HR Questions

Tell us something about yourself.

What do they want to know: Personal insights about You

Suggested Answer: From my resume, you can see that I am a student of Finance but one thing you
may not be able to tell from reading about me from the paper that how [Personal
Strength/example: analytical/persuasive] I am when it comes to [requirement of the job]. Just to
give you an example…[Cite and Example]

What are your Strengths and Weaknesses?

What do they want to know: Whether you will bring value to the organization or not. Are you aware
of shortcomings and are you ready to learn from your mistakes

Suggested Answer: Strength - should relate to the position on offer. For a financial advisory role a
good strength would be the ability to convince people and seal a deal. You can explain this with an
example from your family business.

Weakness – Choose a weakness which arises out of inexperience but can be worked upon. For
example: I used to take the responsibility of the entire project without involving other team
members but as the program progressed number of projects we needed to work on increased. I
found it difficult to manage so many projects, that’s when I learnt to delegate tasks as well as take
inputs from others to further refine the projects.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

What do they want to know: Are you going to stick around so that the company benefits by
recruiting you.

Suggested Answer: I would be happy to be in your company (Mention Name) and be in a responsible
position adding good value to the organization.

Why should we hire you?

What do they want to know: What can you offer the company which others can’t?

Suggested Answer: Repeat your strengths (Choose the ones which will align with the company’s
requirement) and end the answer with something which expresses your passion for the work such as
‘I don’t think you’re likely to find another candidate who has my passion and commitment to this
work.’

What Project are you most proud of?

What do they want to know: Tell us a success story where you applied your learning

Suggested Answer: Pick a project which will align to company’s requirement, for example for
Genpact you can talk about a project in MS Excel. For an AMC you can discuss an investment
awareness drive you were a part of. You can conclude by saying - The project was greatly applauded
and made a positive personal impact by boosting my confidence for working with MS Excel.

Describe your Ability to Work under pressure?

What do they want to know: you will have to perform under pressure, can you handle it?
Suggested Answer: Think of a high pressure scenario and describe it, for example during our start up
challenge (you will have to describe the start up challenge in brief) we were left with a lot of stock
and had only two hours to clear it else we would have lost out investment, so we tried out different
strategies to clear it off. Explain the strategies.

Are you a team player

What do they want to know: Whether you will be able to fit in and get along with the team

Suggested answer: When an interviewer asks such a question it means that the company would
expect you to work as a team. This may happen in case of banks where branch employees work
together as a team. Here you must express that you can comfortably work with people of different
working styles and skill sets. You may give example from one of the projects you worked on during
your PGPFM. You may even give example of a club activity which involved students of different
sections

Why do you want to join us?

What do they want to know: how this job fits your career aspirations, will you stay in the company?
Did you spend any time to researching the company?

Suggested answer: Before any interview you must research about the company. Two main sources
of relevant information will be –

1. Company Website
2. Media Coverage

If you are asked such a question for Kotak Mahindra Bank, you may use the latest news about the
bank –

Kotak Mahindra Bank is one of the leaders in the banking industry so much so that even its
competitors such as SBI and Axis Bank are expressing great confidence in the bank. Of late SBI
Chairman Mr. Rajnish Kumar and Axis Bank’s MD & CEO Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry suggested that Kotak
is the best suitor for acquiring loss making Yes Bank. (Here you will be able to convince the
interviewer that you are interested in company)

In addition to this I have great respect and confidence in the ability of Mr. Uday Kotak who has
steered the bank to great success even when the entire banking industry was facing serious
challenges. In 2008 as when the global economy was crashing KMB decided to play cautious and
stayed away from risky and big lending. Even now when several other banks are facing high NPAs
due to exposure to big ticket loans to big companies which have started defaulting, KMB has grown
organically by lending judiciously to SMEs. So, I find Mr. Kotak to be a visionary who can lead the
organization well even in troubled times and ensure its success. (You may even research about the
leaders of the organization)

Do you have any questions for us?

What they want to know: How interested are you in the job.

Suggested answer: You may ask questions about what are the skills or qualities which you are
looking for in the candidate. You may even ask about the challenges the job profile would offer.

Are you willing to relocate/ travel?

What they want to know: The job may require one to relocate or travel, will you be comfortable
doing so.

Suggested Answer: if you want the job answer it as Yes!.