What are some strategies to handle difficult or unexpected interview questions?

Make sure your resume is to the point of what you have to offer a prospective employer. I tell all my candidates, "You have 3 minutes to sell yourself" if you're dropping off or submitting your resume online. Make sure all your information is accurate, 1. Where and when did you work. 2. What was your Title. 3. What were your duties. You don't have to write a novel, but you want to make sure all your skills definitely jump out. You want your resume to be easy for an employer to browse through. Ask yourself these questions. Why should they hire me? What do I have to offer that stands out from other candidates? And SPELL CHECK or have someone go over your resume.

Storytelling works like magic during interviews but many haven't tapped into the power yet. It helps interviewers understand your thought proccess, problem-solving skills and how you have made a difference in past situations. Here is what storytelling does: It helps you prove what is on your resume (Authority, Facts & Figures). ?? Situation: Context, What was the problem on ground? ??Task: Goals, What were the specific tasks that needed to be done? This helps demonstrate your understanding of the role/responsibilities. ??Action: Describe the actions you took, challenges you faced and strategies you used to overcome them. ??Result: What is the outcome of your action? What positive impact did your actions have on the situation?

If you have paid someone to write your resume or, God forbid, you have used AI, it is especially important to read and understand the content of your resume. Don't be shocked if your interviewer asks you about a particular experience of skill. If you have fluffed up or embellished your experience, it is going to show when you can't back it up in an interview. I made that mistake once and got blown up by the interviewer. I was wrong, he was right and I earned my rejection letter!

In handling challenging interview questions, it's crucial to stay composed, listen actively, and reflect on the question's intent. Using the STAR method for structured responses, pivot to relevant skills if needed, and frame your answers positively. Honesty and transparency are valued, and you can showcase problem-solving skills by discussing your thought process. Stay professional, practice, seek feedback, and maintain your focus on qualifications and enthusiasm for the role. These strategies empower you to confidently navigate unexpected questions in interviews.

I give all my candidates a link to the employers website so they can go over as much as possible before their interview with them. Most companies will ask you why you want to work for them, so if you already have some insight of what they do, and as stated above, what are their Mission, vision and values and culture, this will give you an edge above other candidates.

The only way to know what you are going into is to RESEARCH. When I talk about Research I love to tell my clients/candidates to go beyond just looking up the company online to know what they do and all. If you can extend your search to asking past employees and if it's a place you can walk in, go and see for yourself. Asking employees isn't just asking the HR and top management, the gateman or cook can have answers to your questions if you understand what I mean. Find ways to gather the information you need.

Research is crucial as it prepares you for interviews and helps you determine if you truly want to work for the company. It allows you to identify any potential red flags that may affect your decision. Moreover, during your research, you can gather valuable information that enables you to ask relevant questions during the interview. This demonstrates your genuine interest in the role and organization, showcasing your preparedness and enthusiasm.

In the military, if you were going to a promotion board or getting ready to compete for a nominative position, you no doubt put in hours, days and weeks to prepare. If you didn't make it, well, you could still go back to your desk, no change of losing your job over a poor board performance. So with your career future and a paycheck on the line how could you spend less time preparing? You should know their entire "chain of command"... Operations Manager, Directors, VP of OPS, SVPs, EVPs, Partners and C-Suite by name at a minimum. I uset the 10 to 1 ratio. 10 minutes of prep for every 1 minute of face time. So yeah... 10 hours of prep for a one hour interview. It works.

Before practicing common questions, align yourself with the opportunity by dissecting the job position. First, capture the skills and responsibilities of the role on the left side of a sheet. Next, for each responsibility you’ve identified, capture your expertise on the right side of the sheet. Now you can research questions that an employer will potentially pose based on the skills required and the responsibilities for the role. Lastly, review your qualifications + expertise then consider the BEST examples you'll share courtesy of the questions you identified.

When I get nervous, I ramble. I always write out answers to questions like "tell me about yourself" and "why are you interested in this role" and practice them aloud. It helps keep me concise and on point.

Tell me about yourself? What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to work hear? Tell me about a time you had to resolve a conflict in the workplace? The most common questions and how to answer them are a quick trip to YouTube or Google away. Formulating your answer for the first time should not be happening in the interview room and more than football teams are making up plays on the field. Compose your answers ahead of time, review them, rehearse them, tailor them for the company. If you can link your responses to the KSAs in the job description or a piece of information you have learned about the company in your research.

