How To Answer Questions During an Interview

It is important to know how to answer interview questions because interviews are necessary for almost every job. Some interviewers may ask pointed or difficult questions to get information about your attitude towards specific matters. They may also want to gauge your reaction and your ability to remain calm and confident when asked to share information.

For answering questions adequately, you must have sufficient knowledge about the topic and know how to improvise to come up with a concise reply. Here are a few steps to answer difficult interview questions:

Make sure you understand the question

If you don’t understand the question correctly, ask the interviewer to explain or rephrase it. You can also ask them to define the terms that seem unclear or vague to you. To clarify things further, repeat the question after them and ask if that is what they want to know. If there is any confusion, it is best to do this right after the question is asked. Otherwise, you might spend time thinking up an appropriate response, only to have the interviewer say that that wasn’t the information they wanted from you in the first place.

Take time to think of a response

When an interviewer asks you a difficult question, give yourself time to think of a suitable answer. If you’re unprepared for the question, you may not want to say the first thing you think of. Instead, pause for a few seconds to consider and frame a response. You can also take more time to think by repeating the question, rephrasing it, or asking the interviewer to clarify it.

Answer one aspect of the question

An interview question may have certain aspects that you prefer to ignore and some that you don’t mind addressing. It is a good idea to focus on the latter and come up with a simple answer that the interviewer might find satisfying. They may let it go at that, or they might choose to come back to their original question and press you to answer the aspects you ignored. By then, you may have had the time to come up with acceptable responses for these as well.

Put off answering the question

If you can’t formulate a suitable answer, inform the interviewer that you would like to defer answering the question. You can explain that you have insufficient information to answer the question at this point, and you would prefer to respond later when you do.

Focus on the interviewer

You can ask them what their interest is in the difficult question and what information they hope to gain by asking it. You can also question the interviewer‘s understanding of the issue and get some illuminating insights on the topic.

Keep calm

If you feel yourself getting emotional when asked difficult questions, take a deep breath and make an effort to stay calm and professional. You can take your time answering the questions, or you can decide you don’t want to respond to them. However, it is important to be polite in your refusal. You could say that you appreciate the interviewer’s interest in the matter, but these aren’t appropriate questions for you to answer. Let them know that you are willing to respond to other suitable questions that they might have for you.

Maintain a neutral body posture

When faced with a difficult interview question, you might feel intimidated by the interviewer and could find yourself unconsciously assuming a defensive body posture. That can include crossing your arms or legs and avoiding making eye contact. If you notice these signs, try to relax into a neutral body posture. This conveys to the interviewer that you are not being combative and are willing to consider and respond to the question.

Share what your interview experience was like for any company

Here are some examples of difficult interview questions:

If you had to tell me one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Rather than focussing on your past work experience, the interviewer likely wants to learn about the quality, skill, or accomplishment that makes you a perfect fit for the job.

Example answer: I have excellent manual design skills, and that helped me to learn digital skills quickly. Choosing a graphic design career was an easy choice, and I have been fortunate enough to work with some innovative clients. I believe my experience, talent, and work ethic will make me a good fit for your company’s forward-thinking culture.

Why do you want to work for our company?

Interviewers often ask this question to assess if you have researched the company and understand the responsibilities of the position for which you are interviewing. They also want to know the factors that made you decide to apply to their company rather than their competitors.

Example answer: After I decided to work in this industry, I researched the top companies and shortlisted those that emphasized business and technological innovation. Your company topped my list. I’m very impressed with your company culture, especially your willingness to put integrity, good customer service, and social initiatives before profit. I hope I can build my career with your company and make useful contributions.

How willing are you to fail at work?

The question intends to test your resilience and find out how you recover from setbacks. The interviewer also wants to know if you can learn from your mistakes and improve.

Example answer: I wouldn’t say I am willing to fail, but it can happen sometimes. The first thing to do then is to try to minimize the damages. Next, I will try to figure out why I failed and what I can do to avoid making the same mistakes. I will then consider my options and plan a strategy to get everything functioning again.

Have you ever been criticized by your supervisor? What was the reason?

The interviewer wants to find out if you are self-aware, honest, and understand the need for self-improvement. To respond, you can mention a weakness and explain the steps you are taking to correct it.

Example answer: My supervisor criticized me once for continuing to work after hours in the office. Everyone had left much earlier, and I was alone on the floor until 11 p.m. While we do have security in the building, my supervisor didn’t think it was such a good idea to be there by myself at such a late hour. She told me to improve my time and project management skills and to delegate tasks to my team members, if necessary. Since taking her advice, I haven’t had to do any overtime.

What do you think is more important, being skillful or being lucky?

The interviewer asks this question to gauge your attitude and your perception of skill and luck. They want to know if you take a realistic, pessimistic, or optimistic approach toward your career goals and if you believe advancement is possible through pure luck or by hard work and determination.

Example answer: I think being skillful is more important. It allows you to excel at something, and that will lead to work opportunities. By taking advantage of this, you can create your luck.

If you had to fit tennis balls into a limousine, how many do you think you could get in?

The interviewer isn’t looking for an exact figure but is more interested in understanding the thought process you employ in resolving this brain teaser. They want to know if you are capable of logical, analytical thinking, are willing to take up challenges, and can communicate your ideas.

Example answer: Firstly, I want to know about the interior dimensions of the limousine. I will also need to know if the driver and any passengers will be in the limousine when we start this experiment and how much space they will occupy. After calculating the square feet area inside the limousine and subtracting the human-occupied space, I will calculate the number of tennis balls that would fit in one square foot area. Then I will multiply these two figures, and we will get an idea of how many tennis balls we can fit into a limousine.