INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

General
1. Tell me something about yourself?
2. Tell me something that is not mentioned in your resume?
I am a person with strong interpersonal skills and have the ability to get along well with
people. I enjoy challenges and looking for creative solutions to problems.

Besides the details given in my resume, I believe in character values, vision and action. I am
quick in learning from mistakes. Or talk about your role model

3. Why do you want to join our company?

I always wanted to work in a company where I can get many opportunities to learn
,perform ,contribute and grow with the growth of the organization and I think that ur
company can provide me that platform.
4. Why do you think we should hire you?
Because I think that I have the skills which are required for this job.

The Top Ten Reasons you should hire me:

1. I am smart.
2. I am creative.
3. I am funny.
4. I know how to get the job done.
5. I am ready to make a decision
6. I admit when I make a mistake.
7. I have demonstrated experience in managing existing products and bringing new ones
to the market.
8. I am a team player.
9. I have a solid background in the Internet - ranging from a company I founded that
offered advertising services - to an Ecommerce site that I created .
10. I know how to make a great cappuccino!
5. How will your best friend describe you?
honest, creative, smart, unique, and modest.

6. Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses?

Strong>Hard working, Team Player, Confident
Weakness>Too helpful , Passion for excellence, Sensitive

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7. Why did you pursue MBA/a particular specialization?
Because after doing my Btech and working for 2 years as a software engineer in IT industry I
felt that it is the blend of the technical and management skills that move you up in the
career .My Btech degree gave me good technical knowledge and so in order to gain
management skills ,I joined MBA .I have chosen finance as my specialization because I am
following the financial markets from a very long time and as a result of which I have
developed a passion for finance and also I have worked on several financial applications
when I was in Birlasoft.

8. Do you think your Graduation degree will help you in the profile offered?
Because after doing my Btech and working for 2 years as a software engineer in IT industry I
felt that it is the blend of the technical and management skills that move you up in the career.
9. What do you know about our company and its products?
10. Where do you see yourself five/ten years down the line?
After 5 /10 years I want to see myself as a part of a ……….team and grow with the growth
of the company.
11. Who is your role model and why?
12. What is your area of interest?
Share market, Working for the social cause.
13. What are your hobbies?
Playing cricket, Watching movies
14. What is more important Attitude or Aptitude?

Attitude
15. Financial statistics about the company.
16. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
Getting job in Birlasoft,Completing my Btech and MBA successfully with good marks,Six
sigma certification
17. What kind of skills do you possess that would benefit the company?
Team Player, Honesty, Hard working.
18. What can you contribute to our company?
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 I am capable enough to prove myself. With experience in various verticals, i can bring out
my strengths and technical skills. I ready to give up my time, efforts and can focus towards
growth of the company. Take-up responsibility and challenges as well. Interaction with
clients to fulfill their requirements.

19. Why did you apply for this profile?

20. Don’t you think you are overqualified for this job?
21. What was your greatest failure?
22. Are you willing to relocate?
23. Internship and Dissertation related questions.
24. Questions related to prior work experience (Profile, Salary, etc.)

25. Do you think your last work experience will add any value to the profile that is being offered
by us?
26. Why did you plan to pursue MBA after working for ‘n’ no. of years in “X” company?
27. What were the courses offered in your specialization?
28. What is your favorite subject? (Questions based on that subject)
29. Prove your Leadership talent
30. Why did you apply for this position? How do you establish a working relationship with new
people?
31. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
32. Are you a team player?
33. What is important for you? Job Profile or Remuneration or Sector/Industry or Location?

34. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?

35. What is your philosophy towards work?
36. Tell me about your dream job.
37. Why do you think you would do well at this job?
38. Tell us about a situation where you faced failure and how did you manage it?
39. What are you looking for in a job?
40. What kind of person would you refuse to work with?
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41. What is more important to you: the money or the work?
42. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.
43. Are you willing to work overtime? Nights? Weekends?
44. What qualities do you look for in a boss?
45. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute between others.
46. Do you have any questions for me?
47. What do you think would be your work profile in our company?
48. Bring two new ideas for Dell laptops
49. What was your recent activity in social services?
50. Tell me something about your long term plans?
51. Theories on Leadership
52. How do you manage a team?
53. What is PERT?
54. What role does a Business Analyst play? Explain
55. What do you think is our company’s USP?
56. What did you learn from MBA?
57. Why should we not hire you?
58. About the family
59. Tell us about your career path
60. What kind of profile are you looking for?
61. What will you do if you don’t get selected today?
62. How do you see your strategic fit with the work profile?
63. Market Research vs. Marketing Research
64. Questions related to Market Research, methodologies, tools used, etc.

