Table of Contents

1. Overview

2. What are your strengths?

3. What is/are your weakness(s)?

4. What is the reason for your educational gap?

5. Where do you see yourself in the next few years?

6. Why should we hire you?

Overview

Freshers have a common fear of interviews and believe they are frightening even if they know the answer to a question. They become tense not knowing what to say in response to which interview question, and they stutter or fumble. As a result of this situation, they lose confidence in themselves and they rarely take up opportunities that could have been beneficial to them. 

Interview is not that difficult as you assume it to be. It is simply a matter of basic preparation, so you do not have to be worried. Preparing for and handling interviews is a good learning experience if you do it right. 

Let us go right to the point and see what basic interview questions and responses you should be familiar with while facing interviews.

What are your strengths?

Interviewers primary goal in asking this questions is to see if you have the relevant skills for the job.

The best you can do is choose three or four strengths relevant to that specific profession you have applied for and explain them with examples as needed.

Example Answer: I pay close attention to the smallest details. This allows me to understand the problem better, which helps me decide what my next step should be and how best to address and fix it.

What is/are your weakness(s)?

This is one of the most difficult yet common interview questions. It is a disguised behavior-based question that will give the interviewer insight to assess how your weaknesses might affect the company, your personality, and the types of mistakes you are prone to. It will reveal how you manage weakness and whether you can learn from it. They are also interested in seeing how you have transformed a weakness into a strength or working to improve yourself.

Work on the areas where you need to improve so you don't have to hide anything during the interview. Mention the steps you took to improve your weaknesses. You must approach with caution and respond intelligently.

There are two ways to answer this question. 

1. Identify one weakness and explain how you intend to improve it. 

Example Answer 1

I needed to improve my interpersonal skills. I am usually introverted and find it difficult to socialize with strangers. However, I worked on this by participating in more team-building events.

Example Answer 2 

I feel I was not good at managing my time earlier. I used to procrastinate and spend more time on unnecessary tasks. Now I prioritize tasks and can effectively manage my time to complete the task to the best of my ability. 

2. Identify a weakness that is not relevant to the job you applied for

I could not stop myself from eating ice cream and sweets, which I am trying to limit as much as possible.

3. What is the reason for the educational gap?

Gaps in education are not uncommon. Many students have gaps for various reasons due to unavoidable issues.

It is always preferable to be open and honest about the reasons behind your gap in education. It is, however necessary that you explain how you spent your time throughout the educational gap and how the break/gap has helped you grow. If the interviewers sense your strong work ethic and commitment, the educational gap will almost certainly be overlooked.

Example Answer: Yes, I have taken some time off (specify the reason). During this time, I worked on several projects to learn new .

4. Where do you see yourself in the next few years?

The interviewers’ job is to find out about your career goals and how your skills fit into the role. They want to know what motivates you and how you intend to progress within the company. Hence, they ask this question to determine your prospects with their organization. This is a pretty common fresher interview question asked almost everywhere, so be ready. The answer will reveal a lot about your personality and professional behavior. 

Example Answer:  

I would like to pursue a managerial role in the coming years as I hope to have strengthened my core technical skills and gained experience working on projects for major clients by then.

Why should we hire you?

This is simply a follow-up question to the one you were asked before regarding your strengths. The purpose of this interview question is to determine how serious you are with the job you have applied for. The interviewer also wants to know how familiar you are with the organization's mission, values, and culture.

The answer will help the interviewer decide whether or not to consider your application for the job, so make a list of your skills and match them to the job description requirements and practice answering this question.

Whatever you say should demonstrate to the interviewer how much you value longevity in the organisation. Answer what this job will mean for you and your career and why you want to work for this particular company.

Example Answer: As a newcomer, I believe I am highly adaptable and flexible when learning new things. My project work experience has taught me how to work as part of a team and collaborate. I believe I am a good fit for the job and will be an asset to the organisation.