How do you answer tough interview questions?

I believe in the honesty method. It’s the only way a recruiter can truly tell if you are a great fit. Usually if you are trying to “tailor” your answer your not giving the full the truth and answering how you think they want you to answer. It’s very important to understand the question asked but don’t try to tailor to the recruiter. If they are a good recruiter they will know you are doing it and it will come across as insincere.

Interviews are a test of things we know and things we don’t. Our chosen mindset should expect tough questions. In any interview we should expect to be asked about things we don’t know. Good interviewers observe what happens when we don’t know something. Tough questions like this are where we reveal more about who we are. Here is where we show (not tell) what happens when we face a new challenge. How we think/act when we don’t already know what to do for the best. Some of the best answers I ever heard in an interview began with, ‘I don’t know’. Some interviewees know this already. It's my job as a career consultant to share insight like this, so you know it too.

These questions can be tricky. If you made it this far, they honestly believe that you can do the job. I mean, when you have 300 people who are applying for a job and you are only going to interview 10, yeah they are pretty sure you are knowledgeable. This point is more about how you answer vs what your answer is. The bottom line is, the interview is for the company to find the best fit, show some feelings when you interview.

Answering interview questions that are tough should be related to the: Achievements - how and what you have achieved? Problem Solving - Not only in professional but in personal life as well. Values and Ethics - How your values and ethics can contribute to your professional life or the role you are applying to

It’s important to understand that everything you say during the interview should showcase why you are the best person for this exact position. Understand why they are asking each question, and what type of response would be impressive and relevant. This means that your answer to the same questions will change, depending on the job you are interviewing for. Thoroughly review the job description and your resume in advance of the interview, and have multiple stories ready, to give specific examples of your accomplishments that are directly in alignment with every bullet point on the job position. Make sure that your stories are succinct, to the point, and always have a positive ending. Avoid one word answers or speaking in the hypothetical.

The star model is perfect in this scenario. If you’re able to nail the question at hand, you reaffirm your position with a great STAR story that relates to it. Overall, you end up acing the question. But let’s say you struggle with an answer. If you’re still able to provide a star story of how you successfully handled a similar situation, you can still come out nailing that question. That’s why it’s so important to compose as many star stories as possible when you’re preparing for your interview.

You don't know exactly what they'll ask, but if you prepare 5-10 STAR stories about different experiences that you've encountered in your work life (or school or occasionally personal life), where you made a positive impact, chances are that you'll be able to use one of those for those unexpected interview questions. When creating your stories, be brief when describing the situation and task, and focus on your actions and your results. Practice, practice, practice, and make sure your answer is limited to a few minutes.

The time tested and well received STAR method. Again, it is about how you tell the story more than the story you tell. Draw the interviewer in when you tell it. Show some emotion. The best storytellers make the audience become emotionally invested in the story. Take a class on storytelling. It will help you tremendously with interviewing.

It's important to balance your STAR response in favour of actions and results and less on the situation. I see clients waste a lot of valuable "real estate" in providing context and past history for the situation. More talking does not equal more points! 2 sentences max for the situation is all you need.

Situation, Task, Action, Result – the secret formula for acing behavioral questions. Describe the Situation, outline the Task, dive into your Action steps, and showcase the Result achieved. It’s not just storytelling; it’s demonstrating your skills with impact! Nail your next interview with STAR.

Absolutely, preparing some common questions are important. One of the most asked question is "walk me through your profile". Knowing answer to this and how to answer this is very important. I believe recruiters look for the following answers: - Communication Skills - Ability to prioritize information - if you are aligned with the role - confidence in presenting yourself. - how you are as a person in personal life - talking about extracurricular activities

Preparation is the key! We prepare for almost everything in our life than why not prepare for interviews as well. Always go ready whether you are going for interview or meeting. Here's some advice that may not be popular, but please hear me out: - Prepare at least 12-15 scenarios from your experiences, such as successful/challenging/metric-driven projects, most difficult times, or instances where you took risks. When you encounter interview questions, confidently match them with the most relevant scenarios from your prepared list. This approach alleviates the stress of trying to prepare for an overwhelming number of questions.

