Your interview is going great. You are about half way through and confident that you are presenting yourself in the best possible light. Then the interviewer asks another question but this time it is a difficult one. It has caught you off guard and you are not sure how to best answer it. You start to stumble your words or, palms start to sweat and the vision you had of getting your dream job is quickly fading away. What do you do now? Difficult interview questions can be overcome if you know how.
To prepare for an interview beforehand is going to give you the best chance to perform at your best when it comes to difficult interview questions like – ‘Why should we offer this position to you?’. Make a list of potential interview questions that may be asked. These should be general as well as specific to the job. Take some time out and practice answering these questions. Practice as many times as you need to until you can confidently give a good solid answer. Keep practicing until the question and answer no longer makes you feel uncomfortable.
Questions like ‘Tell me a little about yourself’ should not be dismissed as an easy question. This one often has candidates stumbling in interviews. Rehearse and practice each answer for every question. Try not to get caught up in just preparing for the difficult questions. Neglecting the ‘easy’ questions will leave you unprepared to answer simple questions. It’s often best to practice questions perceived as being easy first as this allows you to get them out of the way and to focus on more difficult questions.
You wont be able to think of every possible question that may be asked, as a result you will encounter some questions that you hadn’t thought of previously and haven’t prepared for. First things first, take a deep breath. Repeat the question in your head. Use your mock interviews to link between this question and questions you have practiced for. It may just be a variations of a different question. If you can link it to something else or another question then you will be bettre able to answer and it wont seem so overwhelming.
A good tip is to break down the question. Take it apart bit by bit. If you are not sure about the question then the interviewer and ask them if they can clarify it a little for you.
If you are not sure how to answer a question or you don’t understand then inform the interviewer. This is better than blundering your way through with a poor answer. An experienced interviewer will spot BS a mile away. If you’re bluffing then the last thing you want is the interviewer to call you on your fake answer. Just say that you don’t have and answer for them but given some time to research and ask others you could have the right answer for future reference. This shows honesty and integrity, traits any employer likes in an employee. Follow this advice and you will be able to handle all difficult interview questions.