Job Interview Questn

8/6/2019 Job Interview Questn

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Personal interview part 1

When you are called for a personal interview, many types of questions spring across your mind, specially if youare an unexperienced job seeker.

Here are some tips on answering the most frequently asked questions in a personal interview :

Tell me something about your self.

Go prepared for this question, as this is the most frequently asked question in the interview.

Answer it covering your work experience, educational qualifications and a little information about your familybackground.

Try to focus on key areas of your work while talking about your professional experience. This is an open endedquestion and can help you in taking the interview in which ever direction you want it to go.

You should know where to put a full stop to provoke the desired question from the interviewer.

Why does this role interest you? Or why have you applied for this job?

Keep the focus of the answer to this question on your skills, experience and personal qualities.

Link the job requirement to your skills rather than talking about the challenges, career and progression.

Why do you think should we take you for this job?

Don't panic if you are asked this question. Make sure that you have understood the job profile well before you gofor the interview.

Relate your qualifications and work experience with the job requirements.

If there are any new things that you are expected to perform in the new job, say that you are always open to learnthe new things and take up the new challenges.

What motivates you at work?

You can say that competition and new challenges motivate you at work.

Why do you want to leave your present job or why did you leave your last job?

The reasons for switching the job could be numerous. The best answer to offer for this question is to say, forbetter prospects.

Now they can ask you another question, what do you mean by better prospects? To this you can say, betterprospects in terms of experience, and exposure.

If you have been made redundant, put your words across very carefully. Your wrong words can give animpression that only you were the one whose position was made redundant, which hardly might be the case.

May be you can say something like, Over last 8 months a lot of restructuring was going on in the company and40 positions became surplus. One of them was mine but I have learnt a lot during my tenure at XYZ companyand I am sure I can add a lot of value to a position like the we are discussing about.


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What was your biggest mistake?

Theres nothing wrong in admitting a mistake. A human being is bound to commit mistakes.This time it is advantageous to go back as far as possible in the past and find an answer.

The advantage of doing this is that a youngster is expected to commit more mistakes than a

mature and seasoned person. This would give an impression that since that time you havecommitted mistakes but not that big.

Take the word mistake as liberally as possible and go back to your student life to answer

this question. Probably you can say, if I could go back to my student life, I would have

studied Biology instead of Math.

Why havent you got a job yet?

This question will usually arise if it has been sometime since you finished your studies and

are still in the market without a job.

You can say that, I have been offered some tempting positions in the last few days but had to

turn them down as I did not find them right for my candidature. You can follow it up with

some examples.

You do not have all the experience we are seeking for this position.

To answer this question, you again need to analyze the requirements of the role properly andmatch them to your candidature.

If you meet most of the requirements, you can say that you have most of the qualities needed

for this role and for the remaining you are always open to learning them.

You can follow this up with an example from your last job where you learnt and did things

that you didnt know earlier. Stay confident while answering this question.

Why do you want to quit your present job?

The reasons for you to quit the present job could be numerous, may be you don't get wellalong with your boss or your salary is too less but its not good to make derogatory remarks

about your present company in an interview.

You can give a more practical answer like, my present company is not able to offer me

further growth opportunities and I have a feeling that its the time for me to grow up inhierarchy and learn further..

Have you ever made a mistake at work? How did you rectify it?


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Everybody makes mistakes, there's nothing wrong in admitting it. In the interview you cansay that yes , there have been times when you have made mistakes and learnt from them.

Whatever you could correct yourself, you did that and for the rest you went back to your

senior and took his help to sort it out.

What major problems did you face in your last role?

The agenda of this question is to understand if

You caused the problem

Could it have been avoided?

Your attitude to solve it.

It is safer to mention a problem which was caused by an external party rather than the problems within internal parties.

May be you can take an example of the problem caused by a customer, ve ndor. Discuss what you did to solve the problem. Ifyou took some leadership role also in the whole process, talk about it.


What is your greatest strength?

Interpret this question as, what is your greatest relevant strength? Or Why should we hire you? Tell them astrength that they want to buy. For this you will need to properly understand the job profile and keep your answerready.

For example, if the job needs you to have convincing answers ready for the any type customers questions, youcan sell your presence of mind or if you are required to change you sector or industry you can offer youradaptability as an answer.

It is important to keep ready at least 2 examples of the mentioned strength.

What is your greatest weakness?

Interpret this question as, why shouldnt we hire you? There 3 ways to tackle this question. Judge the situationand use one of them.

First way: Use your sense of humour. If the interview is proceeding in the light way and you have built up a goodrapport with the interviewer, you can get out of it by saying Icecream. Accompany it with a right body language.

Second Way: If you have to answer this question seriously, give a weakness which doesnt relate to the job

under discussion. For example, you can say, I have been using a camera since childhood but I still dont knowhow to mend it. If it is spoiled, I will need to take it to an expert.

Third way: Understand the requirement of the role under discussion and say that others accuse you of havingthat weakness but you think that it is important for your work.

For example, if the job needs a detailed study and leaving a single step might need you to re-run the wholeprocess say that My colleagues accuse me of having a too much eye for detail but I have experienced that to do

this work you need to go into details rather than cutting corners. I have worked with people following a shorterroute and doing the whole exercise again, which I would not prefer to do.

What is your greatest achievement?

The underlying agenda is to know what personal qualities were required to achieve it. Dont go back too far toanswer this question as this might give an impression that you have not achieved anything since then.


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Find a relevant answer in the recent past for this question. If you are a fresher and have been a topper of yourcollege or university, you can say that during the interview.

Are you ambitious?