65. How does a particular Govt. Policy affect the country/industry?

66. Are you short-tempered?
67. What was the most memorable day of your life?

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 FINANCE
1. What is leasing? Its advantages.
2. Explain Securitization

3. Portfolio Construction
4. Risks faced by a lender
5. Comparison of lease and loan
6. Questions on Cash Flow, Stock Market, Inflation, Balance Sheet

7. Repo and Reverse Repo Rate

8. Explain the Financial Performance of our company.
9. Application based questions on Financial Ratios
10. What are the items recorded in Profit & Loss a/c and Balance Sheet?
11. What are the important parameters in Balance sheet to judge the credibility of a company
for buying its shares?
12. What is cost of Equity, Cost of Debt? Give the formulas for the same.

13. What are the reasons for adding depreciation to net profit?
14. Herd Mentality of the stock market
15. What is the difference between Futures & Forwards?
16. What are different types of Depreciation?
17. Questions on IT calculation and rules
18. International Finance related questions like Bill of Exchange
19. Forex / Forex Trading related questions

20. Give 3 Golden Rules of Accounting.

21. Journal entries related questions
22. Why did you choose Finance after Engineering?
23. Rate yourself on Accounting
24. What is a subprime crisis?

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 25. A case or scenario is presented and portfolio for investment is asked.
26. Credit Rating Agencies
27. Difference between Traditional & ABC Costing
28. Put Option/Call Option
29. Intrinsic / Time Value
30. Credit Default swap
31. Difference between Cash and Trade Discount

32. Concept of IRR

33. Explain Factoring
34. Why lease instead of buying
35. Why Finance after Biotechnology/Engineering?
36. Graduation Project related questions
37. Investment and Stock market related questions.

MARKETING
1. Prepare a business plan to sell cow dung / mud
2. If there is a problem with your product. What will you do? Will you take it back and incur
losses?
3. Explain CRM after post decision process.
4. What is product line? Difference between product width and product depth.
5. Explain the Sales Process before selling a product.
6. Give examples of Innovative products (technology)Will you be ready to relocate to Zambia?

7. Being a Tamilian, will you relocate to our manufacturing unit in Punjab? How will you
manage without the knowledge of Hindi or local language?
8. How will you market our raw material – Aluminium, etc?

9. If I give you mud, will you be able to sell it?

10. Are you a Sales / Marketing person?
11. Difference between a product and a brand.
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12. Difference between commodity and a brand.
13. Difference between Sales and Marketing.
14. How well do you cope up under pressure?

15. Give an example of how have you convinced someone to do something that they were not
keen on doing?
16. What makes you think that a degree in MBA (Marketing) will help you to get job with us?

17. Cognitive dissonance occurs in which stage of the buyer buying process model?

18. What is the difference between Marketing and Advertising?

19. Difference between marketing and selling?

20. How can you use Word of Mouth as a marketing tool?

21. What do you mean by Moment of Truth/Touch Point?

22. What is the difference between strategy and Tactic?

23. What is Marketing Audit?

24. What is a Brand?

25. What is the role of a Category Manager?

26. What do you understand by Co-Branding? Give an example?

27. What are the steps involved in selling process?

28. Questions related to BCG and Ansoff Matrix

29. Difference between SWOT and TOWS Analysis
30. Difference between B2B and B2C marketing?
31. What is the main virtue of B2B Marketing?
32. Sell Nokia’s basic model to HNI client

33. How will you outperform your peers in a target oriented job?
34. What do you mean by category killer? Give an example for the same.
35. Justify capability in operations?
36. If Biocon/HUL and Vedanta are offering Rs. 6 lakhs for an operation profile, which
company would you join and why? (Say the question is asked by a recruiter from Vedanta)
37. Technical knowledge of manufacturing – heat transfer, grinding, crushing, etc.
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38. Why do you prefer Insurance sector?
39. Difference between a laptop selling and insurance selling?
40. What are different kinds of marketing warfare strategies?
41. Suggest new forms of Marketing Communications.
42. Give 10 uses of a ball pen, paper weight, pencil, etc.?
43. Sell us this program
44. Sell a pen, Aluminium, Copper, etc.
45. What is the Sales Process?
46. How will you meet your targets?
47. What is Web 2.0 & RSS?
48. EMI Calculations.
49. How does mobile communication work?
50. Explain your business plan and market it.
51. Explain procurement strategies during – falling and rising prices

HRM
1. How will you measure the effectiveness of a training program?

