Interview questions often asked by the employer

Enjoy the process of job interview

What’s he meaning of interview?

Interview can be understood by dividing 2 fragments: inter and view. Inter mean interaction; this means the interview should be conducted by more than 1 person. View, or understanding, is another meaning of interview. Employer try to understand the interviewee by asking question and finally he wan to hire one of the candidates to become his team member.

Question type 1: Personal experience:

1. Introduce yourself?
2. How to describe yourself?
3. Why did you choose your degree course?
4. Your favorite course and state with reason.
5. What do you like the most/least in your university education?
6. What are your interests and hobbies? (Hidden questions, i.e. employer want to know the question behind this question in order to know something personal in the interviewee.
7. Please briefly talk about your involvement in extra-circular activities?
8. Tell me something about the projects you have done in school? [Important and hidden]

- Tell me about your exchange experiences in UK.

- How do you rank family, friends and career?

- How do you maintain a good balance between work and family?

- Please share with me your traveling experiences

- Please share with me your community service experience (Hidden)

- Please briefly talk about your involvement in extra-circular activities.

- Do you like numerical and analytical tasks? (Engineering question)

- You are a non-accounting major student. Do you think you have disadvantages when applying to accounting jobs? (Hidden)

Question type 2: Competencies

1. What are your strengths and weakness? (Self-understanding) [remind: state the turn-around weakness]
2. Describe an experience in which you can demonstrate your leadership and teamwork skills (Hidden)
3. Describe the biggest challenges in your life so far. How did you face it? And what did you learn from this experience? [Show the confidences by thronging the biggest challenges…]
4. What attributes do you possess to enable you to be a suitable candidate for this job? [hidden][important]
5. Please talk about your experience in handling difficult clients? [important]
6. Can you work under pressure? Any examples?

Question type 3: Work/internship experiences

1. What have you learned from summer jobs or internship you have held?
2. Are you willing to work in China? Why?
3. Any challenging tasks you have encountered when working as an intern?
4. What are the differences between working in Hong Kong and that of the PRC? (State from the macro view like policy, culture and working expectation etc)

Question type 4: Career Planning and Maturity

1. What are your career objectives? And what have you done to help achieve them?
2. Why do you want to get the accounting field?
3. Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time?
4. Any plan to further upgrade your professional qualifications or studying in this field?
5. What is your expect to ABC Ltd?
6. What to contribute to our company?

Question type 5: Know employer

1. Why do you choose ABC?
2. Why don’t you choose other firms?
3. What are the future challenges of Big 4?
4. Any news about the industry/corporation?

Question type 6: Know of the profession

1. Why do you prefer audit assurance to tax service? [Professional question]
2. What is the most challenging task faced by a professional accountant?
3. How much do you know about the market?
4. What is the difference between XXX method and YYY methodology? [pro. Question]
5. What are the qualifications of being a competent professional accountant?
6. With the rise of IPOs and economies arises on the mainland, what are the major impacts to the industry?

Question type 7: Scenario based question

1. Suppose you are the Audit-trainer at one of the Big Four. Your supervisor comes in your office suddenly at about 17:30 one day, bringing toward a deadline for an audit report you have not started drafting yet. You will not know how to write it this evening if it is to reach him first thing in the morning. You think it will take you 4 or 5 hours. You already have 2 appointments.
1. 1. Your friends got wedding.
2. 2. Before going to wedding, you have to go to see doctor with Mum.
3. Other team’s manager goes to be prompted and they want to have a drink.
4. What’s your through?

Question type 8: Any other information

1. Tell we something that would help you in this job application that you have to rise?

Question type 9: Demo your knowledge of and interest in job?

Something ‘Yes’ to ask;

1. What is the corporate culture of our company?
2. What challenges do you foresee in maintaining the completeness of your company? (careful question)
3. What is this position open? Are these special expectation of the next person who fill this position?
4. What will my main tasks be in the first year? (Good question to show your interest to the job)
5. How will my performance be assessed?
6. What is the company’s policy on staff development?
7. What is the size of team? (If I were being selected, when Il will be posted to field work?)
8. What is the work cycle s your company? Any peck seasons?

Something ‘No’ to ask;

1. Avoid asking about salary, pensions, vacation time, training subsides and other benefits!
2. Avoid selling the interviewers what the employer can provide: e.g. promotion, bonus, gratuity etc.

Dressing code/ Dressing impression:

1. Body odor? Bad breath?
2. Hair clean/ free of dandruff?
3. Are your nail clean?
4. Is your face free oil/pimples?
5. Have you removed the unsightly body hair (face, nostril, ears, legs, armpits)?

Tips for Ladies

1. Suits or trouser suits (Black, navy, charcoal grey, plum, beije, dark green, coffee brown)
2. Blouses (white, cream, shell pink)
3. Leather court shoes (black, brown)
4. Leather handbag/ shoulder bag (Should be not too big!)
5. Thin skin, colored tights (Best brought in Marks and Spencer)
6. Wear simple make-up (natural color)
7. Simple Accessories (earrings, rip, watch)
8. Do not wear perfume (Because not everyone can stand still!)

Tips for Men

1. Business suits (charcoal grey, navy, black)
2. Long sleeved shirt (white, light blue) (Again, best in M&S, not pink/purple)
3. Tie(Solid colored, classic patterned)
4. Tie should reach belt buckle and the tie knock should be fimly against the collar.

5. Black leather shoes (Oxford style, lace-up, loafers)
6. Dark-colored socks (Black)
7. Black leather belt, no braces
8. Do not wear cologne or strong aftershave (Lotion instead)