Sunday, February 21, 2010

PUZZLES

1.Find the values of each of the alphabets. [ N=2, 0=4,S+M=6 ]

N O O N 2 4 4 2 2 4 4 2 4 1 1 4
S O O N 1 4 4 2 0 4 4 2 0 1 1 4
+ M O O N 5 4 4 2 5 4 4 2 5 1 1 4
---------- ------- ------- -------
J U N E 9 3 2 6 8 3 2 6 9 3 4 2
------- ------- -------
Ans: 9326

4 1 1 4
5 1 1 4
0 1 1 4
-------
9 3 4 2
-------


2.If 7 cats can catch 7 rats 7 ways in 7days,then 10cats can catch
10rats
10ways in how many days?

2. S E N D 6 5 2 4 2 8 1 9 2 8 1 7
M O R E 0 7 3 5 0 3 6 8 0 3 6 8
------------- --------- ---------- ----------
M O N E Y 0 7 2 5 9 0 3 1 8 7 0 3 1 8 5
------------- --------- ---------- ----------

TECHINICAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

C- Questions

What does static variable mean?
What is a pointer?
What is a structure?
What are the differences between structures and arrays?
In header files whether functions are declared or defined?
What are the differences between malloc() and calloc()?
What are macros? what are its advantages and disadvantages?
Difference between pass by reference and pass by value?
What is static identifier?
Where are the auto variables stored?
Where does global, static, local, register variables, free memory and C Program instructions get stored?
Difference between arrays and linked list?
What are enumerations?
Describe about storage allocation and scope of global, extern, static, local and register variables?
What are register variables? What are the advantage of using register variables?
What is the use of typedef?
Can we specify variable field width in a scanf() format string? If possible how?
Out of fgets() and gets() which function is safe to use and why?
Difference between strdup and strcpy?
What is recursion?
Differentiate between a for loop and a while loop? What are it uses?
What are the different storage classes in C?
Write down the equivalent pointer expression for referring the same element a[i][j][k][l]?
What is difference between Structure and Unions?
What the advantages of using Unions?
What are the advantages of using pointers in a program?
What is the difference between Strings and Arrays?
In a header file whether functions are declared or defined?
What is a far pointer? where we use it?
How will you declare an array of three function pointers where each function receives two ints and returns a float?
what is a NULL Pointer? Whether it is same as an uninitialized pointer?
What is a NULL Macro? What is the difference between a NULL Pointer and a NULL Macro?
What does the error 'Null Pointer Assignment' mean and what causes this error?
What is near, far and huge pointers? How many bytes are occupied by them?
How would you obtain segment and offset addresses from a far address of a memory location?
Are the expressions arr and &arr same for an array of integers?
Does mentioning the array name gives the base address in all the contexts?
Explain one method to process an entire string as one unit?
What is the similarity between a Structure, Union and enumeration?
Can a Structure contain a Pointer to itself?
How can we check whether the contents of two structure variables are same or not?
How are Structure passing and returning implemented by the complier?
How can we read/write Structures from/to data files?
What is the difference between an enumeration and a set of pre-processor # defines?
what do the 'c' and 'v' in argc and argv stand for?
Are the variables argc and argv are local to main?
What is the maximum combined length of command line arguments including the space between adjacent arguments?
If we want that any wildcard characters in the command line arguments should be appropriately expanded, are we required to make any special provision? If yes, which?
Does there exist any way to make the command line arguments available to other functions without passing them as arguments to the function?
What are bit fields? What is the use of bit fields in a Structure declaration?
To which numbering system can the binary number 1101100100111100 be easily converted to?
Which bit wise operator is suitable for checking whether a particular bit is on or off?
Which bit wise operator is suitable for turning off a particular bit in a number?
Which bit wise operator is suitable for putting on a particular bit in a number?
Which bit wise operator is suitable for checking whether a particular bit is on or off?
which one is equivalent to multiplying by 2:Left shifting a number by 1 or Left shifting an unsigned int or char by 1?
Write a program to compare two strings without using the strcmp() function.
Write a program to concatenate two strings.
Write a program to interchange 2 variables without using the third one.
Write programs for String Reversal & Palindrome check
Write a program to find the Factorial of a number
Write a program to generate the Fibinocci Series
Write a program which employs Recursion
Write a program which uses Command Line Arguments
Write a program which uses functions like strcmp(), strcpy()? etc
What are the advantages of using typedef in a program?
How would you dynamically allocate a one-dimensional and two-dimensional array of integers?
How can you increase the size of a dynamically allocated array?
How can you increase the size of a statically allocated array?
When reallocating memory if any other pointers point into the same piece of memory do you have to readjust these other pointers or do they get readjusted automatically?
Which function should be used to free the memory allocated by calloc()?
How much maximum can you allocate in a single call to malloc()?
Can you dynamically allocate arrays in expanded memory?
What is object file? How can you access object file?
Which header file should you include if you are to develop a function which can accept variable number of arguments?
Can you write a function similar to printf()?
How can a called function determine the number of arguments that have been passed to it?
Can there be at least some solution to determine the number of arguments passed to a variable argument list function?
How do you declare the following:
An array of three pointers to chars
An array of three char pointers
A pointer to array of three chars
A pointer to function which receives an int pointer and returns a float pointer
A pointer to a function which receives nothing and returns nothing
What do the functions atoi(), itoa() and gcvt() do?
Does there exist any other function which can be used to convert an integer or a float to a string?
How would you use qsort() function to sort an array of structures?
How would you use qsort() function to sort the name stored in an array of pointers to string?
How would you use bsearch() function to search a name stored in array of pointers to string?
How would you use the functions sin(), pow(), sqrt()?
How would you use the functions memcpy(), memset(), memmove()?
How would you use the functions fseek(), freed(), fwrite() and ftell()?
How would you obtain the current time and difference between two times?
How would you use the functions randomize() and random()?
How would you implement a substr() function that extracts a sub string from a given string?
What is the difference between the functions rand(), random(), srand() and randomize()?
What is the difference between the functions memmove() and memcpy()?
How do you print a string on the printer?
Can you use the function fprintf() to display the output on the screen?


