Interview Strategies when You Don't have All the Answers!

Tweet: Not having answers to all the interview questions is not the end of the world. Here are some proven strategies that can help you overcome such hurdles.

Clients often come to me and complain about not getting the offer after a “successful” interview, where they were able to answer all the questions asked. Many job seekers truly believe that having all the answers to the interview questions is the key to getting the job they are after.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Why is that?

A job interview is not just the opportunity for the employer to assess your ability to answer all the questions that are asked during your interview, but it is also for them to assess your fit in the company, business, and the team where you would be working. There are three main factors that drive this assessment:

Chemistry (Ethos)

Competency (Logos)

Compatibility (Pathos)

Chemistry (Ethos or “I’m like you”) is often mistaken for a binary factor: either you have chemistry with the interviewer or you don’t. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Personal chemistry is sensed in a typical encounter quickly. It can also be developed by having a meaningful dialog with the interviewer and by focusing on the two other aspects listed above. So, if you do not feel “instant” chemistry with your interviewer you have an opportunity to develop that connection as a result of your becoming aware that you still have two other factors to work with to create this “chemistry.”

Thus by answering tough interview questions thoughtfully and with confidence you can regain any lack of chemistry that you may sense at the outset. The same applies to Compatibility. You can show your ability to understand the team’s pain by how you provide your expertise to that team and how you are going to make a positive difference once you become part of that team.

In a typical interview dynamic I like to see the flow of how an interview progresses in three stages: Interrogation, Interview, Interaction.

Let me explain:

Most candidates subject themselves to an interrogation as they play out their “candidate” role during the interview process. They surrender themselves to the process and let the interviewer ask them question after question and struggle to respond to them the best way they can. The problem with this model is that they do not get to find out what the real problem is that the interviewer is trying to get at (Pathos) in assessing our value to them in solving that problem. Oh, they can surmise that by asking you some questions peripheral to that need, but the only way you can know that problem with any specificity is to ask such questions in ways that allow you to explore that problem and use your experience solving such problems, so that the interviewer knows that you can hit the ground running and make a difference to the team.

The next step is how you get into the “Interview” mode where you have graduated from merely answering the questions to digging a bit deeper into the question just asked. For example, if the interviewer asks you, Tell me how you’d deal with an errant project team member, who is always late delivering their tasks and who requires constant follow-up to make sure that they will deliver what they committed to.

Responding to such a question can start with asking some contextual questions to the interviewer to get more specificity and clarity. For example, you can ask them some questions about how the commitment for that milestone was made and what mechanisms exist for tracking progress on any milestones. Once you get the response to these you could formulate a response. But, remember this response is still somewhat contrived and incomplete for your needs because you still do not know all the details about this situation and you are responding within the constraints presented by this limited exchange. This is where you’ve graduated from the Interrogation mode the Interview mode.

To exchange real conversation you must quickly move into the next level of dialog in your interviews: Interactive conversation or Interaction. In this mode you are going back and forth and sharing your experiences and trading ideas on how you can work together to solve the real problem the interviewer is addressing and the one that is affecting their team.

For example, when the interviewer asked the question about the errant team member, you have an opening to ask the following: On a typical project how often does a timeline slip, untracking that project, and what process of recovery is used to bring that back on track? The interviewer’s response to this specific question can reveal much about the system of project management they use and the process by which they exercise project control. Once you hear their response you can showcase your own successes in such matters and share with them how you could now bring that discipline to their team. When this happens you have an interactive exchange and are going back and forth as if you are both solving a common problem.

Graduating from Interrogation to Interaction takes much skill, confidence, and presence of mind, but this is what will differentiate you from all other candidates who can also respond to all the questions thrown at them (Interrogation), who fail to deliver a winning candidate to the interviewer.

So, what are my recommendations to succeed in an interview where you do not have answers to all the questions thrown at you, but still have the chance to succeed and to get that prized job offer? Here is my list:

1.    Go fully prepared with all the technical topics important to acing an interview because this is something that is the absolute minimum to qualify you to be viewed as a viable candidate. This is the price of entry or what is otherwise called a hygiene factor.

2.    Do diligent research on the company, the business of the group, or the team you are going after and know about their challenges by talking to people that deal with them.

3.    Provide thoughtful responses to the questions asked from the get-go and be especially crisp about the icebreaker questions such as Tell me about yourself. Response to this question must be about 50-60 seconds, crisp, specific, and confident.

4.    As you get into the rhythm with the first part of the interview (Interrogation) find yourself an opening to next get into the Interview mode, where you explore further details around a question to provide insightful responses (see the example of Project Management interview above).

5.    As you get into an engaged dialog that is now flowing smoothly back and forth get into the Interaction mode, where you are digging deeper into the team’s pain points and its approach to dealing with that pain (Pathos). This is where you can zero-in on your detailed knowledge and experience solving such problems and showing the interviewer that you are the only candidate that will hit the ground running as you join their team.

6.    Use this dynamic to let the interviewer sell you on their open job. You know this is happening when they start talking about things that need done and why this is a good opportunity for you to consider joining them. Remember, in an interview, the person doing the talking is doing the selling and the person asking the question is in charge of the interview. So, your asking the right questions turns the table in this dynamic.

7.    Be confident when responding, especially during the Interview and the Interaction phases. Of course, your responses during the Interrogation part must also be equally compelling; otherwise you cannot graduate to the next phase.

8.    Be relaxed and open minded throughout this process. A tense and anxious mind will prevent lucid responses and you may not be able to perform as well as you should.

9.    If you do not know an answer to any question, just admit and move on. If you want to explore the answer say so and then proceed with your exploration.

10. As you come to the end of your time, smile and ask the interview what the next steps are. Do not ask how well you did.

If you treat the interview process as an exploration for both parties to evaluate their mutual fit for each other to work together, you are more likely to end the interview in terms favorable to you, keeping you in the driver’s seat.

Good luck!