How Do You Answer Tough Interview Questions?

How do you keep your cool? Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath to help yourself relax. It makes a big difference and makes you sound more confident.

2. Listen!
Have you understood the question? Or are you guessing and making assumptions about what they want to know?

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. There are few things more annoying for an interviewer than a candidate waffling the answer to a different question.

If there is something about the question that is unclear – ask! Then interpret the question: what does it really mean? What are they looking for? That should guide you towards your answer.

3. It’s ok to ask for time to think
A few moments to think helps you come back with a great answer, rather than a ”regret-it-later” response.

Many interview questions are designed to make the candidate think for potentially obscure examples from their past, so you need time to think. If you need a few seconds to think, just ask for them.

Most interviewers would rather wait for a great answer than have to endure ”yet another” waffled and less relevant response. In fact, sometimes it can count against you if you answer too quickly, because the interviewer thinks you are making it up – or regurgitating an over-rehearsed response.

4. Emergency tactic
Could I come back to that later?” This is not a preferred option, but it is better than giving a poor answer. Tell them you would like time to think of a really relevant example. Bear in mind that a non-work example might be acceptable.

5. Don’t answer it
There are some questions that simply should not be asked. If you think you have just had one of these (e.g. whether you are planning a family or not), then politely explain that you would rather not discuss that in the context of an interview; you like to keep your work and home life separate. Stay calm and realize that this type of question is almost always asked innocently, as an icebreaker.

The key to successful interviewing is giving answers that prove you are the obvious candidate for the job.

6. Attitude
The more we talk to recruiters, the more we find that, above all other factors, they are looking for the right attitude.

They will often make allowances for your skills (they can train you) and your experience (if you can prove you pick things up fast), as long as you have the right attitude.
So what is the ”right” attitude?

Someone who is genuinely interested in the company and who they think will fit in with the culture and the team.

All the more reason why you should make sure you are relaxed and natural in the job interview. It really is not the situation for putting on a different personality – most interviewers will spot it.

At the end of the day, either you are the best person for the job – or you are not. But there are things you can do to weight the odds in your direction.