C++- Questions
What is a class?
What is an object?
What is the difference between an object and a class?
What is the difference between class and structure?
What is public, protected, private?
What are virtual functions?
What is friend function?
What is a scope resolution operator?
What do you mean by inheritance?
What is abstraction?
What is polymorphism? Explain with an example.
What is encapsulation?
What do you mean by binding of data and functions?
What is function overloading and operator overloading?
What is virtual class and friend class?
What do you mean by inline function?
What do you mean by public, private, protected and friendly?
When is an object created and what is its lifetime?
What do you mean by multiple inheritance and multilevel inheritance? Differentiate between them.
Difference between realloc() and free?
What is a template?
What are the main differences between procedure oriented languages and object oriented languages?
What is R T T I ?
What are generic functions and generic classes?
What is namespace?
What is the difference between pass by reference and pass by value?
Why do we use virtual functions?
What do you mean by pure virtual functions?
What are virtual classes?
Does c++ support multilevel and multiple inheritance?
What are the advantages of inheritance?
When is a memory allocated to a class?
What is the difference between declaration and definition?
What is virtual constructors/destructors?
In c++ there is only virtual destructors, no constructors. Why?
What is late bound function call and early bound function call? Differentiate.
How is exception handling carried out in c++?
When will a constructor executed?
What is Dynamic Polymorphism?
Write a macro for swapping integers.

DATA STRUCTURE QUESTIONS
What is a data structure?
What does abstract data type means?
Evaluate the following prefix expression " ++ 26 + - 1324" (Similar types can be asked)
Convert the following infix expression to post fix notation ((a+2)*(b+4)) -1 (Similar types can be asked)
How is it possible to insert different type of elements in stack?
Stack can be described as a pointer. Explain.
Write a Binary Search program
Write programs for Bubble Sort, Quick sort
Explain about the types of linked lists
How would you sort a linked list?
Write the programs for Linked List (Insertion and Deletion) operations
What data structure would you mostly likely see in a non recursive implementation of a recursive algorithm?
What do you mean by Base case, Recursive case, Binding Time, Run-Time Stack and Tail Recursion?
Explain quick sort and merge sort algorithms and derive the time-constraint relation for these.
Explain binary searching, Fibinocci search.
What is the maximum total number of nodes in a tree that has N levels? Note that the root is level (zero)
How many different binary trees and binary search trees can be made from three nodes that contain the key values 1, 2 & 3?
A list is ordered from smaller to largest when a sort is called. Which sort would take the longest time to execute?
A list is ordered from smaller to largest when a sort is called. Which sort would take the shortest time to execute?
When will you sort an array of pointers to list elements, rather than sorting the elements themselves?
The element being searched for is not found in an array of 100 elements. What is the average number of comparisons needed in a sequential search to determine that the element is not there, if the elements are completely unordered?
What is the average number of comparisons needed in a sequential search to determine the position of an element in an array of 100 elements, if the elements are ordered from largest to smallest?
Which sort show the best average behavior?
What is the average number of comparisons in a sequential search?
Which data structure is needed to convert infix notations to post fix notations?
What do you mean by:
Syntax Error
Logical Error
Runtime Error
How can you correct these errors?
In which data structure, elements can be added or removed at either end, but not in the middle?
How will inorder, preorder and postorder traversals print the elements of a tree?
Parenthesis are never needed in prefix or postfix expressions. Why?
Which one is faster? A binary search of an orderd set of elements in an array or a sequential search of the elements.