You can say that I am very ambitious in the way that I dont like to get to get a feeling of stagnancy. I want that Ishould always be getting new experiences and learning new things.


What qualities would you look for, if you were recruiting someone for thisposition?

To answer this question, you need to analyze the requirements of the job profile before appearing for theinterview.

The answer to this question would estimate your understanding of the role under discussion.

Are you speaking to some other companies? Or how is your job search going

on?

This question gives you an opportunity to let the interviewer know that other companies are also interested inhiring you and gives you leverage while negotiating the salary.

You can say, Yes, I am in the final round of discussion with two other companies. Approach the interviewer as aProblem Solver and not as a Job Beggar.

Which companies are you talking to?

You can maintain your integrity by refusing to disclose the names. You can simply say, they havent notifiedthese openings so I believe they would not like their names to be revealed.

At times, taking the competitors names might increase your chances of being hires. Analyze the situation andanswer accordingly.

Are you ready to relocate?

You can say, for a right position and right company relocation should not be a problem. Do not close thediscussion at the earlier stage by saying No.

You have stayed for a long time with your last company -Why?

Staying with the same company for too long may be considered as the candidate being un-ambitious.

While answering this question you can say, Yes, I preferred to stay with them all this while because I wasregularly adding value to my experience there and I was growing as a professional.

You have switched many jobs-why?

Too much job hopping gives an impression that the candidate is unstable and unreliable but you can put thisquery to ease by saying that you switched jobs to broaden your experience.


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Personal interview Part 5

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

By asking this question, the interviewer wants to see, how ambitious the candidate is. You can say that, 5 years down the

line I would like to see myself in a responsible position where I can make important decisions in the favor of company andthe company treats me as its asset. I am sure that this company can offer me growth opportunities like this.

How do you feel about doing repetitive work?

You can say that I understand that every job has an element of repetitive work but I enjoy fulfilling all t he aspects of my job

with equal enthusiasm and give them my 100%.

How did you manage to attend this interview during your working hours?

Everybody knows that you would not ask permission from your boss to appear for an interview.

You can answer this question by simply saying that you have taken a off from the office to appear for this interview.

Would you like to work in a team or on your own?

The agenda behind this question is to understand if you are a team player or a solo performer.

It might be risky to choose any one of them as the role for which they are considering you

might need you to be a team player but the career progression which they might consider for

you down a years time may need you to handle a more autonomous position.

It is better to answer this question by saying that I dont have any such preference. I can

comfortably handle both the situations, as the need arises. Now back it up with examples

where you successfully worked in a team and where you performed an autonomous role.

If your last boss was present here, what do you think he would tell us about you?

This is again a question which can be answered in two ways.

First way: If the situation is light, you can say that, I am the diamond of his team, you must

pick me up. This needs to be accompanied by a right body language.

Second way: If the discussion is proceeding in a serious manner, you can pick up a formal

appraisal he gave you and say that I think he would repeat it here.

Has your career developed as you had liked?

The agenda behind this question is to understand if there had been times of dip in your career

and if you lay the blame for them on others. Theres nothing to be ashamed of if there have

been short gap in your employment.

You can justify it by giving a convincing reason. Look at your qualifications and social

environment and relate your achievements to them, to answer this question.


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What would you do if your team ceased to perform?

The agenda behind this question is to understand your management style. A good answer tothis question could be, I will try to establish the reasons for non-performance of the team and

try to eradicate them.

Would you take up this job if we offered it to you?

Again there are two ways to handle this question.

First Way: If you have built up a good rapport with the interviewer by now you can ask a

more direct question, Are you offering it to me? (with a smile and right body language). Ifthey say Yes, you can say that off course, based on what we have discussed till now I am

enthusiastic in taking up this position. How soon would you be able to get me a written offer?

Second Way: Alternatively you can say, based on what we have discussed till now, I will be

happy to take up this position but there are still certain things that need to be discussed.

Your expected salary?

Don't jump at a figure when you are asked this question during the personal interview. Try to

turn the ball back into the interviewers court and ask him the type of salary the company

offers for a position like this.

Still, if you are required to answer this question, mention a range rather than talking about an

exact figure but don't keep the range too vast, you will be offered the one at the lower end.

Probably you can say, I should be comfortable with something in the range of mid fifties.

What will you do if you are offered a job with a salary higher than this?

By asking this question the interviewer tries to analyze if the candidate will leave the job fora couple of thousands.

Recruiting a candidate costs money to the company so they would like to hire somebody who

has some loyalty towards the company. You can answer this question by saying that though

you know the attraction of money every job offers but you would first try to analyze the

growth opportunities with both the jobs.

If your present company can offer you the desired growth with the industry trend, you would

not switch. You will discuss the issue with your senior and ask his views on your growth in

the present job and if you see that there is a potential to grow in the present job, you will stick

otherwise you will politely inform him about your decision to move ahead in life.

Do you want to ask us something about the company?


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When you are going for a job interview, go prepared. Try to find out the latest informationabout the company.

When you are asked this question, you can ask interesting questions like the opportunities for

you to grow in the company, the expansion plans of the company and the chances for you to

grow there.

If the company has been in news recently, you can ask questions related to that also..

Interview Tips

5 questions for the candidate to ask during an Interview

As your personal interview progresses, the interviewer usually gives you a chance to ask him

any questions that you may want to. This is not only one of the golden opportunities for you

to demonstrate your interest in the company and the job but also a chance to address any

concerns the interviewer might have about your candidature. If you simply sit like a dumb

and say No, I dont think I have anything. Or You have already answered all my

questions, believe me you will dig your own grave.