To be able to predict questions, you should be able to align your expertise to the job description. How do you match what the company is looking for? Outline the duties and skills needed for that role and match them to what you can do or have done. Remember the end goal is to hire who can get the job done. You should be working towards being that perfect match. After aligning, research possible questions for that role, skills and all. Also, you have to be able to know where your story is and which of your story fits into each question.

Three easy steps to practice common interview questions: 1. Understand the purpose of the question: What skill are they trying to identify in your answer by asking a specific question? This helps you answer by focusing on that skill. 2. Use examples that use numbers and experiences: Numbers hit the head and real-time stories/experiences hit the heart! 3. Tailor your response: Conclude your answers with specific targeting towards the company's values/vision/culture, etc. and the role requirements.

I think the advice to "stay confident" in the face of a difficult question is counter-productive. It's like telling a petrified person to be brave. Plus, people can get defensive and delude themselves into thinking they're being confident. My advice as a former hiring manager - STAY CURIOUS. If you stay genuinely curious and seek to understand why a person is asking what they're asking and what they may "really be asking", you can diffuse the situation and turn it into a conversation. Out of college, an interviewer tried to rattle me by getting me to recite a famous financial formula. I was curious and asked him what benefit the company saw in me memorizing this formula vs. looking it up and he cracked up and moved to the next question.

Never try to answer the question right away. Give the question some deep thought. This will let the employer know that you are taking the time to give a great answer and that you're serious about the question, and that you're just not trying to give them any answer. If are quick to give an answer , when you leave your interview you'll most likely say to yourself " Shoot, I shouldn't have answered the question that way! I had a better answer".

Stay "Observant" before you stay "Confident". My point is, you should be confidently giving the right answer and the only way to do that is to observe and not be in so much rush to answer. Let's talk about Confidence. Confidence is that perfect dress for your interview. Confidence is not arrogance, it's self assurance. I have seen situations where candidates don't understand the question asked but fail to ask for clarification before answering. You owe yourself that much, ask for clarification. You can't give a right answer to a question you don't understand.

Calm and confident but definately not cocky. "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"... "I want your job." Really? It took me 15 years to get where I am and you're going to do it in 5, with your BA in General Studies and no experience? Thanks for coming in.

BREATHE! Just because you don't know the answer does not mean you fail the interview. If it's not technical, not verifiable, and quantifiable, come up with an example. It may take some practice but that's okay to make stuff up (within reason). If it is technical and it's to the point either you know it or you don't then be absolutely honest about it. Articulate the fact that you are willing to dive more. Ask your interviewers if it is appropriate to give you a few examples so you can investigate on your own.

There is one killer last question you can ask your interviewer: "What does success look like in this role / in this company?" Because this gets to a lot of the culture and unspoken factors of what type of people succeed, what the expectations are and what gets rewarded. Most other prepared questions like "what is the culture like?" are usually a turn-off to a hiring manager. They sound canned and cliche. Shape your questions based on the conversation you've just had in the interview and make your follow-up questions contextual.

Here is one thing I tell my clients/candidates about this ?? ??Understand that while you want to impress the interviewer, you should also be deciding if they are a good fit for you and the only way to do that is to ask the right questions. This isn't research, you have the opportunity to satisfy your curiosity by getting answers directly from the company. Here are powerful questions to ask: Why is the position available? Who was in the seat before and why they are no longer in that seat? This helps you know if you're in or out. What characteristics do all the top performers in this role share? This helps know how well you fit and what you should be learning.

You should always have questions to ask prepared and on your notepad. If the question gets addressed before it's your time to ask questions, cross it off. Asking a question that's already been answered just shows you are not listening. I used to always ask, "What are your expectations in the first 90 days?" But the answer was always the same... "learn". After reading "Hire with Your Head" I now ask, "Assume its been 12 months since you hired me and we are conducting my annual performance review. What KPIs or Measures of Effectiveness am I being assessed against?" The answer should show the employer that you are a forward thinker, results focussed and more concerned about the company's priorities than you are with your own.

I think preparation and keeping calm/relaxed is key. If you have done your research in to the company, have a passion or interest in what it is doing and know you are a good fit for the role then generally the interview should go well. And always remember, the interview works both ways so ensure you ask any questions you have to help you decide if its the right role/company for you.

Be confident in yourself! You know what you've done, you know you are valuable. It's ok to be nervous to a certain point, but know you are good for this role and make sure to come off confident in yourself. If you asked me to interview for a role, I could be ready in 10 minutes and only so that would give me enough time to research the company and the interviewer. I can talk about myself right away because I know I'm good at what I do.