JAVA QUESTIONS

What is the difference between an Abstract class and Interface?
What is user defined exception?
What do you know about the garbage collector?
What is the difference between java and c++?
In an htm form I have a button which makes us to open another page in 15 seconds. How will you do that?
What is the difference between process and threads?
What is update method called?
Have you ever used HashTable and Directory?
What are statements in Java?
What is a JAR file?
What is JNI?
What is the base class for all swing components?
What is JFC?
What is the difference between AWT and Swing?
Considering notepad/IE or any other thing as process, What will happen if you start notepad or IE 3 times ? Where three processes are started or three threads are started?
How does thread synchronization occur in a monitor?
Is there any tag in htm to upload and download files?
Why do you canvas?
How can you know about drivers and database information ?
What is serialization?
Can you load the server object dynamically? If so what are the 3 major steps involved in it?
What is the layout for toolbar?
What is the difference between Grid and Gridbaglayout?
How will you add panel to a frame?
Where are the card layouts used?
What is the corresponding layout for card in swing?
What is light weight component?
Can you run the product development on all operating systems?
What are the benefits if Swing over AWT?
How can two threads be made to communicate with each other?
What are the files generated after using IDL to java compiler?
What is the protocol used by server and client?
What is the functionability stubs and skeletons?
What is the mapping mechanism used by java to identify IDL language?
What is serializable interface?
What is the use of interface?
Why is java not fully objective oriented?
Why does java not support multiple inheritance?
What is the root class for all java classes?
What is polymorphism?
Suppose if we have a variable 'I' in run method, if I can create one or more thread each thread will occupy a separate copy or same variable will be shared?
What are virtual functions?
Write down how will you create a Binary tree?
What are the traverses in binary tree?
Write a program for recursive traverse?
What are session variable in servlets?
What is client server computing?
What is constructor and virtual function? Can we call a virtual function in a constructor?
Why do we use oops concepts? What is its advantage?
What is middleware? What is the functionality of web server?
Why is java not 100% pure oops?
When will you use an interface and abstract class?
What is the exact difference in between Unicast and Multicast object? Where will it be used?
What is the main functionality of the remote reference layer?
How do you download stubs from Remote place?
I want to store more than 10 objects in a remote server? Which methodology will follow?
What is the main functionality of Prepared Statement?
What is meant by Static query and Dynamic query?
What are Normalization Rules? Define Normalization?
What is meant by Servelet? What are the parameters of service method?
What is meant by Session? Explain something about HTTP Session Class?
In a container there are 5 components. I want to display all the component names, how will you do that?
Why there are some null interface in JAVA? What does it mean? Give some null interface in JAVA?
Tell some latest versions in JAVA related areas?
What is meant by class loader? How many types are there? When will we use them?
What is meant by flickering?
What is meant by distributed application? Why are we using that in our application?
What is the functionality of the stub?
Explain about version control?
Explain 2-tier and 3-tier architecture?
What is the role of Web Server?
How can we do validation of the fields in a project?
What is meant by cookies? Explain the main features?
Why java is considered as platform independent?
What are the advantages of java over C++?
How java can be connected to a database?
What is thread?
What is difference between Process and Thread?
Does java support multiple inheritance? if not, what is the solution?
What are abstract classes?
What is an interface?
What is the difference abstract class and interface?
What are adapter classes?
what is meant wrapper classes?
What are JVM.JRE, J2EE, JNI?
What are swing components?
What do you mean by light weight and heavy weight components?
What is meant by function overloading and function overriding?
Does java support function overloading, pointers, structures, unions or linked lists?
What do you mean by multithreading?
What are byte codes?
What are streams?
What is user defined exception?
In an htm page form I have one button which makes us to open a new page in 15 seconds. How will you do that?