By doing this you not only lose an opportunity to prove your suitability but also make the

recruiters think twice before hiring you. Interviewers do expect some intelligent question

from the candidates and when they get a dumb sounding reply at the end of an interview

which they thought to be successful, their heart sinks. The recruiters also need people to fill

up the vacancies and keep the work moving. They are continuously on a look out for goodcandidates. If towards the end of the interview they get a feeling that the candidate is

probably not interested or not suitable enough to carry out the work properly, they also feel

bad, as they again have to go through the whole process of finding another candidate. So,

prepare yourself well in advance to ensure that you are ready to ask some intelligent

questions during the interview. Here are some questions which you can ask the recruiter and

the advantage they can fetch you.

1. Now as we have discussed my candidature in detail, do you have any concerns about

me being able to meet the responsibilities of this role?

Advantage: If the recruiter has any concerns about you being not able to meet the

responsibilities of the role, this question would provoke him to put it into words. It will giveyou a chance to address his concerns and convince him that you are a good candidate for the

position under discussion.

2. What are the opportunities for me to grow in this role and with the company?

Advantage: This question gives you a chance to analyze the growth prospects for you with

the company. At the same time, it gives the recruiter an impression that if you are an


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ambitious candidate but if you get proper growth opportunities, you will stick to thecompany.

3. Is this a new position or has fallen vacant by the separation of the last employee?

Advantage: This question would help you in understanding if the position is available

because of the expansion or due to the separation of the last employee. If it is vacant after theseparation of the last employee, it would e good for you to know the reason. This would also

give the recruiter an impression that you are careful in selecting the job.

4. What are the major goals that would need to be accomplished in this role?

Advantage: This question would help you understand the role better and give the recruiter a

confidence that the candidate is interested in taking up this job.

5. How many members would be there in my team? What will be my position amongst

them?

Advantage: This question would help you in understanding the break up of the team and your

position.

If the company has been in news during the last days and if you have any queries related to it,

it is a good time to ask them.

Interview Tips

Tips to analyze your strengths for personal interview

Almost every interview that a candidate attends comes to a point where he has to answer a

question, What are your strengths? Mentioning strengths for which you dont have

examples will be useless. Go through these tips to ensure that you speak out the relevant

strengths and have examples ready to support them.

y List down your 5 major achievements.

Make a list of your achievements which you are proud of. It will be good to list down some

achievements from recent past but listing down some things from long past also wont hurt

y List down the personal qualities, skills, knowledge and attitude that were required to

achieve it. Do it for each achievement.y Make a list of qualities appearing again and again in the list.

y Select the top qualities. These are your strengths.

y Match them vis a vis the qualities required for the role under discussion and put the relevant

ones across.

y Have examples ready for each strength.

Let us try to understand this with the help of an example.


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5 Major achievements Competency require

Awarded best member of the teamHelpful, easily approachable, reliable, co-operative, team

player, knowledge, good communication.

Promoted to Managerial level in 1 year.

Managerial skills, knowledge, communication, result

oriented, approachable, team player, hard working,

intelligent

Won the intra-house presentation

competition

Communication, presentation skills, confidence, Subject

knowledge

Resolved an important issue with the

client

Problem solving, communication, confidence, subject

knowledge, analysis, helpful, approachable, intelligent

University topper during MBASubject Knowledge, hard working, intelligent, confident,

written communication.

So, the strengths that emerge out of this table are:

1. Team player

2. Good Communicator3. Good Subject knowledge

4. Confident

5. Approachable6. Helpful

7. Intelligent

Now, match these strengths with the job role you are being interviewed for and put therelevant ones across. Dont forget to back it up with an example.

Salary Negotiation

Tips on Salary Negotiation

One of the most important aspects of any job is the compensation it offers. This is one of the

most crucial points of discussion while a company or a candidate finalizes a recruitment deal.There are certain things which you must keep in mind while negotiating the salary.

Be ready to discuss the salary

While you are going to appear for an interview, keep yourself mentally prepared to discuss the

salary aspect. Don't get panicked when the recruiter takes out the salary issue. Discuss it calmly.


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Have a salary range in mind

While negotiating the salary, have a range in mind and know the level below which you can't afford

to go. Study the market properly and know what the companies are offering for a profile like the one

you have applied for.

Don't be in a hurry to discuss the salary.

Be patient and let the recruiter give you a positive signal that he is interested in hiring you.

Impatience may prove to be costly for you.

Don't jump on the figures as the discussion starts.

Try that the recruiter should make an offer before you speak out a figure and then negotiate it. You

may ask questions like, what does the company offer for a position like this?

When the recruiter asks you about your expected salary, try to turn the ball in his court so that he

makes the offer first. If that is not possible, give him a range rather than giving him an exact figure.Don't keep the range too broad otherwise you will be offered something towards the lower end. It

will be better to say something like I expect something around late forties.

Many companies won't like to give you a very high basic salary but the benefits and perks will add up

to a big amount. Take the total amount offered into consideration. May be you can negotiate on a

club membership, company paid vacation or bonus.

Let the whole discussion proceed in an amicable environment and even if the discussion doesn't

materialize because of the salary issues, do not ruin your personal relationship with the recruiter.

The world is round, you can get to see the same person somewhere else in the future.

When you and the recruiter reach at a mutually agreeable figure, get the offer in writing.

Job Hunt

Job Hunt tips

You finished your studies thinking about your dream job. Now, as you are out ofcollege its time to look out for that job and prove yourself competitive for it. There arecertain things which you must keep in mind as a job seeker and hunt accordingly.

