Sales Boy

This is one of the common questions posed in interviews. The interviewers are always curious to know your career goal and your dream career. They try to analyse from your replies whether you are a good choice for the particular job. Different questions they pose try to understand your liking for the industry you have chosen.

Translates to: Is this the sort of company I want to work for, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? If you're a very laid back person, a very strict work place might not be for you (and vice versa).

Why should I work here? It would be nice to know the little perks and bonuses you might be entitled to, to help you make up your mind about whether you'd want to work there.

Do your values align with mine? If you are working for a company that values the same things as you (for example, greener technology, pro bono work) then you may enjoy working for a place like that better.

When the interviewer asks you about your strength, he is trying to gauge your confidence in your skills and abilities. You should be able to reveal through your words what your true strength is. This question should be carefully phrased. Interviewers are always eager to trap you with your answers. Frame your answer in such a fashion that they cannot counter question you. The interviewers are always looking for loopholes in your answers. Individuals who have experience working in the industry are aware of these tricks. They know how to tackle tricky questions. You must make sure you are confident and prepared for challenges.

There are many people who select their profession after assessing their likes, dislikes and knowledge in different fields. But this is not the case with all students. There are youngsters who lack direction in life. These are individuals who are unable to identify their strengths early. They may choose a field just because it appears better than the rest. Questions regarding choice of a field can be challenging to such individuals.

Describe a situation where you were correct, and the (polite) arguments you made to bring the boss to your side. Make sure the result was a win-win.

Mention some incidents where you had to work in a team, perhaps a drama performance, or a sporting event where you had to come together with your teammates.

For me, for unsupervised I would probably talk about writing my university dissertation and not really having any contact hours with my tutor for guidance; while for team work I'd mention when I was in year 11 and as part of a group we had to make a scale model of the small estate where our school was located for a local anniversary. - JR

This is a direct but very pertinent interview question designed to assess your mind-set and level of selling skills. In your answer show your awareness of the various techniques for selling and how these vary depending on the type of product involved, the kind of business, and the way in which you interact with the customer. For example, it is recognised that telephone selling is different from the face to face situation, since with the former there are no body language clues available; it is all down to interpretation of the customer's voice response and careful choice of words. In your interview answer include examples of all techniques you have used and the results achieved.

I'm driven by competition--competition with others and competition with myself. Not only am I motivated to be the best at what I do, but I'm motivated to out do myself whenever I get the chance. I'm also motivated by the thrill of the chase, challenge of the hunt and satisfaction of the kill. I enjoy prospecting for new clients, learning everything I can about a prospective client, developing the perfect pitch, and then closing the deal.

The interviewer wants to understand you as an individual. He wishes to understand whom you respect or take as a mentor. The interviewer tries to identify the ideology you stand for by asking this question. Prepare your answer in a fashion that does not give a hint of extremist ideology as it may act against you in the interview.

Translates to: What sort of chance do I have of getting this job? At least knowing it is a highly competitive position will make it less disappointing if you hear nothing back.

Many times freshers tend to answers such questions in the affirmative. You must remember that your first job work culture impacts your entire job life. If you opt to work in the weekends, you must never expect free time even during weekends. It is best to set a reasonable expectation in the very beginning. There is no harm in honestly stating that you do not hope to work during weekends as you wish to have sometime with your family too. A good company is sure to accept this answer in the right spirit.

This another very probable question for freshers appearing for an interview. The interviewers wish to know whether you have well set dreams and ambitions for yourself. They try to analyse whether you are an ideal choice for the career. Your dreams and goals explain a lot regarding your knowledge and confidence in your field. Individuals who are not sure what they want to do with their lives are unable to have a clear goal or ambition.

Youngsters often fail to realize the significance of questions like this and blurt out replies that are totally irrelevant. When someone asks you regarding your hobbies and interests, you need to speak of the hobbies that could be relevant to your trade. If you are appearing for a sales job, even shopping could count as a good hobby.

If you are in for a creative role like an interior designer or an advertising agency creative head, you may speak of hobbies like writing poetry or painting. These are industries where creativity truly counts.

The old school guys always have a bad impression about youngsters. They think the present generation is less patriotic and lack maturity. They wish to understand how much you care for your nation or think about it when they ask you questions like these. It would be great to have a clear answer with statistics ready for questions like these. If you mention poverty, illiteracy, lack of proper leadership or any other point, have facts and figures to support what you say.

Either "yes, I play cards" or "no, I do not play cards".