Student Handout

Includes:
Important Tips for Group Discussion
Basic HR Interview Questions & Answer Structure
Behavioural Interview Questions
Situational Interview Questions
Company Research
Instructions for Resume Writing
Powerful Action Verbs
Interview Folder

A Help Document for Group Discussion and

Interviews
By

Department of Training and Development

GLA University, Mathura
What do you understand by “Group Discussion”?
A group discussion is a discussion between a group of participants on a given
subject. The whole concept is to bring collectively a unit of people on a common
platform to share their ideas.

Types of Group Discussion

Group Discussion can be topic-based or case-based.
1. Topic based GD can be classified into three, they are as below:

 Factual Topics
 Controversial Topics
 Abstract Topic

2. Case-Based Group Discussion

Common Group Discussion Approaches:

The approaches mentioned below will help you to generate points for your Group
Discussion.

 SPELT – Social, Political, Economic, Legal, Technology

 POPBEANS – Person, Objects, Places, Beliefs, Events, Actions,
Nature, Scientific
 KWA - Key Word Approach
 VAP – View Point of Affected Parties

Guidelines to Start a Group Discussion

 Attention Grabber: Greeting - Good Morning/Good Afternoon everyone,

 Define (title) the Group Discussion topic: You may define the title
according to the type of topic which has been given to the group. Few
examples are mentioned below.

Example: Topic based on Terrorism - “The topic is serious and

important.”

Example: Topic based on Reservation System – “Today’s topic is a

little controversial.”

Example: Topic based on Love Marriage Vs Arrange Marriage – “The

topic is very interesting and important also.”
  Different ways to initiate Group Discussion

Start with a Quote

Start with a Definition
Tell a Story
Provide Facts, Figures and Data
Ask a Question (You have to ask a question and then answer the
question too.)

Useful phrases for discussions

1 Asking about or for an opinion 2 Sharing your opinion

What’s your opinion about ...? In my opinion/view ....
How do you feel about .... ? As far as I can see/I’m concerned ....
What do you think about/of ...? If you ask me ....
Do you think/feel .... ? If you want my opinion ....
May I ask you .... ? I think/feel/believe ....

3 Asking for an explanation 4 Giving an explanation

Could someone please tell me ...? What I actually meant was ....
I beg your pardon? Let me explain ....
If you may explain it to me .... ? Well, the reason is ....

5 Agreeing with an opinion 6 Polite disagreement

I agree completely. I’m sorry I can’t agree.
I completely agree with you on that. Well, I have my doubts about that….
Yes, of course/definitely/absolutely Well that’s one way of looking at it, but….
That’s exactly what I mean. I’m not so sure….

Important parameters to be assessed during Group Discussion

Group Discussion:
 Initiation – Greeting, define the title, and share your point of view.
 Topic Awareness- Addition of facts in form of numbers, any dates,
survey or general views
 Topic Development/Group Interactivity – Proceed the topic by
discussing its various aspects towards a conclusion
 Conclusion – Summarize the entire discussion and provide a solution
oriented point of view.
Communication:

 MTI (Mother Tongue Influence)

 Intonation (The rise and fall of the voice in speaking)
 Fillers – Filler Words (Few Examples: A, Um, Uh, Er).
 Grammatical Errors - Usage of incorrect grammar while speaking.
 Voice Clarity / Volume - Do not sound low on energy.
 Rate of Speech - A person's habitual speaking speed.
 Vocabulary @ Contextual, Pronunciation, Phrases.
 Sentence Construction @ Simple, Compound or Complex.

Body Language:

 Eye Contact - Speaker needs to maintain eye contact with the group
and the group needs to maintain eye contact with the speaker.
 Posture - Sit straight, do not slouch, do not move your legs while you
are sitting.
 Gesture - Take care of your facial expressions, give a slight head nod,
take care of your hand movements - examples: Do not point fingers
towards someone during the discussion, do not bang your hand on the
table while you are speaking.

Other Skills:

 Presentation Skills
 Interpersonal Skills
 Persuasive Skills
 Listening Skills
 Leadership Skills
 Problem Solving Skills
 Critical Thinking
 Analytical Thinking

Personal Grooming:

Overall presentation of yourself:

 Maintain good hygiene.

 Wear clean and ironed formal clothes.
 Well-groomed professional appearance.
Tips for Group Discussion

 Proper professional opening of the Group Discussion. Clear

communication with good content is required.

 Try to take initiative to speak at an early stage in the discussion.

 Positive and solution oriented approach.

 Pay attention to voice modulation and sound confident.

 Be a good and patient listener.