Set a goal for your job hunt

Rather than applying to every job published in the newspaper or on the Internet its better that

you try to analyze your candidature and skills & understand the type of profile you can fitinto. Apply to opening relevant to your interest, your chances of success will increase.

Hunt job at all relevant places


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The corporate world today has changed a lot. The openings are not published just in thenewspaper. Internet has become a very strong medium for interaction between the companies

and the candidates. Similarly, placement consultants also play a vital role. Apply to relevantjobs through newspapers, placement websites and consultants. Float your CV in the market

for the companies and consultants to consider it for their requirements. Don't miss attending

the job fares.

Stay prepared

An opportunity doesn't see time to knock at your door. Keep yourself prepared to answer an

interview call at anytime. Don't miss on the opportunities because of your lazy attitude.

Follow up your job application

If you have applied to a company for a job and have not heard from them in 10-12 days, it

is a good idea to follow up your application with the concerned person. This will give you anidea about the status of your application and also help you in proving your seriousness for the

particular job.

Try to get in touch with the decision maker

Try to look out for the decision maker and send your application directly to him/her unless

asked to send at a particular address.

Don't overstress with your job hunt

Don't letjob hunt overpower yourself. Good things take time to come. Keep trying and bepatient.

Avoid negative thinkers

Keep yourself away from negative thinkers. Being surrounded by negative thinkers reduces

your level of confidence and chances to perform properly in the interview.

Quitting the job

Quitting the job?-Leave on a good note

The job market today is very dynamic. People are switching jobs as they never did in the past. As you switchjobs, you have to be all the more careful that you don't spoil your relationship with your current company.

The world is round and you never know where you will get to see your present boss and colleagues. There

are certain things which you must keep in mind while leaving your current company.

Inform your boss

As you have decided to leave the current job, inform your boss in a polite way and ask him if there's

anything he wants you to finish before you leave the job.


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Give sufficient notice

If you have got sufficient time to join the new company, give notice to the HR department so that

they can look out for your replacement and the work doesn't suffer.

Dont leave the things hanging

If there are things that need your presence to be accomplished, finish them. Don't leave the things

hanging in the air. Your replacement would not know the background. And will not be able to take a

fast action which can make the work suffer. If the work of other departments is linked to yours,

inform them about your switching the job and co-operate with them to finish the pending things.

The bottom line is, don't let your job switch affect your personal relationship with the present

company

Resignation Letter

Tips to write a resignation letter.

Have you decided to leave the present job and join a new company? Reasons can be numerous but

what comes necessary at this stage is writing a resignation letter and informing your present

company about your decision to leave. Writing a resignation letter is also an art so that you don't

burn your ties with the present company. The resignation letter is going to be your last document to

the company so try to keep it sweet and simple.

y

Address the letter to your boss.y Keep the subject of the letter straight forward. The best one would be Resignation Letter

y Thank your boss for the opportunity to work in the company and making you a part of his

team.

y Inform him about your decision to move ahead in your life, giving a convincing reason.

y Give a sufficient notice, if possible.

y End with a professional note and ask him to let you know if there's anything important that

he wants you to finish before leaving.

Tips to handle gap in your employment

If you are looking out for a new job, theres a possibility that you are unemployed at themoment. If this holds true for your candidature, be cautious in drafting your CV. First of all,

ensure that you do not send out your age old CV. Take time to draft a new CV and start yourjob hunt with this new, updated document.

The reasons for a gap in your employment can be numerous, like:


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y Being away for higher studiesy Female candidates having little baby at home

y Being illy Being made redundant etc.

While the first two reasons are easy to handle, the last two will give recruiters a reason to

raise an eye brow on your candidature. So, what can you do about it?

Here are some tips to handle gap in your employment.

Draft CV around skills

Go through the job requirements well and draft your CV in such a way that the prospective

employer gets to see your skills and strengths first. This can be done by keeping your skillsets on the first page.

Focus on achievements

Your achievements during the last jobs can find a place below your skill set.

Do not discuss about bad health

If the gap in your employment is owing to some illness, do not mention it in the CV. Leave it

to be discussed during the interview. You can give an impression of good health by

mentioning about some sports that you have been participating in.

Last jobs on last pages

Mention about the specific jobs and year when you did them on the back pages, towards the

right hand side.

Being made redundant is no crime

Being made redundant may not necessarily be your fault. Companies do face problems and it

could have happened with your company too. Just put it across in the right words during theinterview.

Motherhood requires a break

The job market still respects motherhood. May be, you will not get a start from where you

left your career but getting a job should not be a problem. You can explain this to the

prospective employer during the interview.

The bottom line is, draft your CV in such a way that the prospective employer is impressedwith your skills and achievements. Inspite of having a gap in your employment, she should be

willing to see you. Note that you should not lie in your CV or during the interview but youdefinitely have the right to remain silent. Once you are there for a face-to-face discussion, it

is up to you to convince the interviewer.


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How to write a good CV

CV is the most important document of ones career. Writing a good CV takes a lot of effort

but once it is done satisfactorily, your road to job hunt becomes much easier.

In this article about writing an effective CV, we will try to answer some of the questionswhich would help you in understanding the purpose and process of CV writing. Once you

have understood these two things well, the road to CV writing and job hunting will become

much easier.

Here are some of the questions to think over before starting to write your CV.

What is a CV?What is the purpose of a CV?

Who should write your CV?When should you write your CV?

What are the advantages of writing a CV?

What is a CV?

In CV in layman's terms can be called as your marketing brochure through which you are

trying to sell your skill set to a potential employer.

What is the purpose of a CV?

