5 Most Common Interview Questions for Freshers - for the Candidate

Here are 5 most common interview questions for freshers – things that HR managers ask the candidates about themselves.
For freshers, facing your first interview is nothing less than having bittersweet feelings at their best. Not only are you too excited but also very nervous for those one-on-one interview rounds. The mixed feelings can modify your thoughts and either leave you speechless or you end up blabbering unnecessary stuffs.

Both the above situations would work against you and you may lose out on a good work opportunity. To successfully clear all your interview rounds at one go and leave a positive impact on your HR manager, we bring to you most common interview questions and answers for freshers.

1. Casual greeting – “Hello, how are you today?”

One of the most common interview questions, it is intended to make you feel comfortable and settle down for further rounds. You need to answer with a positive and pleasing smile. In case you had any difficulties during the day, you may mention that too. If you’ve had problems reaching the interview venue, do say about that. However, do not go overboard.
Example:
I’m alright sir, but just that I couldn’t seem to locate the area properly, as I’m not too familiar with the place around.

2. Tell us something about yourself

This has to be the best and most favourite HR question. Often candidates stretch their answer to impress the interviewer. However, the answer is expected to be simple sounding yet informative about yourself as in:

• Highlight your education background – especially your highest qualification
• Provide a brief about your family and where you live
• Mention your major achievements, hobbies, and interests in short

Example:
I’m Priya Singh from Bombay. I did my B.Com in Accounting & Finance from NM College, Bombay University. I also completed my plus two from the same college and topped the boards with 97% in HSC Boards. I have four members in my family and I live in Andheri. I love reading books, especially on political science; my favourite authors being Aristotle, John Mill, and John Keynes.

3. Tell us something about your key strengths?

With this one again being one of the most common interview questions, you must know that the idea is to understand how much you know about yourself. Besides, the question digs deep on your confidence level and your knowledge about your own strength. You may sound like:

• Stay simple and positive. Begin as “I take things positively, and I am a very positive person”
• You may mention one of your personal experiences to support your answer
• If you have a fair idea about the job profile, you can also include short pointers about it.

Example:
Mam, I believe my greatest strength is my ability to grasp things quickly. Like for instance, I had to put up a presentation in college at inter-college arts exhibition. In that, despite being introduced to the rest of the team members at the last moment, I was able to easily understand the artifacts and represent successfully.

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

While the question aims at knowing your career goals, it also evaluates on your commitment towards the organization. As in, if at all there are any immediate plans for you to switch over in search of better prospects. That’s why, the question can be a bit too tricky. You should be knowing how to tackle the situation with proper reasoning and vocabulary.  
Example:
In the next five years, I visualize myself taking up different roles within the team. Going strength to strength to strength from being a marketing executive to handling a team and various projects. For that, as a fresher, I wish to absorb as much knowledge and take my learning curve ahead.

5. Why should we hire you?

The intention of this question is to understand which quality of yours would be more helpful for the company’s growth. However, since you’re a fresher, you cannot explicitly highlight any of your expertise in any particular domain.
Hence, you need to tackle the question by having apt knowledge about the company and your specific qualities that would suit the organization. In case you don’t know the company well, you may mention some common qualities like quick learning, team player, flexibility, etc.
Example:
During my college time, I’ve had a good number of internships and exposure to the industry. Being a fresher, it wouldn’t be difficult for me to adjust in the new environment. Hence, we can save on training time and other resources.
Above are some of the most common interview questions and answers for freshers about the candidate. In the forthcoming posts, we shall discuss some more questions and answers HR managers ask freshers regarding the company and other general questions.
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