Advanced JAVA questions

What is RMI?
Explain about RMI Architecture?
What are Servelets?
What is the use of servlets?
Explain RMI Architecture?
How will you pass values from htm page to the servlet?
How do you load an image in a Servelet?
What is purpose of applet programming?
How will you communicate between two applets?
What IS the difference between Servelets and Applets?
How do you communicate in between Applets and Servlets?
What is the difference between applet and application?
What is the difference between CGI and Servlet?
In the servlets, we are having a web page that is invoking servlets ,username and password? which is checks in database? Suppose the second page also if we want to verify the same information whether it will connect to the database or it will be used previous information?
What are the difference between RMI and Servelets?
How will you call an Applet using Java Script Function?
How can you push data from an Applet to a Servlet?
What are 4 drivers available in JDBC? At what situation are four of the drivers used?
If you are truncated using JDBC , how can you that how much data is truncated?
How will you perform truncation using JDBC?
What is the latest version of JDBC? What are the new features added in that?
What is the difference between RMI registry and OS Agent?
To a server method, the client wants to send a value 20, with this value exceeds to 20 a message should be sent to the client . What will you do for achieving this?
How do you invoke a Servelet? What is the difference between doPost method and doGet method?
What is difference between the HTTP Servelet and Generic Servelet? Explain about their methods and parameters?
Can we use threads in Servelets?
Write a program on RMI and JDBC using Stored Procedure?
How do you swing an applet?
How will you pass parameters in RMI? Why do you serialize?
In RMI ,server object is first loaded into memory and then the stub reference is sent to the client. true or false?
Suppose server object not loaded into the memory and the client request for it. What will happen?
What is the web server used for running the servelets?
What is Servlet API used for connecting database?
What is bean? Where can it be used?
What is the difference between java class and bean?
Can we sent objects using Sockets?
What is the RMI and Socket?
What is CORBA?
Can you modify an object in corba?
What is RMI and what are the services in RMI?
What are the difference between RMI and CORBA?
How will you initialize an Applet?
What is the order of method invocation in an Applet?
What is ODBC and JDBC? How do you connect the Database?
What do you mean by Socket Programming?
What is difference between Generic Servlet and HTTP Servelet?
What you mean by COM and DCOM?
what is e-commerce?


Operating System Questions

What are the basic functions of an operating system?
Explain briefly about, processor, assembler, compiler, loader, linker and the functions executed by them.
What are the difference phases of software development? Explain briefly?
Differentiate between RAM and ROM?
What is DRAM? In which form does it store data?
What is cache memory?
What is hard disk and what is its purpose?
Differentiate between Complier and Interpreter?
What are the different tasks of Lexical analysis?
What are the different functions of Syntax phase, Sheduler?
What are the main difference between Micro-Controller and Micro- Processor?
Describe different job scheduling in operating systems.
What is a Real-Time System ?
What is the difference between Hard and Soft real-time systems ?
What is a mission critical system ?
What is the important aspect of a real-time system ?
If two processes which shares same system memory and system clock in a distributed system, What is it called?
What is the state of the processor, when a process is waiting for some event to occur?
What do you mean by deadlock?
Explain the difference between microkernel and macro kernel.
Give an example of microkernel.
When would you choose bottom up methodology?
When would you choose top down methodology?
Write a small dc shell script to find number of FF in the design.
Why paging is used ?
Which is the best page replacement algorithm and Why? How much time is spent usually in each phases and why?
Difference between Primary storage and secondary storage?
What is multi tasking, multi programming, multi threading?
Difference between multi threading and multi tasking?
What is software life cycle?
Demand paging, page faults, replacement algorithms, thrashing, etc.
Explain about paged segmentation and segment paging
While running DOS on a PC, which command would be used to duplicate the entire diskette


