Why do employers ask unexpected interview questions?Īccording to Swanson, the hardest interview questions are designed to see how you think on your feet and react in an unsettling situation. They have a clear purpose and it’s up to you to show the interviewer they can’t ruffle your feathers.Įven if you are unsettled, you need to show them you can keep your cool and do what’s needed in a tough situation. “The most difficult interview questions are the ones that make you uncomfortable,” she explains. How to answer unexpected or difficult interview questions This doesn’t always mean the off-the-wall “What’s your spirit animal?” type questions, but even seemingly simple things that you feel a bit icky responding to. If you want to ace your interview, then you need a plan of attack. Step 1: Practice the questions that make you feel uncomfortable With a little time and effort, these five steps will help you answer unexpected interview questions with ease. If you know something is a sore spot for you, work out how you’re going to answer it, ideally with a positive spin. Maybe the question that gets your goat is, “If you were ever let go from a role, why was that?” or “Why do you have a two-year career gap?” Swanson explains that answering hard interview questions is a very individual process. To work out the sort of interview questions you’ll find hard to answer, she recommends looking up typical questions online and seeing which ones give you butterflies (not the good kind). Don’t ignore them and hope they won’t be asked. If you were let go because you lacked something for the role, what have you learned about yourself or what have you worked on since then? Step 2: Have questions ready to help you understand unexpected interview questions Plan how you’re going to answer them honestly and positively. Refusing to answer an unexpected interview question will raise a red flag with any employer. They’ll get the impression you’re stubborn or difficult. Even if you think the question is inappropriate there’s a way to handle it. Swanson suggests answering it with a question of your own, to understand where they’re coming from and what they’re hoping to get out of your answer. Try something like, “Well, that’s an interesting question. To understand better, if I may, can I ask why you’d like to know that?” The question may not be as inappropriate as you think. Swanson shares a story from her own career. “I was interviewing for a recruiter role back in the early 90s and during the interview, they asked if I’d be willing to bring in my husband so they could meet him and ask him a couple of questions. It was definitely an unusual and potentially very inappropriate request. I politely asked them the reason for this and they explained that the role would involve a lot of ‘nos’ and taking a lot of knockbacks.

They wanted to be sure I had a good support system in place.” This might be deemed inappropriate today, but there’s a lot to learn from Swanson’s response. She didn’t get offended or offend the employer and she discovered their intent was well-meaning, albeit perhaps misplaced. Step 3: Work on how you share your weaknessesĪnswering interview questions about your strengths and weaknesses is pretty much a given, but that doesn’t make it easy to do. For example, “We all have areas we can improve upon, what are yours?” or, “What do you feel you lacked most in your previous role?” You might not get the obvious, “Tell me about your weaknesses,” but there are many ways of asking this common interview question.

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