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Art of Answering Tricky Interview Questions: Strategies From the Pros

tricky interview questions with answers
31-Jan-2023

Table of contents

- Understanding How to Respond to tricky Interview Questions with answers

- Let's check out this list of tricky interview questions with answers

- Conclusion

Understanding How to Respond to tricky Interview Questions with answers

Let's understand how to respond to tricky interview questions with answers. "Tell me about the first five years of your life," or "If you could eliminate one state from the map of India, which one would it be, and why?" These may seem like absurd inquiries from a shrink, but, believe it or not, they are real questions that may be put to you during an interview. Employers have many different ways to put your creativity to the test!

Those highly general and seemingly unrelated interview questions came from two reputable organizations. As absurd as these queries may appear, they are more common with well-known, major corporations. Such bizarre interview questions are used because employers are more interested in how quickly applicants can come up with solutions. Try not to let your nerves get the better of you even if your natural reaction can cause physiological effects like an accelerated heart rate and/or confusion.

Unfortunately, none of these questions can have a single, definitive "correct" response (believe us, if we had them, we would tell you). However, we can advise you on how to approach these inquiries so that you may confront them head-on. Continue reading for a list of some standard and some not-so-standard questions and see how you can ace them in your next interview.

Let's check out this list of tricky interview questions with answers

There are many challenging interview questions out there, and interviewers like to use them to test your resilience. The inquiry could appear innocent enough until you begin to respond and discover that your response isn't necessarily working in your favor.

Fortunately, there is a way to ensure that you can respond to these questions quickly and accurately: preparation. You need to be prepared for these inquiries so that you can respond in a way that showcases your best qualities and avoids those tiny pitfalls. Here are five typical but difficult interview questions and tips on how to respond to them.

Tell me about yourself

A chance to introduce oneself? That's great! But hold on, there might be a trap here. When responding to this challenging interview question, have the following in mind:

This isn't the place to boast about all the incredible things you've accomplished, either professionally or otherwise. Excessively seeming good just comes across as haughty, and believe us when we say that no one ever likes that.

The interviewer is no longer interested in your pets or your grandmother's food at this point. Keep your response realistic but upbeat and focused on your professional life.

Do not overuse platitudes like "I'm a people person" or "I'm a team player" in job interviews. They are used frequently and their original purpose is lost.

Maintain your attention on the job and the business. What fashions are they adopting, and how could you support them in doing so? What kind of culture does the company have? Make a connection between the issues that matter to you, the company's core beliefs, and the position you want. Making the interviewer think you are the ideal candidate for the position is key. When they ask, "Tell me about yourself," they want to know, "What makes you ideal for this job?" That's how you answer this tricky question.

What's your biggest weakness?

It's excellent when they inquire about your greatest assets because then you have the go-ahead to explain why you would be a rock star employee at their business. A small bead of perspiration begins to develop on your forehead as you realize the next famously challenging tricky interview question is coming around halfway through your response: What is your biggest weakness? If you're not careful, your responses to this question could make you look awful.

Focus on the activities you enjoy doing rather than the ones you find difficult. Like trying to talk about how tough it is to find the right work-life balance. And you barely get time for outdoor activities or fulfilling a hobby.

Why do you want to leave your current job?

If you are currently employed and attending interviews, it means that you have decided to act as a result of something. The interviewer is looking for any kind of red flag when asking some of these questions. Here are some responses to avoid giving:

  • My boss is so annoying,
  • The pay is insufficient.
  • It is a poor firm.
  • They forced me to perform duties outside the scope of my work.

All of these are good reasons to move on, but you shouldn't advertise that. In other words, you should steer clear of any response that disparages your present position or any individual employee there. Focus on who you are and what you desire for the future.

When answering this challenging interview question, focus on your accomplishments at your current position and the reasons you feel prepared to go forward. Mention a few responsibilities or qualities that will help you learn in your new job. Where you want to go is more important than where you've been.

Tell me about a challenging issue you managed.

You've likely encountered some uncomfortable,  challenging, and sometimes even hazardous circumstances at work. It speaks a lot about you as a person and as an employee and how you respond to them.

The secret to answering this tricky interview question is to focus on an instance where you weren't at fault. It doesn't look good if you're managing a challenging circumstance but it's clear that you brought about your difficulties. Your ability to think creatively and strategically while keeping the big picture of the organization in mind will be evaluated during the interview.

Consider a period when pressure from outside factors resulted in a challenging circumstance. Did you enter? Were you able to come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone? You have the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to solve problems here. Using the STAR technique, demonstrate these abilities to show how well you can organize your answer to a topic of this nature.

The STAR METHOD

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.

Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized deion of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Task: What goal were you working toward?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution? Be careful that you don?t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project, but what you did. Use the word ?I,? not ?we? when describing actions.

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don?t be shy about taking credit for your behavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results.

Example of STAR

Situation: Advertising revenue was falling off for my college newspaper, The Review, and large numbers of long-term advertisers were not renewing contracts.

Task: My goal was to generate new ideas, materials, and incentives that would result in at least a 15% increase in advertisers from the year before.

Action: I designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet and compared the benefits of The Review circulation with other ad media in the area. I also set up a special training session for the account executives with a School of Business Administration professor who discussed competitive selling strategies.

Result: We signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and five for special supplements. We increased our new advertisers by 20 percent over the same period last year.

Why would you like this job?

There may be a variety of reasons why you are interested in the position for which you are now undergoing an interview. It can be a move to advance your career. The commute may be more pleasant. You are drawn to the job because of the pay, perks, or even the reputation of the business. Any of these are valid motives for seeking employment. You will be giving some of these items a higher priority by responding to this question, though. You don't want to mention how much you despise your current job or give the impression that you're only in it for the money or the prestige. Take a seat on the opposite side of the desk. What would you want a candidate to say during an interview?

Put the business in the spotlight. If you've done your homework, you can highlight some admirable things the business has accomplished. Then, you can discuss the particular position and what appeals to you about it. Describe your contributions and how they will assist the business to grow forward. What they want to know is: Why should we hire you? Give them valid justifications.

Nearly every job interview includes tricky interview questions. Do a little study on typical job interview questions and have these responses ready in your head if you want to come off as bright and prepared. Just bear in mind to remain cheerful if a surprising question does come up. The interviewer will recognize it too if each response highlights how you are the ideal candidate for the position.

FAQs

Q. What are the most commonly asked interview questions?

Ans. Here are five typical but difficult interview questions and tips on how to respond to them.

Tell me about yourself

What's your biggest weakness?

Why do you want to leave your current job?

Tell me about a challenging issue you managed.

Q. How to prepare for an interview?

Ans. Nearly every job interview includes tricky interview questions. Do a little study on typical job interview questions and have these responses ready in your head if you want to come off as bright and prepared. Just bear in mind to remain cheerful if a surprising question does come up. The interviewer will recognize it too if each response highlights how you are the ideal candidate for the position.

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