The purpose of your CV is to fetch you an interview call. Nothing more, nothing less. If you

have got an interview call based on your CV, it has done its job well. Now it is for you todeal with the interview in a proper way to secure the job. A CV can not get you a job. It is

only you who can get yourself a job which you always aspired for.

Who should write your CV?

Many of us rely on our father, brothers, sisters, friends, consultants and the big boss internet

to write our CV. However, you must understand that the only person who knows yourself the

best in this world is you. So, it is you and only you who can do the job of presenting yourselfin the best way. Write your CV yourself. Offcourse, you can show it to others for a feedback

from the reader's point of view.

When should you write your CV?

If you are reading this article, it means either you have already written your CV and findingways to improve it. If you have not done that already, you are ready to write a CV. So, sit

down at the first possibly opportunity you get to write your CV.

A good CV can not be drafted in one sitting. Drafting and re-drafting is the key to a good CV.

You will have the time to think over your CV and re-draft it only if you write it well on

advance. If you sit to write a CV just an evening before you have to apply for a job, there are

high chances that you will not be satisfied with the document yourself.


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What are the advantages of writing a CV?

When you write a CV, you think a lot over your candidature, skills, strengths and

weaknesses. This process of thinking helps you in predicting some of the most possible

interview questions and gives you a chance to find their answers.

Here are some tips to write an effective CV:

Keep it neat:

The only fate dirty CVs meet is landing up in the trash bins. So, make sure that your CV isneat and well organised. We talk a lot about the products being user friendly. Make sure your

CV is also user friendly. User her is the person who screens the CVs and gives you a gatepass to the interview.

Keep it small:

No one has time to read pages after pages about you. Keep your CV as short as possibly. Try

that it doesnt go beyond two pages. After all, certain things should be left to discuss in theinterview also.

Write short and crisp sentences:

Long sentences are difficult to read and understand. Use punctuation marks properly to keepyour sentences short and crisp.

Start with contact details:

Provide your contact details at the beginning of your CV. After your CV is shortlisted, the

first thing a recruiter wants to do is give you an interview call. If your contact details are noteasily found or are embedded somewhere in the text on second page, there are high chances

of you losing the opportunity to the next candidate. So, provide a phone number and e-mail

address where you can be reached.

Provide a career summary:

Your career summary appears on the first screen of recruiters computer. It should say all

about you and the recruiter should be able to decide by looking at these 7-8 lines if they want

to call you for an interview or not.

Work experience is more important than qualification:

If you have a work experience, qualification takes a back seat. Provide information about

your work experience focussing on your achievements which display your skills. If you add

some numbers to the achievements, it helps you in increasing the level of interest in a

recruiter.

For e.g. if you said, Settled 4 manufacturing units in 5 states of India during 3 years it

becomes stronger than Settled manufacturing 4 units in India.


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Educational qualifications:

Provide your educational qualifications in chronologically descending order. People are moreinterested in finding out about your recent past. If you have not scored good marks, avoid

providing the percentage of marks you scored.

Include the relevant information. Your CV may require a little bit of modification accordingto the type of opening you are applying for. You may need to expose different facets of your

personality and work experience for different openings.

Avoid un-necessary details:

It doesnt matter to a recruiter what your fathers or mothers name is. Similarly, he is not

interested in knowing the number of children you have (until he has to bear their expenses).Cut out these and other such unnecessary details from your CV.

Avoid abbreviations:

Most of the times your CV will be screened by the HR people and they are not experts in

every domain. So, avoid the use of abbreviations and jargons to make the CV easier for them

to read and understand. If they do not understand and abbreviation or jargon you have used in

the CV, it might cost you the opportunity, making the whole exercise futile.

Use more impactful words:

Use words which display your control over things. For e.g. managed, achieved, counselled,

recruited etc.

Emphasize at right place:

Learn to emphasize at right place in the CV. If you think, any of your particular achievements

gives you a cutting edge over other job seekers for a particular opening, emphasize on it. For

e.g. if you are a fresher and you have been a topper of your college or university, it is worth

mentioning and emphasizing in the CV. Similarly, if you are an experienced worker and your

particular achievement has been acknowledged by your employer, which you think can add

more value to your CV while applying for a particular position, emphasize on it.

Check for spellings and grammar

Try to keep your CV free of any spelling mistakes and bad grammar. They put the recruiter

off and can put you in embarrassing situations at times.

Avoid using "I"," my" in your CV

The recruiter knows well that you are talking about yourself in your CV. Avoid the use of

words like I, my in your CV. It makes you look egomaniac.

So, as you sit to write your CV, keep these tips in mind and prune out any unnecessarydetails. It should give you an effective CV.


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12 things recruiters do not like to see on a CV

Having seen the tips to write an effective CV, lets take a look at the things which might put

recruiters off from your CV.

Colorful or glossy paper and flashy fonts

Your CV is a formal, official document. Keep it simple. Use a plain white A4 size paper andformal fonts like Times New Roman, Verdana, Calibri or Arial. Avoid using flashy fonts like

Lucida Calligraphy or Freestyle Script.

However, there are exceptions to everything and they do exist here as well. If you are

applying to a position where you are required to demonstrate your creative skills using a

glossy paper and flashy fonts might work to your advantage.

Resume or CV on the top

Many people have a habit of giving a heading to their CV. The usual ones are CV,Curriculum Vitae, Resume. The person reading the CV very well knows that its a CV and

moreover your CV will be accompanied by a cover letter which will do the job of introducing

it.

When you receive a newspaper in the morning, does anyone need to tell you that its a

newspaper? Does it have a bold heading, NEWSPAPER? No. Looking at the newspaper itself

tells you what it is. This applied to your CV also.

