
Tough Questions
Tough questions
Scoring points on tough questions
Practicing your replies to probing, tough questions will strengthen your confidence and chance of landing a job.
Many engineers are ill prepared for such interviews because they believe that strong technical credentials
and a good resume are enough to get the position they want. They don’t realise that tough, probing questions have become part of almost every job interviewer’s repertoire. As a result, they perform poorly in these interviews.
These difficult and often unsettling questions gauge how focused and thoughtful you are under pressure, how fast you can think, and how convincing you are. Those who do not prepare adequately for these stressful questions are often hesitant, rambling, or indirect in their responses, and this could jeopardize their job prospects.
If you practice answering the following questions ahead of time, you are apt to field them with confidence. A little self-confidence before the interview can put you ahead of the many candidates who may wing it.
- Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
- Why did you leave your previous employer?
Or…why are you leaving your present job? - What are your greatest strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What salary do you have in mind?
- What do you like most, and least, about your present job?
- Are you applying for any other job?
- Why should we hire you?
- Where do you hope to be in five years?
PRIMING OF CANDIDATES FOR INTERVIEW- QUESTION THEY CAN ASK IN THE INTERVIEW:
- Who will I report to?
- Will there be any interaction between other people?
- How many other people are there in the department /team and what do they do?
- Competition in the market place?
- What will be the first problem I will solve?
- Reputation of the company in the marketplace?
- What are some of the more exiting projects?
- How is outstanding performance rewarded?
- Who is the most successful person in the department and why?
- What specific skills/ expertise do you feel are most important for the job?
- What is the most vital function of the job?
- What does the team like about working for the company?
- How much has your department grown over the past 5 years? What plans do you have expansion over the next 5 years?
- How and how often will feedback be given on my performance?
- What criteria will there be for evaluation?
- What is the probable relationship/role/with the manager?
- How many managers in the company have been promoted from within?
- Do you work mainly on your own or in a team?
- How are people selected for promotion?
- What skills do you believe are necessary to become a successful manager?
- If I perform well in the company what opportunities are available?
- You talk about hard work, what kind of hard work?
- Is there an application form to be completed?