There is an excellent resource on the Jobs tab on LinkedIn. From the desktop, once you're in the jobs area, on the left hand side you'll see something called Interview Prep. Click on that and you'll see 26 common interview questions. You can then click to record yourself on video answering the question. Speak for more than 15 seconds and you'll get AI feedback telling you how your pitch and speed of speaking were. It will also tell you about any filler words you used. Erm, ah, basically - that sort of thing. You can send your answer as a message to someone you'd like to review it. If you're a premium member you can watch videos of model answers. Everyone has access to the tips of what to include. It really is useful.

The job posting will give you all he clues you need. Forecast questions that are connected to the requirements of the job. If the posting indicates the position will lead projects, known there will be questions like "describe how you manage competing and multiple priorities", "tell us about the best project you were part of - what was your contribution" or "how do you respond when the project you are working on shifts direction quickly".

If you don't have an answer to a question, if you've not been in that situation for example. I would suggest being honest about that, and saying what you would do if the situation arose that they are asking about. I would also always say if there's a gap in your knowledge to say that's partly what attracted you to the role - that you were looking forward to learning whatever it is. After all, why would you apply for a job where you can already do everything?

Confidence is so important in an interview. Remember that the company needs you just as much as you need them, otherwise they wouldn't be hiring. When you walk in, you are already ahead of the game. You survived the first purge. Keep that confidence going forward. Present yourself as a person who knows what they are doing with confidence. The non-verbals, back straight, looking at your interviewer in the eyes, firm handshake, great posture, all of these things can set the interview on a positive note or a negative one. Oh and SMILE!!!! A smile is welcoming, warm, inviting. It lets the interviewer know that they are in for a wonderful interview, because believe me, they are worried also about having another candidate waste their time.

Be absolutely honest but show your vastness and competence regardless. For example- if you don’t have experience with a tool, say you don’t but share your experience using a similar tool for example- Jira vs Asana. If you have a gap in your resume, be honest and share what you did to improve yourself professionally. It could be online courses, books, webinars, podcasts or ted talks you engaged with.

Honesty is what I look for. Although 'STAR' answers might be delightful ... I am looking to talk to a real person. Find out about them, their core values, and if those fit with our organization. People can be trained, learn, and progress ... but ... if they don't have "it" in them no amount of fancy verbal footwork gets them through the vetting process.

Being authentic will help for sure. Highlighting your top achievements/ contributions may be helpful. Agree with @weldon poapost

In my experience as a recruiter you always want to be prepared for your interviews by researching information on the company you are interviewing with. You want to be prepared by knowing when the company was founded, information on the CEO, the companies mission statement, etc. Also, make sure to always have questions to ask your interviewers (at least 5 to 6 questions) and make sure to always dress appropriately for all interviews (business or business casual). At the end of all interviews always ask "what is the next step in the interview process?".

I will say this on every interview post that I comment on. The interview is not about you getting a job, but the company finding the best fit. For the most part, the company already has an idea that you can do the job based on your resume. They need to know that you will bring positivity and a can-do attitude to the company and not be an energy vampire.

Do your research - both online and through conversation by reaching out to others. Learn about the organization- and the job.

Have some questions for the interview team. The purpose of an interview is whether or not YOU fit in with their team, or if the team fits in with YOU. Ask them about turnover, benefits, whether or not they have had to layoff or furlough in the past, etc. You can even ask about team structure, who would you be reporting to, what are some challenges you will face. By asking questions, this allows you to know if this is the right place for you.

Couple of points to ponder upon: - Take a brief pause to gather your thoughts and structure your response to provide a well-organized and coherent answer. - Understand the underlying objective of the question and answer accordingly - Avoid rambling or providing unrelated information. Keep your answers concise, to the point, and relevant to the question. - If you're unsure about the question or need more information, ask the interviewer for clarification. - Maintain eye contact, sit upright, and exude confidence. Show enthusiasm for the opportunity and engage actively with the interviewer. - Reflect on your performance & identify areas for improvement to better prepare for future interviews. - Last is Practice, Practice and Practice