Photographs until asked

Photographs until asked- Do not add your photo to the CV until you have been asked for it.

For general positions, recruiters are more interested in your skill set rather than your looks.

Photographs are required only for certain types of positions like models, actors etc.

Usage of I, My, He, She

Do not use these in your CV. Many candidates write, I worked as Team Leader for the XYZCompany or He was awarded Best Employee for the year 2007. Usage of I and related

terms makes you look egomaniac in your CV.

Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors

Proof read your CV until you are confident that it doesnt have any spelling mistakes orgrammatical errors. They are big put offs for the recruiters. Moreover, sometimes these

mistakes might land you up in an embarrassing situation. A candidate who submitted his CVwithout proof reading it committed a mistake of wrongly spelling ask as ass. Now you can

imagine the type of embarrassment he must have faced during the interview, when theinterviewer pointed it out. These mistakes convey your lazy and careless attitude to the

interviewer.

Lies about your candidature


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Do not lie about your past jobs or qualifications or anything which might have an impact upon the job. You may be able to secure a job with these lies today but tomorrow you may lose

it as well.

Not necessary that you have to say everything about yourself. You definitely have the right to

remain silent but do not portray yourself as someone who you are not.

Abbreviations or jargons that are difficult to understand

People screening your resume usually belong to the HR department. If they do not understand

what the abbreviations and jargons mean, they will simply dump your CV in the trash can.So, avoid over usage of such terms.

However, when you see the people from your domain for an interview, using these terms will

demonstrate your familiarity with the area and give you better chances of getting hired.

Reasons for leaving the last jobs

Leave them to be discussed during the personal interview. For example, some candidates

write, Reason for leaving the last job: Made Redundant. Avoid making such statements inyour CV.

Any past failures or health problems

Mentioning these would reduce your chances of getting an interview call.

Suppose if you have a gap in your employment because you started your own business which

did not do well. In this case, some candidates might write, Reason for gap in employment:

Started own business which did not do well. Do not do this type of injustice with your job

hunt.

It is better to leave these to be discussed during the interview, if asked.

Current or expected salary

Leave it to be discussed while negotiating the salary. Mentioning the expected salary or

current salary until asked might cost you the opportunity if you look too costly or may get

you badly paid if the employer was willing to pay you higher but you appeared as a cheaper

alternative.

Irrelevant details

Leave out the details like marital status, gender, passport number, number of kids, age of

kids. These are usually irrelevant for the interviewers but at times might be used as a basis of

discrimination.

References

Do not include them until asked. It is not even required to mention the line Reference

available on request. You can provide the references if and when asked.


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Dos and Don'ts of CV writing

You want to make your CV the best document but at times you may commit mistakes which

can cost you the opportunity. Here are some pointers to keep in mind as you start working onyour CV. They will help you in making your CV friendly for the recruiters to read and a

better chance to get it shortlisted for an interview.

Note that what we are going to discuss here are just the suggestions, not the principlescarved in stone. If you want to do things against them knowingly, we advise you to do that.

Dos of CV writing

y Make your contact details i.e. the phone no. and e-mail address available at the very

beginning of your CV.

y Use a formal e-mail address (preferably a combination of your first and last name)rather than using an e-mail address like [email protected]

y Write an appealing career summary/executive summary at the beginning. You havegot 30 seconds to impress the recruiter. Your career summary should attract them to

read the CV.y If you have got work experience, keep a focus of your CV on your experience,

responsibilities and achievements.y If you have just passed out from college, write about your education qualifications,

projects and other qualities in you which put you apart from other people in your

batch.

y Use impactful words which demonstrate you in control of things.

y Rank the achievements in order of priority.

y Write about your interests out of work. They demonstrate your personal qualities.y CV is a formal document. Use white or light coloured A4 size paper and formal

fonts.

y Put un-important things on the second page, towards right side.

y Include some numbers to quantify your achievements. They make your CV more

powerful.

y Write short and crisp sentences using punctuation marks properly.

y Maintain the same tense through out your CV

y Provide enough breathing space in your CV. This makes it legible.

Donts of CV writing

y Resume or CV on top. The reader knows that its a CV. You dont need to mention it.

y Lies about your candidature in CV are highly unadvisable. They may get you the

entry but are not difficult to find out. When found they will lead you to

embarrassment. If you manage to get yourself hired based on these lies, they may cost

you the job when found.

y Flashy fonts and colourful or glossy paper. CV is a formal document, keep it simple.

y Photographs until asked or compulsorily required for the position.

y Usage of I, my. They make you sound egomaniac.


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y Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. They convey your lazy and not seriousattitude.

y Your age, number of kids, age of kids, fathers name, mothers name, passportnumber.

y Abbreviations or jargons which HR people might not understand.

y Mentioning health problems.

y References until askedy Current or expected salary until asked

y Mention of reasons for leaving the last jobs

y Right alignment of the CV content

8 tips to design an impressive and user frien

dly CV

This article is an attempt to help the readers design an impressive and user friendly CV. If

you ensure that you include this information in your CV, the chances of it meeting the

interviewers expectations become very high.

Begin with Name and Contact Details in your CV

Write an appealing Career Summary in your CV

Focus on Work Experience, responsibilities and achievements in your CV

Educational Qualification in CV

Write about work achievements, interests and hobbies in your CV

Write short sentences with more impactful words in your CV

CV Don'ts

Your CV is your marketing brochure through which you try to sell a commodity i.e.

yourself to the potential buyer i.e. the prospective employer.

The sole purpose of your CV is to fetch you an interview call. Nothing more, nothing less.

So, make sure that you send out your best CV to the prospective employers.