2. How will you ensure that employee welfare measures are in place?
3. What are the various methods of PMS and which one would you prefer?
4. Why HR?
5. Will you go by ethics in a situation when your immediate boss asks you to break a policy for
promotion?
6. How important do you think is 360o Appraisal? Which other appraisal tool would you prefer?

7. Difference between recruitment and Selection?

8. What would you like to be - a Recruiter or Training Manager and Why?
9. A Scenario Based Question – An employee in your organization wants training in
communications, but his boss/supervisor wants him to have technical training. Meanwhile

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the Manager / Head of the Department wants him to get training in meditation and yoga.
How will you solve the problem in one week and restricted budget?

IR RELATED QUESTIONS

1. Apprentice Act
2. Min. Wages Act
3. Payment of Gratuity Act
4. Provident Fund related questions
5. Equal Remuneration Act
6. Factory Act
7. Maternity Benefit Act
8. Workmen Compensation Act
9. Is PF applicable for all Employees? Calculation for the same
10. Calculation of Gratuity
11. Payment of Bonus Act - Its Calculation
12. Eligibility criteria for payment of bonus
13. Where is 8.33 % calculation considered apart from PF calculation
purpose
14. ID Act 1947
15. Maximum Limit for gratuity
16. Working hours in a week - Which Act is considered for the same?
Can we make employees work for more than prescribed hours? If yes,
then what are the things that have to be taken into consideration?
17. Company Act
18. Area of interest and Acts related to it
19. Is it necessary to mention the name of the Company in local
language on the office building? If Yes, then which Act is applicable
here.

OTHER IR QUESTIONS

1. Appointment of Welfare Officer under Factories Act, 1948 is

compulsory where “X” employees are employed?
2. Crèche is mandatory under the Factories Act where “n” workers are
employed
3. A canteen for workers providing subsidized food is statutory under the
Factories Act where “x”workers are employed
4. Under Factories Act, appointment of a Safety Officer is mandatory
where the no. of employees exceeds?
5. Under Plantation Labour Act, 1951 a Welfare Officer is required to be
appointed where the no. of workers is?
6. An adult worker under the Factories Act is eligible for leave with wages
@ I day for every________ days worked during the preceding year
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7. Under the Factories Act no worker is permitted to work for more than
_____ hours in a day
8. Certification of Standing Orders under the Industrial Employment
(Standing Orders) Act, 1946 is mandatory where ________ workers are
employed
9. In order to be eligible for maternity benefit under the Maternity Benefit
Act, 1961, a woman worker should have worked for not less
than_________ days in the 12 months immediately preceding the date
of delivery
10. Under the Maternity Benefit Act, a woman worker is eligible for
______ weeks leave with wages
11. In case of miscarriage, a woman worker shall be allowed______
weeks leave with wages
12. Under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 payment of wages of
establishments employing not more than 1000 employees shall be
paid within _______ of the wage month
13. Under the Payment of Wages Act, payment of wages of establishments
employing not less than 1000 employees shall be paid within
__________ of the wage month ( (a) 7th
14. An employee is eligible to get bonus under the Payment of Bonus
Act, 1965 if he had worked for not less than ________ days in the
preceding year
15. An employee whose salary does not exceed ____________ is
eligible for Bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act.
16. The statutory minimum bonus is ________
17. Maximum bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act is _______
18. In order to be eligible for Gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity
Act, 1972, an employee should have a minimum continuous service of
__________
19. Under the Payment of Gratuity Act, the rate of gratuity is
_________ salary for every completed year of service
20. Employees who are drawing salary not more than __________ are
covered under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948.
21. Employees’ share of contribution under the ESI Act is ________
22. The employer’s share of contribution under the ESI Act is _____
23. Employees who are getting a daily average wages up to ________
are exempted from contributing employees’ share of ESI contribution.
24. Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act,
1952 is applied to establishments employing not less than _______
25. An employee whose salary at the time of joining does not exceed
_________ shall become a member of the provident fund under the Act.
26. Employees’ share of provident fund contribution is __________
27. Employer’s share of contribution to the provident fund is
________
28. Employer’s contribution to Employees Pension Scheme is _______
29. The minimum no. of workers required to register a Trade Union
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 under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 is ________

Tips for the Students (BY RECRUITERS)

 Do not bluff

 Use simple English, no jargons please

 Maintain a smile on your face during the interview. Do not smirk or smile sideways

 Do a firm handshake
 If you are not aware of an answer, do not guess and make it more complicated

 Do not mention that you will join your family business or become an entrepreneur 2-5
years down the line. It can be cited as your long term plan (maybe after 10-15 years, at a
later stage of your career)

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