MICROPROCESSOR QUESTIONS

Which type of architecture 8085 has?
How many memory locations can be addressed by a microprocessor with 14 address lines?
8085 is how many bit microprocessor?
Why is data bus bi-directional?
What is the function of accumulator?
What is flag, bus?
What are tri-state devices and why they are essential in a bus oriented system?
Why are program counter and stack pointer 16-bit registers?
What does it mean by embedded system?
What are the different addressing modes in 8085?
What is the difference between MOV and MVI?
What are the functions of RIM, SIM, IN?
What is the immediate addressing mode?
What are the different flags in 8085?
What happens during DMA transfer?
What do you mean by wait state? What is its need?
What is PSW?
What is ALE? Explain the functions of ALE in 8085.
What is a program counter? What is its use?
What is an interrupt?
Which line will be activated when an output device require attention from CPU?

ELECTRONICS QUESTIONS


What is meant by D-FF?
What is the basic difference between Latches and Flip flops?
What is a multiplexer?
How can you convert an SR Flip-flop to a JK Flip-flop?
How can you convert an JK Flip-flop to a D Flip-flop?
What is Race-around problem? How can you rectify it?
Which semiconductor device is used as a voltage regulator and why?
What do you mean by an ideal voltage source?
What do you mean by zener breakdown and avalanche breakdown?
What are the different types of filters?
What is the need of filtering ideal response of filters and actual response of filters?
What is sampling theorem?
What is impulse response?
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of FIR filters compared to IIR counterparts.
What is CMRR? Explain briefly.
What do you mean by half-duplex and full-duplex communication? Explain briefly.
Which range of signals are used for terrestrial transmission?
What is the need for modulation?
Which type of modulation is used in TV transmission?
Why we use vestigial side band (VSB-C3F) transmission for picture?
When transmitting digital signals is it necessary to transmit some harmonics in addition to fundamental frequency?
For asynchronous transmission, is it necessary to supply some synchronizing pulses additionally or to supply or to supply start and stop bit?
BPFSK is more efficient than BFSK in presence of noise. Why?
What is meant by pre-emphasis and de-emphasis?
What do you mean by 3 dB cutoff frequency? Why is it 3 dB, not 1 dB?
What do you mean by ASCII, EBCDIC?

Go for a mock exercise before the real talk at the job table

Hone your interview etiquette................ Churn the right mix of deportment, attitude and dressingskills for a great job talk !

Never make the big mistake of treating an interview lightly. It's not an impromptu thing where you depend on your improvisation skills. An interview requires careful thought and planning before you take it. Keeping in mind some basic attitudes and presentation techniques will help you sail through it with panache.

So if you thought that going for an interview just meant pulling your best suit out of the wardrobe and updating your resume, please think again. You are forgetting the other essentials: body language, basic etiquette and attitude.

Remember that you are actually selling an entire package and the packaging, in this case, is as relevant as the product inside. Ultimately you are presenting yourself as a valuable professional to a new job environment. And you can't do that without minding the basic interview etiquette to get you ahead of the rest of the pack.

An interview is the sum total of many parts. It's not just what you say but how you say it that matters equally. So it's good to brush up on more than just your training skills when you do go in for an interview.

ATTIRE

How you dress for an interview is perhaps as relevant as the way you lay out your resume. Says Nina Kochar of Upgrade Management Services, an organisation which coaches' executives in the basic rules of corporate etiquette: "A person who is sloppy in appearance shows a sloppy personality, so you have to be decently dressed." Of course, decently dressed does not necessarily mean being dressed to the gills. In most cases, this would mean you would wear long sleeved shirts and a pair of formal trousers. In fact, Nina Kochar does not recommend suits, especially for younger people. "A lot of young people do not have the money to invest in suits, consequently, they wear ill-fitting or borrowed suits and that looks even worse. A tie, shirt and pant should do the trick for most junior level positions."

Most HR experts would also tell you to mind the accessories like ties, belts and shoes. To be sure, badly matched shoes and ties can have a jarring effect on an interviewer. Similarly, please avoid heavy jewellery or personal accessories as they would look incongruous on you.

ENTRANCE AND INTRODUCTION

Even though most of us are primed for the basic grilling that we would face during the interview, we seldom pay attention to the way we enter an interview room or how we introduce ourselves. Says Subhashish Mitra, deputy manager, Essar Cellphones: "A lot of people do not think it important to knock properly while entering the interview room. They assume that as an interview is taking place, the panel will be expecting them. To my mind this is a very major faux pas which really jars."