Here are certain things which put the recruiters off but are seen on many CVs. Make sure that

you do not commit these mistakes in the most valuable document of your job hunt. But again,

these are not the lines carved on a stone.

At times you will need to break the rules and go against them. If you want to add these thingsknowingly and purposefully to your CV we advise you to do that.

The things mentioned here are not listed in the order of priority rather they are listed in the sequence as

they usually appear in a CV.

y Colorful or glossy paper and flashy fonts- Your CV is a formal, official document.

Keep it simple.


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y Resume or CV on the top- Many people have a habit of giving a heading to their CV.The usual ones are CV, Curriculum Vitae, Resume. Do not do this. These put the

recruiters off.y Photographs until asked- Do not add your photo to the CV until you have been asked

for it. Photographs are required only for certain types of positions like models, actors

etc.

y Usage of I, My, He, She-Do not use these in your CV. Many candidates write,I worked as Team Leader for the XYZ Company or He was awarded Best

Employee for the year 2007. Usage of I and related terms makes you look

egomaniac in your CV.

y Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors- Proof read your CV until you are confident

that it doesnt have any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. They are big put offs

for the recruiters. Moreover, sometimes these mistakes might land you up in an

embarrassing situation. A candidate who submitted his CV without being proof read

committed a mistake of wrongly spelling ask as ass. Now you can imagine the

type of embarrassment he must have faced during the interview, when the interviewer

pointed it out. These mistakes convey your lazy and careless attitude to theinterviewer.

y Lies about your candidature- Do not lie about your past jobs or qualifications oranything which might have an impact up on the job. You may be able to secure a job

with these lies today but tomorrow you may lose it as well.y Abbreviations or jargons that are difficult to understand- People screening your

resume usually belong to the HR department. If they do not understand what theabbreviations and jargons mean, they will simply dump your CV in the trash can. So,

avoid over usage of such terms.

y Reasons for leaving the last jobs- Leave them to be discussed during the personal

interview. For example, some candidates write, Reason for leaving the last job: Made

Redundant. Avoid making such statements in your CV.

y Any past failures or health problems- Mentioning these would reduce your chances of

getting an interview call. Suppose if you have a gap in your employment because you

started your own business which did not do well. In this case, some candidates might

write, Reason for gap in employment: Started own business which did not do well. Do

not do this type of injustice with your job hunt at this stage of writing the CV.

y Current or expected salary- Leave it to be discussed while negotiating the salary.

y Irrelevant details- Leave out the details like marital status, sex, passport number,

number of kids, age of kids. These are usually irrelevant for the interviewers but at

times might be used as a basis of discrimination.

y References- Do not include them until asked. It is not even required to mention the

line Reference available on request

Sample CV for Freshers

Sample CV for those who have just started their career or who do not have any

complexities in their profile. Works well for just out of college candidates.

Also read: More about CV writing


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Name

Address

E-Mail IdContact No.

Objective

Your objective should fit into the purpose of the opening notified or the general requirements

a company looks for. It should not be too broad and vague.

Executive Summary

y If you are a fresher, focus on your qualification, grades and achievements during

your student life.

y If you are an experienced candidate, focus on your work experience and the

skills you have acquired during your employment.

y If you have any expertise on any software packages which can be useful for the

company, its a good place in your CV to mention about it.

y If you have any other skills which you think would impress your prospective

employer, its a good place to mention them. They will catch the employers

attention fast.

y In this section of CV you can also mention about your travel with in or outside

the country which added value to your last company.

WorkExperience

Working as "designation" for "company's name" since "month and year"

Job responsibilities

y Mention about your key respons ibilities in this section of CV in bullets.

y Do not make it an endless paragraph.

y Use professional words.

y Write about the skills you have acquired during this assignment.

Worked as "designation" for "company's name" from "starting month and year" to

"ending month and year".


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Job responsibilities

y Proceed like last description

Achievements

y Your achievements during the professional or the student life can be mentioned here.y If you have received any recognition at work, it can be mentioned in this part of your

CV.

Extra Curricular Activities

y The activities in this section show a facet of your personality.y Activities you used to participate in during your student life and still continuing can

find a place here.

Hobbies

y Activities that you do during your free time.

Personal Information

Date ofBirth

Nationality

Languages known

References

y You can provide them when asked. y Provide one reference from your professional life and one from your personal life.

Sample CV for good work experience but

less qualification


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This sample CV is for the candidates who have good work experience but lesser qualification then

the one expected for the position. It focuses on your skills and achievements during your last jobs

rather than your qualification.


Name:Address:

Contact No.:

E-mail:

Career Summary

y Develop it as a short paragraph of approximately 50-60 words.

y Write about your career aspirations and what you have to offer to the market.

y Your career summary should cover your skills, attitude, knowledge and work experience.

y Write your career summary in third person singular. Draft and re-draft it.

y Your career summary should be supported with the CV content.

y Write your career summary in such a way that the interviewer should be able to get a gist of

your career in 30 seconds and shortlists you for the interview.

Key Skillsy Develop this section in the bulleted format, to make your CV user friendly.

y Write about the key skills you have gained during your last employments. Focus on the skills

relevant to the position you are apply to.

y Mention some figures which can impress the selectors and they shortlist your CV for an

interview.

y Any special out of work activity can also find a place in this section of CV. This activity

demonstrates a facet of your personality.

