Interview questions for freshers

1Tell us about yourself.

What they want to know: Whether you can sum up who you are and why you fit, in a minute.

How to answer: Present, past, future: what you do now, one or two things you did that matter for this job, and why you want it.

2Why do you want this job?

What they want to know: Whether you know what the job is and chose it on purpose.

How to answer: Name two things about the role or the organisation that match what you are good at. Avoid salary and security as your main reason.

3What are your strengths and weaknesses?

What they want to know: Self-awareness, and honesty.

How to answer: Give a strength with a short example. For a weakness, pick a real one that does not break the job, and say what you do about it.

4Tell us about your final year project or thesis.

What they want to know: Whether you can explain your own work clearly.

How to answer: Problem, what you did, the result, and what you learned. Two minutes at most.

5Why should we hire you without experience?

What they want to know: Whether you can turn what you have into value.

How to answer: Point to a project, internship or responsibility that shows a skill the job needs.

6Where do you see yourself in five years?

What they want to know: Ambition, and whether you will stay.

How to answer: Talk about skills and responsibility you want to grow into in this field, not a different career.

7Tell us about a time you worked in a team.

What they want to know: Teamwork, the most common entry-level skill.

How to answer: Situation, your part, the result. Say what you did, not what 'we' did.