In fact, the best way to enter an interview is to knock, ask for permission to enter and then wait for a while before you actually sit down. Few interviewees know this but the interview panel needs a little quiet time to discuss the previous candidate before they get around to the next one. So your silence till you actually get seated would be very valuable. Try and keep a bag with you for all your papers and certificates; make sure this bag is an unobtrusive as possible.

ATTITUDE AND RESPONSE

This is a grey area for most interview candidates. While dressing up and resume writing are skills you can Go for a mock exercise before the real talk at the job table handle with a little practice, cultivating the right attitude as an interviewee requires a lot of patience and reading between the lines. The usual complaint of most interviewers is that few interviewees are able to stri perhaps the best thing you can do for getting your answer right. Most interviewers like to give a lead to the candidate in the way they ask the question, so it's entirely up to you to note facial expressions and the tone of the words.

Do you show your certificates immediately to the interview panel?

Not till you are asked actually. You might already have sent in your resume, so you shouldn't try and offload all your achievements and skills onto the panel till a turn in the interview leads to such a situation.

Try and take cues form the tonal variations, facial expressions and thrust of questions from the interview panel. That in itself will give you a clue as to where this interview is heading.

TEN THINGS THAT AN INTERVIEWER LOOKS IN YOU!

1. Family Background

2. Education

3. Experience

4. Stability

5. Initiative

6. General Ability

7. Interpersonal Skills

8. Confidence

9. Aptitude

10. Pleasant Looks

How one wished that an interview were a simple meeting of minds and hearts. Just one casual meeting where an employee's future gets sealed. Unfortunately, it's not something as pre-ordained as you would like it to be; it's a pre-meditated exercise which fetches you dividends only if your homework is done right


The Interview
Interview is an opportunity for both the employer and the applicant to gather information. The employer wants to know if you, the applicant, have the skills, knowledge, self-confidence, and motivation necessary for the job. At this point you can be confident that the employer saw something of interest in your resume. He or she also wants to determine whether or not you will fit in with the organization's current employees and philosophy. Similarly, you will want to evaluate the position and the organization, and determine if they will fit into your career plans. The interview is a two-way exchange of information. It is an opportunity for both parties to market themselves. The employer is selling the organization to you, and you are marketing your skills, knowledge, and personality to the employer.

Interview Preparation

Research is a critical part of preparing for an interview. If you haven't done your homework, it is going to be obvious. Spend time researching and thinking about yourself, the occupation, the organization, and questions you might ask at the end of the interview.

Step 1: Know Yourself

The first step in preparing for an interview is to do a thorough self-assessment so that you will know what you have to offer an employer. It is very important to develop a complete inventory of skills, experience, and personal attributes that you can use to market yourself to employers at any time during the interview process. In developing this inventory, it is easiest to start with experience. Once you have a detailed list of activities that you have done (past jobs, extra-curricular involvements, volunteer work, school projects, etc.), it is fairly easy to identify your skills.

Simply go through the list, and for each item ask yourself "What could I have learned by doing this?" "What skills did I develop?" "What issues/circumstances have I learned to deal with?" Keep in mind that skills fall into two categories - technical and generic. Technical skills are the skills required to do a specific job. For a laboratory assistant, technical skills might include knowledge of sterilization procedures, slide preparation, and scientific report writing. For an outreach worker, technical skills might include counselling skills, case management skills, or program design and evaluation skills

Generic skills are those which are transferable to many work settings. Following is a list of the ten most marketable skills. You will notice that they are all generic.

Analytical/Problem Solving

Flexibility/Versatility

Interpersonal

Oral/Written Communication

Organization/Planning

Time Management

Motivation

Leadership

Self-Starter/Initiative

Team Player

Often when people think of skills, they tend to think of those they have developed in the workplace. However, skills are developed in a variety of settings. If you have ever researched and written a paper for a course, you probably have written communication skills. Team sports or group projects are a good way to develop the skills required of a team player and leader. Don't overlook any abilities you may have

When doing the research on yourself, identifying your experience and skills is important, but it is not all that you need to know. Consider the answers to other questions such as:

How have I demonstrated the skills required in this position?

