can some one answer for these general questions?
this is very good answers, but my dearest Sir i need also to answer my questions,
1.what is your greatest weakness ?
2. how to manage two issue i will give you an example.
you are working with a company , one day you have your wedding all you relative are invited by you they are waiting for you . so you manager call you on that day that dont go to home so how can you manage these two issue. are you leaving your job or leaving your party of wedding .?