Achievementsy Write this section also in a bulleted format. It makes your CV user friendly.

y The achievements should be listed in the rank of priority.

y Try to relate your achievements with some figures

y The achievements section of your CV aims at telling the prospective employer, This is what I

did for my last employer, I can do it for you also


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Interests

y This is a good place in CV to write about your interests out of work.

y Write them in bullets.y They throw a light on the different facets of your personality

WorkExperience

y Write this section of your CV also in bullets

y Designation, company name followed by duration for example:

Marketing Manager April 2000 to Oct 2001

XYZ company

y Job responsibilities below the position details. They can be mentioned as bullets or asinteresting prose.

Educational Qualification


y If your qualification required for this role is lesser than what is actually expected but you

have a good work experience and knowledge about your area of work, do not focus your CV

on the qualifications.

Personal Details

Date of Birth

Languages Known

Marital status

Structure of a good CV

The basic purpose of a CV is to communicate your profile to the recruiter in the shortest

possible time, in an interesting way.

Most of the times, the general structure of the CV provided here would do the job. However,no structure about a CV can be carved in stone. It is mainly the creativity of the candidate of


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the candidate that plays the most important role. At the end, the candidate should becomfortable with his CV as he is one who has to face the interview.

So, if you want to experiment with your CV based on some differences in your profile, you

are welcome to do it.

Lets see what the general structure of a CV can be like:

y Name Provide the name which appears in your certificates. You dont need to provide your

nick name.

y Contact Details Your postal address, phone number and e-mail address.

y Career Statement - A 2-3 line statement of your skills, attitude, knowledge and experience &

how would it help the prospective employer.

y Career Summary - 7-8 bullets points which convey the gist of your candidature in 30 seconds

and make the recruiter interested to read your complete CV.

y Work experience and achievements (In reverse chronological order) - Details about your

past employments focussing on your achievements in those roles rather than just making it a

list of your responsibilities. Add some figures to make the facts more interesting.

y Education qualifications (In reverse chronological order) - If you have learnt your job throughthe university of hard knocks of life, you can omit this section altogether.

y Other achievements - Achievements not related to past jobs but worth mentioning can be

listed here.

y Hobbies - Hobbies convey a facet of your personality. So, give them a place in your CV but

mind you, dont write the hobbies just for the sake of writing. The person sitting on the

other side of the table might share the same hobbies and get into a discussion about them.

y Language proficiency - Especially helpful if you have to deal with regional people or

international market.

Sample CV for those candidates who have

switched jobs very frequently

This Sample CV is for those candidates who have switched jobs very frequently. This CV format focuses

on your skills, achievements and qualifications rather then your last jobs.


Name:

Address:

Contact No.:E-mail:

Career Summary


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y Develop it as a short paragraph of approximately 50-60 words. Write about yourcareer aspirations and what you have to offer to the market.

y Your career summary should cover your skills, attitude, knowledge and workexperience.

y Write your career summary in third person singular. Draft and re-draft it.

y Your career summary should be supported with the CV content.

y Write your career summary in such a way that the interviewer should be able to get agist of your career in 30 seconds and shortlists you for the interview.

Key Skills

y Develop this section in the bulleted format, to make your CV user friendly.

y Write about the key skills you have gained during your last employments. Focus on

the skills relevant to the position you are applying to.

y Mention some figures which can impress the selectors and they shortlist your CV for

an interview.y Any special out of work activity can also find a place in this section of CV. This

activity demonstrates a facet of your personality.

Achievements

y Write this section also in a bulleted format. It makes your CV user friendly.



y The achievements section of your CV aims at telling the prospective employer, This

is what I did for my last employer, I can do it for you also



y If your qualification required for this role is lesser than what is actually expected but

you have a good work experience and knowledge about your area of work, do not

focus your CV on the qualifications.

Interests


y Write them in bullets.


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y They throw a light on the different facets of your personality

WorkExperience

y Write this section of your CV in the chronologically descending order

y Designation, company name followed by duration for example:

Marketing Manager April 2000 to Oct 2001

XYZ company

y Job responsibilities below the position details. They can be mentioned as bullets or as

interesting prose.

Personal DetailsDate of Birth

Languages Known

Marital status

Sample CV for those who are now jobless

This sample CV is for the candidates who have been working in the past but are now jobless. This formatfocuses on your skills, achievements and qualifications.


Name:

Address:

Contact No.:

E-mail:

Career Summary

y Develop it as a short paragraph of approximately 50-60 words. Write about your

career aspirations and what you have to offer to the market.

y Your career summary should cover your skills, attitude, knowledge and workexperience.


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y Write your career summary in third person singular. Draft and re-draft it.y Your career summary should be supported with the CV content.

y Write your career summary in such a way that the interviewer should be able to get agist of your career in 30 seconds and shortlists you for the interview.

Key Skills

y Develop this section in the bulleted format, to make your CV user friendly.

y Write about the key skills you have gained during your last employments. Focus on

the skills relevant to the position you are applying to.

y Mention some figures which can impress the selectors and they shortlist your CV for

an interview.

y Any special, out of work activity can also find a place in this section of CV. This

activity demonstrates a facet of your personality.

Achievements

y Write this section also in a bulleted format. It makes your CV user friendly.



y The achievements section of your CV aims at telling the prospective employer, This

is what I did for my last employer, I can do it for you also



y If your qualification required for this role is lesser than what is actually expected but

you have a good work experience and knowledge about your area of work, do not

focus your CV on the qualifications.

Interests


y Write them in bullets.

y They throw a light on the different facets of your personality


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WorkExperience

y Write this section of your CV in the chronologically descending order

y Designation, company name followed by duration for example:Marketing Manager April 2000 to Oct 2001

XYZ company

y Job responsibilities below the position details. They can be mentioned as bullets or as

interesting prose.

Personal Details

Date of Birth

Languages KnownMarital status

Documents

Job Interview Questn