What are my strong points and weak points?

What are my short term and long term goals?

What can I offer this particular employer?

What kind of environment do I like? (i.e. How do I like to be supervised? Do I like a fast pace?)

What do I like doing?

Apart from my skills and experience, what can I bring to this job?

Step 2: Know the Occupation

The second step in preparing for an interview is to research the occupation. This is necessary because in order to present a convincing argument that you have the experience and skills required for that occupation, you must first know what those requirements and duties are. With this information uncovered, you can then match the skills you have (using the complete skills/experience inventory you have just prepared) with the skills you know people in that occupational field need. The resulting "shortlist" will be the one that you need to emphasize during the interview.

It is also in your best interest to identify the approximate starting salary for that position, or those similar. There are several ways to find out about an occupation:

Acquire a copy of the job description from the employer (Human

Resources/Personnel) or check with Student Employment Services. If you are responding to an advertisement, this may also supply some details.

The Career Resource Centre has general information files on a variety of occupations. Make sure you have read through the appropriate file and are updated on the occupation. If you belong to a professional association related to the occupation, use its resources. These associations often publish informative newsletters and sponsor seminars. It is also a good way to meet people working in the field. Conduct information interviews with people working in the field. Read articles about people in the occupation, and articles written by people in the occupation. Sources include newspapers, magazines and the internet. Find out what the future trends are in the area. Is technology changing the job?

Step 3: Know the Organization

The more you know about an organization, the better prepared you will be to discuss how you can meet its needs. Some of the characteristics that you should know about an organization are:

Where is it located?

How big is it?

What are its products and who does it serve?

How is the organization structured?

What is its history?

Have there been any recent changes, new developments?

There are a number of ways in which you can access this information. Most medium- to large-sized organizations publish information about themselves. You can access this a number of ways:

On campus at the Student Employment Services (company literature and business directories) or at the Drake Centre Library

The Winnipeg Centennial Library has a business microfiche with information on over 5000 Canadian companies and business directories

Many companies have internet home pages which you can locate by searching by industry and company name

Finally, you can visit or phone the organization and request some information on their products, services or areas of research

If the organization is fairly small, or fairly new, there may not be much information published. In this case, it will be necessary to do an information interview. Contact someone within the organization, introduce yourself, explain that you are considering moving into the field, and ask if it would be possible to meet with him/her to inquire about the company/organization and about what exactly the position would involve.

Step 4: Prepare Questions

Having completed your background research, you are now ready to prepare questions to ask the

interviewer(s). Try to think of questions for which the answer was not readily available in company

literature. Intelligent well thought-out questions will demonstrate your genuine interest in the position. Be

careful how many questions you ask, however, as too many can imply you feel the interview was not

successfully run. Pick your questions with care - this is your chance to gather information, so ask about

what you really want to know. Avoid sounding critical by mentioning negative information you may have

discovered. This is one of the most effective ways to compare different employers, so for issues of

particular importance to you (for example, whether they support staff upgrading), you should ask the same

questions of each employer. Some sample questions are:

What are the most significant factors affecting your business today? How have changes in technology most affected your business today?

How has your business/industry been affected by the recession?

How has your company grown or changed in the last couple of years?

What future direction do you see the company taking?

Where is the greatest demand for your services or product?

Where is most of the pressure from increased business felt in this company?

Which department feels it the most?

How do you differ from your competitors?

How much responsibility will I be given in this position?

What do you like about working with this organization?

Can you tell me more about the training program?

Have any new product lines been introduced recently?

How much travel is normally expected?

What criteria will be used to evaluate my performance?

Will I work independently or as part of a team?

How did you advance to your position?

What are the career paths available in this organization?

When can I expect to hear from you regarding this position?

It is very important to ask the last question because employers want to hire individuals who are interested in the position - and asking this question definitely helps to demonstrate interest on your part. Exercise judgement when asking questions to an employer. When being interviewed by a large company that has a high profile, one would not ask the question

"What is the history of your company and how was your company started?" You can find the answer to this question in the company's annual report or articles in magazines/newspapers. However, small- and medium-sized companies do not always produce publicly available annual reports and it may be difficult to access information on the company and its role in the industry. This question is appropriate if you have exercised all other ways to find out the answer.