 Talk respectfully towards each other. Do not argue, since it's a

discussion.

 Go with the flow of the discussion.

 No cross talking during the discussion.

 Do not contradict your own point.

 Do not try to be in the limelight by not allowing others to speak.

 Do not point fingers or don't make too much eye contact with the Hiring
Manager. Create eye contact with the speaker, also give a light head
nod.

 Do not try to pull your peers down by raising your voice. Try to
understand the other's point of view and then respond.

 Proper conclusion with a good summary including the concluder's view

point will surely make a difference.
What do you understand by Interview?

An interview is a conversation between a potential employer and a candidate. It is a

selection process designed that helps an employer understand the skills, examine
their personality and character traits and check the domain knowledge.

Few important types of interview mentioned below:

Face to Face Interview Panel Interview

Group Interview
 Common HR Interview Questions and Answer Structure

1) Introduction/Elevator Pitch

a) Tell me something about yourself.

b) Tell me something about yourself which is not mentioned in your resume
c) Describe about yourself

Answer Structure: Important areas to focus - Experience (Internship, Project),

Achievement, Technical Skills, Soft Skills.
d) Describe yourself in one line
e) Describe yourself in three words
f) Describe yourself in two words
g) Describe yourself in one word

Answer Structure: Talk about your strengths. Keep an example ready with the
strength you discuss. Do not talk about the examples unless you are being asked
by the interviewer.
h) Tell me something about yourself that isn’t on your resume?

Answer Structure: Describe your personality. Describe your work style.

Describe how you work with others.
2) Why have you chosen GLA?

Answer Structure: Talk about your source of information

Talk about infrastructure
Quality of facilities and education
Results and placements
Your experience so far in terms of learning and exposure

3) Why have you chosen this branch to study?

Answer Structure: Past Inspiration
Skills learned and value addition after joining the branch
Future scope of the branch
Your contribution to the industry after education

4) What are your strengths?

Answer Structure: Name the strength, you may find out about your strengths
through SWOT Analysis or as identified by our elders, teachers or peers. Keep
an example ready with the strength you discuss. Do not talk about the examples
unless you are being asked by the interviewer. How will you make use of them for
your benefit as well as the organization’s benefit?
5) What is your weakness?

Answer Structure: Do not disclose any weakness related to your personality

trait and any specific skill which is mentioned in the job description. (For
Example: (1) I am short tempered. (2) In case the Job Description states that the
company requires a person with good Java Skills or good English communication
skills then the same should not be stated as a weakness in the interview). What
steps are you taking to overcome your weakness?
6) Why do you want to join our company?

Answer Structure: Talk about the brand value of the organization. Talk about
recent achievements. Talk about your usefulness in terms of your skills and their
demand from candidates in future projects.
7) Why should we hire you?
Answer Structure: Display your skills which the job profile demands (specific
skills) Technical or personal. In other words, talk about your strengths and link it
by stating how you can be of an advantage for their organization. Convince them
about your usefulness to them from now till 3 years (Industry Research
Required).
8) Are you ready to relocate?
Answer Structure: The answer should be “Yes”. Talk about the advantages of
being flexible in adjusting in different cities and states. Show them your interest
towards learning about different cultures and people. Convince them by giving
examples of your flexibility.
9) Will you lie for the benefit of the company?
Answer Structure: As per one’s personal moral or value, lying is not correct. In
case as a new team member I face a situation where I will have to lie, I will
always take suggestions from my immediate supervisor or manager or tenured
team members on how to handle the situation since it’s not right as per my
personal values. Give a diplomatic answer clarifying about your action not
causing any harm or hurt to the organization.
10) Who is your role model?
Answer Structure: Pick someone whom you know closely. Discuss their life and
how they face challenges as well as success. Discuss the qualities you learned
from them. Share how they have helped in inspiring you.
11) Tell me about your projects and training.
Answer Structure: Where did you get the idea for your project? What did you do
(Project or Training)? What specific skills did you learn? What was your role in
the project? What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them?
Compare your awareness before and after the training.
 12) Tell me about your family background.
Answer Structure: Discuss if you are from a Joint Family or Nuclear Family.
Discuss the family tree in brief (How many and who all). Occupation of your
father. What qualities did you learn from your parents and siblings? What did you
learn from your family when you saw them through troubles and success?
13) Do you like to work in Team or Individually?
Answer Structure: The reality is, there are positives and negatives no matter
which way you choose to answer – but the key is to answer it in a way that
makes the interviewer only see the plus side of things. Although there is no right
or wrong answer per se, certain ones may be more appropriate for the type of
role that you’re looking to fill.
Give advantages of working in a team as well as individually. Give an open
choice answer showing your flexibility towards both. Share what benefits you
would experience while working likewise.

