General Q&A

› Tell me about yourself.
A typical but tricky opening question. It is
important to draw the interest of the interviewer
from the very first moment, so keep it short and
to the point (less than five minutes). Elaborate
on your qualifications, career history and skills,
but avoid going into too much detail. If you lack
any significant prior work experience you can
always focus more on your studies and correlate
them with the specific entry position.

› What have your achievements been to date?
Focus on position-related and (fairly) recent
achievements and illustrate their impact on the
company.
e.g. I managed to decrease the stock levels and
thus, reduced warehousing costs by 30%.

› Are you happy with your career-to-date?
A straightforward answer justifying your up-to-
date choices should be enough. Do not forget to
mention the word “happy” and elaborate on your
future career goals and personal achievements.

› What is the most difficult situation you have
had to face and how did you tackle it?
The interviewer is trying to identify what you
perceive as “difficult” and apparently, you must
emphasize on your problem solving capabilities.
Describe a difficult situation and make sure your
answer clearly states: problem definition,
possible solutions, justification of your choice
and of course, the outcome. A what-I-learned-
from-that-experience would be ideal for ending..

› What are your strengths?
Surprisingly, most candidates believe that this is
one of the most difficult questions. Just mention
core skills like easy learner, result oriented,
socializing skills, team player, proactive and
hard worker followed by concrete examples.

› What are your greatest weaknesses?
Be ready to mention (some of) your weak points
to a completely stranger. Admitting lack of
experience is always an option but stressing
your weakness along with actions you are
undertaking to improve it is much better.

› Why did you apply for this particular job?
This is the point that you actually need to
convince the interviewer that the role
complements your personal characteristics and
career prospects. A thorough preparation before
the interview should reveal which attributes of
the role/ company interest you the most.

› Where do you see yourself in five years?
Your answer should include both short term and
long term goals. Describe the position that you
would eventually like to work in, and give a brief
overview of how you plan on going there.
Keywords such as ambition and determination
should be mentioned but not repeatedly..

› What can you offer to this organization?
Every employer is looking for an employee to
add value, so pay extra attention and of course
time. Usually, job descriptions include the
required characteristics, so isolate all keywords
and practice your answer beforehand.

› What salary are you seeking?
The interviewer assumes that you are aware of
the labor conditions as well as salaries for
similar positions. Try not to specify your desired
wage level even if there is a salary indication in
the job description. In general, employers accept
the fact that many candidates are not willing to
discuss it during the initial stages.