Your resume is the first interface you have with your employer

Your resume is the first interface you have with your employer. Make the most of this opportunity............. The employment market is changing all the time and so have resumes, evolving from a one-size-fits-all standard. Here are our tips to convert your resume into a catching one.

Follow These Basic Standards....

Don't overcrowd your resume; allow for plenty of white space.

Keep your resume to one page whenever possible.

Keep the number of fonts you use to a minimum -- two at the most.

Use a font that is easy to read. Times Roman works well.

Do not justify the lines of type on your resume. Allow the right side of the page to "rag."

Do not overuse capitalization, italics, underlines, or other emphasizing features.

Make sure your name, address, and a phone number appear on your resume and all correspondence, preferably at the top of the page.

Print your resume on white or cream paper using a good-quality printer.

Second- and third-generation photocopies must be avoided

Print on one side of the paper only.

Avoid Mistakes:

Spelling Mistakes:

To avoid spelling mistakes:

Don't use words with which you aren't familiar.

Use a dictionary as you write.

Perform a spell check on your finished resume.

Carefully read every word in your resume.

Have a friend or two proof read your resume for you.

Punctuation Mistakes:

Things to look for:

Periods at the end of all full sentences.

Be consistent in your use of punctuation.

Always put periods and commas within quotation marks.

Avoid using exclamation points.

Grammatical Mistakes:

Grammar hang-ups to watch for:

Do not switch tenses within your resume.

The duties you currently perform should be in present tense (i.e., write reports)

Duties you may have performed at past jobs should be in past tense (i.e., wrote reports).

Capitalize all proper nouns.

When expressing numbers, write out all numbers between one and nine (i.e., one, five, seven), but

use numerals for all numbers 10 and above (i.e., 10, 25, 108).

If you begin a sentence with a numeral, spell out that numeral (e.g. Eleven service awards won while employed.).

Make sure your date formats are consistent (i.e.11/22/01 or Nov. 22, 2001, or 11.22.01. Choose one and stick with it.).

Choose Your Words Carefully:

Phrase yourself well:

Be on the lookout for the following easily confused words:

accept (to receive), except (to exclude)

all right (correct), alright (this is not a word)

affect (to bring about change), effect (result)

personal (private), personnel (staff members)

role (a character assigned or a function), roll (to revolve).

Use action words (i.e., wrote reports, increased revenues, directed staff).

References:

In most instances it is not necessary to include names and address of references on the resume. If you include a reference, make it sure that the referenced person knows very well about you. It is also advisable to add the persons as references, whom the employer can contact easily. If possible add the phone number and e-mail ID of the reference. Never add a person as a reference, about whom you know nothing

STICK TO THE POINT

Employers have a busy schedule, so don't expect them to read through a long resume. Ideally, resumes should be of one page, or of two pages only if absolutely necessary, to describe relevant work experience.

WORDS COUNT

Use of language is extremely important; you need to sell yourself to an employer quickly and efficiently. Address your potential employer's needs with a clearly written, compelling resume. Avoid large paragraphs (five or six lines). If you provide small, digestible pieces of information, your resume will be read. Use action verbs. Verbs such as "developed", "managed", and "designed" emphasise your accomplishments. Don't use declarative sentences like "I developed the ..." or "I assisted in ...", leave out the "I". Avoid passive constructions, such as "was responsible for managing". Just say, "managed": that sounds stronger and more active.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR EXPERIENCE

Employers need to know what you have accomplished to have an idea of what you can do for them. Don't be vague. Telling someone that you "improved the company's efficiency" doesn't say much. But if you say that you "cut overhead costs by 20 per cent and saved the company Rs 20 lakh during the last fiscal year", you are more specific.

HONESTY IS A GOOD POLICY

Employers will feel more comfortable hiring you if they can verify your accomplishments. There is a difference between making the most of your experience and exaggerating or falsifying it. A falsified resume can cost you the job later.

DOUBLE-CHECK FOR MISTAKES

Check your resume for correct grammar and spelling - evidence of good communication skills and attention to detail. Nothing can ruin your chances of getting a job faster than submitting a resume filled with preventable mistakes. Make your resume easy on the eye. Use normal margins (1" on the top and bottom, 1.25" on the sides) and don't cram your text on the page. Allow for some space between the different sections. Avoid unusual or exotic fonts. Preferred fonts: Arial and Times Roman