The key here is to find the right approach and strike the perfect balance between
the two answers.

You should refrain from exaggerating your abilities to work independently or in a

team, as this could backfire during the decision making process.

If you lean too heavily to one side it could give off the wrong impression.

Employers are testing you to see if you’re too reliant on others or you aren’t
open-minded enough to collaborate on projects.

14) What would have you been, if not a computer/mechanical/civil

engineer?
Answer Structure: Select something you are genuinely passionate about. Explain
why you’re passionate about it. Tell about its scope in present times and in the future.
15) How has college life changed you?

Answer Structure: Talk about being independent. Talk about being more
efficient and planned than before. Share about your social interactions and how
you have grown personally and professionally.
16) How do you spend your day/ tell me your daily schedule?

Answer Structure: How much time do you spend in classes? What do you do
after college? How productively do you use your time? Do you follow any hobbies
in between? Do you help others during the day?
17) Give an example of where you performed under pressure.

Answer Structure: Tell about what strategies you have used in the past to handle
the pressure. Give a specific example of how you managed a high-pressure situation
successfully. Include your learning and what you would have done differently, looking
back.

18) What will you do if you are not selected?

Answer Structure: React positively to this answer. Show that you can accept
failure with supportiveness. Tell that you will find the way to rectify the mistakes &
take it as a learning experience for next campus interviews.

19) Brief around your last project undertaken.

Answer Structure: Why this project? Challenges faced during the project. Total
time spent on the project. Share your experience while working individually or in a
team.

20) Questions on further studies, Bond and salary.

Answer Structure: Further studies: Tell that your priority is a job right now
and maybe you would add on to your education through an on the job course
or correspondence course.
Bond: Be open to serve a bond or sign a contract
Salary: You should never negotiate on salary as the CTC has already been
shared through the JD. You can ask about the monthly take home (post
deductions) but do not quote any figure.

21) Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Answer Structure: Define your career goal and explain how you will achieve the same
in a time of 5 years, but do not specify any designation. Include the following in your
answer: Learning, working through all situations based on the current work profile,
implementation of new ideas, training the other new team members and being
proactive and taking new initiatives as a responsible individual.
 Behavioural Interview Questions

What are Behavioural Interview questions?

Behavioural interviewing focuses on student's past experiences by asking them to
provide specific examples of how they have demonstrated certain behaviours,
knowledge, skills and abilities.
Behavioural interviews ask you to describe stories in your past that exhibit the
behaviours the interviewer is discussing.

STAR Approach
A popular approach to answer the behavioural interview questions is the STAR
(Situation, Task, Action, Results) approach. The approach helps students frame their
responses to behavioural questions by encouraging them to respond with a story
about a past behaviour.

S ituation
Describe the situation or the problem. Explain
who was involved and where it occurred.
Provide the interviewer with context
Describe the task you were responsible for or

T ask
what was your role in this situation and
highlight any challenges you have faced. Be
specific and concise.

A ction
Describe your approach to solve the task or
how you carry out your task and include the
details of what you did.
This is the conclusion of your answer and
story. Explain the outcome of your actions.

R esult
Identify whether the actual problem was
solved. The use of numbers and data is a
bonus.
Behavioural Interview Sample Questions (Can be answered by
using STAR method)

Q1. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond your duties for a project
or task.

Q2. Have you ever faced conflict with a team member? How did you resolve the
situation?

Q3. Tell me about a time when you handled the pressure well.

Q4. Have you ever had to work under a tight deadline?

Q5. How do you deal with team members that don’t cooperate or can’t contribute
enough?

Q6. Give me an example of a situation when you showed initiative and took charge
of a situation.

Q7. Tell me about a time when you were faced with a challenging situation. How did
you solve it?
 Situational Interview Questions

What are Situational Interview questions?

Situational interviews look at the future. You are presented with a potential problem,
and you supply what you would do in that situation.

Situational Interview Sample Questions

Q1. How would you go about explaining a challenging issue to a client?

Q2. How do you prioritize when you have multiple high-priority, urgent tasks to

perform?

Q3. Can you give me an example of how your values impact your work?

Q4. How do you handle a stressful situation at work? How do you stay focused when

the pressure is on?

Q5. How do you handle conflict within a team?

