The Toughest Interview Questions- What’s your take on this?
I think that some of the toughest questions in an interview tend to fall in these five categories:
1. Gaps in Employment: “How you come you didn’t finish college? Or why were you terminated from your last two jobs?”
2. Relocation/Culture Fit: “Why would a city-loving person like yourself want to relocate to the Midwest?”
3. Political Views: “Are you part of the Palin 2012 camp?”
4. Just Plain Inappropriate (Even Illegal) such as: “Do you have/plan to have kids? Are you married?”
5. Gossip/Reputation Based: “I used to work with your co-worker Sandy, and she told me you were known to break down under stress/have temper tantrums/dye your hair hot pink before big meetings/(Insert your own rumor here). So, what’s the scoop here?”
6. Case Based: Consulting inteviews are often fond of handing their interviewees case-based questions.
What are some of the toughest interview questions you’ve been asked? Did you answer them well or do you wish you’d answered them differently. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I get hundreds of responses to this one.
Comments (4)
I’ve been asked tough questions about changing jobs three times in the last couple of years. I don’t have a brilliant answer except that I was still career ’soul searching’ but I gave my answer confidently-no stuttering or sounding apologetic for trying out something new and deciding it wasn’t for me- and made eye contact and just sounded comfortable with myself. I guess what I’m saying is, yeah you want to say the right things but it’s alot about how confidently/comfortably u say it.
Oh I was interviewed by this total McCain/Palin worshipping geezer that was determined to tell me why Obama wasn’t right for the job.
I’m laughing now but I wouldn’t have found it so humorous during the interview. So, how did you handle it?
Some responses for employment gaps…
taking a class (even a free one)… spending time researching…developing skills…a great answer is volunteering. I’m meeting a lot of people that have taken up writing or creating websites…etc…
It’s all about getting comfortable in the interview and not looking at it as a trick question. I think many people can think of something constructive they did while unemployed – it’s all about confidence in the delivery.