Often, in spite of having the right set of qualifications, technical skills and experience, certain candidates fail to impress the interviewers during job interviews. There is no denying the fact that when it comes to finally securing a job, almost everything depends on the candidate’s performance during the interview process. Therefore, besides recognizing the importance of interviews, it is also widely believed that with proper understanding, preparation and practice, a person’s interview skills and employability can be greatly enhanced. With this objective, this paper brings forth a valuable compilation of 25 important interview questions and suggestions for their effective answering. Most of the questions selected here are basically collected and shortlisted through a process of focus group discussion. The questions are general and contemporary in nature and are mostly suitable for junior to middle-level management positions across various private sector organizations in India.

The primary information for the compilation of 25 job interview questions was gathered through a process of focus group discussion. A group of 14 volunteers, identified as prospective job-seekers for various junior-level to middle-level management positions, were selected for the study. The study was neither carried out with any particular preference for areas like marketing, sales or finance, nor did it exclusively focus on a particular industry such as banking, telecom, IT or retail. All the volunteers were in their 20s and 30s and had at least a basic graduate degree, coupled with two-year post qualification experience. During the discussion, the respondents were asked to recollect their past interview experiences and list down the general questions that they faced during their recent interviews. To ensure maximum recall accuracy, only those persons who have undergone at least one major job interview during his/her last one month were chosen. All the collected questions from the focus group were further refined and shortlisted on the basis of frequency, context and clarity. During the shortlisting process, many similar questions with similar context and/or objectives were merged and reconstructed into single standard questions.

Apart from the information collected from the focus group, secondary information from various published and unpublished sources was also used to elaborate the compilation. However, the suggestions and examples given are largely based on my personal experience, observations, subjective analysis and informal discussions with many professionals and experts from related fields.

Soft Skills Journal, Glue People, Practical Implications, Organizational Challenges, Temporary Organizations, Matrix Organizations, Multinational Construction Company, Product Development, Production Process, Project Controller, Organizational Goals, Construction Industry.