 Company Research to be done before the Interview

Check the company’s Website and Social Media Pages (Linkedin, Facebook,
Instagram, Youtube)

1. About the Company 2. Leadership Team – Founder,

(History) CEO
3. Mission and Vision 4. Service Based or Product Based
Statement Company
5. Products the Company 6. About the Clients
deals into
7. Work Culture 8. Services
9. Industries 10. Recent Rewards
11. Recent News
 Articles to be kept in the Interview Folder

Resume Copy of Mark sheets and Certificates

Passport Size-Photographs Pen

Blank White Sheets

 Basic Guidelines for Resume Writing

1. Avoid the First Person Pronouns

Example: Don’t use words like “I” or “me” or “my.” So, instead of saying “I
exceeded company sales quotas 100% of the time” say “Exceeded sales
quotas 100% of the time.”

2. Use Power verbs/Action Verbs. (You may refer to the list mentioned below).

3. Quantify your accomplishments whenever possible.

Example: Achieved 30% improvement in the quality of the project by applying
the quality checks.

4. Make Sure It’s Easy to Read

Example: Take care of your font style and font size. Keep it simple.

5. Keep it Consistent
Example: If one title is bold, the other titles should be bold.

6. The length of your statement in your resume should not be too long or
too short.

7. Remove irrelevant information.

8. Proofread your resume to avoid Spelling or Grammatical Errors

9. Label Your Resume File Correctly

Example: First Name_Last Name_Resume.pdf.

10. Use a professional photograph if required in your resume.

11. There should be no Hyperlink showcasing in the hard copy of your

resume.

12. The date and year format should be consistent throughout your resume.

13. Define the “Name of the Organization”/ “Project Name” and “Role” for
your Internships and Projects.

14. Do not exceed more than 5 Technical and Professional skills.

15. Do not forget to add your achievements and the work you have done.
 Powerful Action Verbs (Resume Writing)

Resume action verbs propel sentences forward by clearly communicating your

skills and experience. They enhance the readability of your resume. You may go
through a few examples mentioned below.
In case you were in charge of a project or took an initiative from start to finish.
You may use the following words.

Chaired, Coordinated, Executed,

Operated, Organized, Planned,
Produced, Programmed

If you have developed, created or introduced the project. You may use the
following words.

Administered, Built, Formalized, Formed,

Charted, Created, Formulated, Implemented,
Designed, Developed, Incorporated, Initiated,
Founded, Engineered Introduce, Launched,
Established, Charted, Founded, Engineered,
Created, Designed, Established
Developed

In case you have saved time or were cost effective. You may use the following
words.

Conserved,
Consolidated,
Decreased, Deducted,
Reconciled, Reduced
In case you have boosted the efficiency. You may use the following words.

Accelerated, Achieved, Expanded, Gained,

Advanced, Amplified, Generated, Improved,
Boosted, Capitalized, Lifted, Maximized,
Delivered, Enhanced Outpaced, Sustained

In case you have changed or improved something. You may use the following
words.

Centralized, Clarified,
Converted,
Customized, Influenced,
Integrated, Refined,
Refocused, Reorganized, Replaced,
Merged, Modified, Restructured, Revamped,
Overhauled, Redesigned Revitalized, Simplified,
Standardized, Streamlined,
Strengthened, Updated,
Transformed, Upgraded

In case you have managed a team. You may use the following words.

Aligned, Directed, Enabled,

Facilitated, Guided, Hired,
Inspired, Mentored,
Motivated, Regulated,
Supervised, Taught, Trained,
United
You were responsible for getting resources or funding. You may use the
following words.

Acquired, Forged,
Navigated, Negotiated,
Partnered, Secured

When you are supporting or helping others and answering their queries. You
may use the following words.

Advised, Coached,
Consulted, Educated,
Informed

You are involved in research, analysis or fact finding. You may use the
following words.

Analyzed, Assembled,
Interpreted, Assessed,
Audited, Calculated,
Discovered, Evaluated,
Examined, Explored,
Forecasted, Identified

Investigated, Mapped,
Measured, Qualified,
Quantified, Surveyed,
Tested, Tracked
When you are involved in various types of communication like writing,
speaking. You may use the following words.

Authored, Briefed,
Campaigned, Co-authored,
Composed, Convinced,
Corresponded, Counselled,
Defined, Documented,
Critiqued, Identified,
Edited, Illustrated,
Interpreted
Persuaded, Promoted,
Publicized, Reviewed

When you have managed or regulated requests. You may use the following
words.

Authorized, Blocked,
Delegated, Dispatched,
Enforced, Ensured,
Inspected, Monitored,
Screened, Verified

You achieved something. You may use the following words.

Attained, Awarded,
Completed, Demonstrated,
Earned, Exceeded,
Outperformed, Reached,
Showcased, Succeeded,
Surpassed, Targeted