Hardest interview question you’ve received lately

[Anonymous]

Bout to have my first job interview after many many years in same job. Feeling really out of practice. What’s the hardest question you’ve gotten lately and do you have any tips?

It’s zoom, so also my first not-in-person interview. Should I do cameras off? (Kidding, kidding)

[Anonymous]

Be prepared for:

Why you want the job. What led you there. Show interest in the mission of the company and the department.

What skills are they looking for? Talk about experiences that highlight those skills.

Dress the part. Wear a blazer and professional hair and makeup, and a neutral background with good lighting.

My company does behavioral interviews, where the candidate describes the past situation, the action they did, and the results. Shows what they can do maybe in the next role, rather than vague promises, etc.

Say thank you, ask about the interviewers and how they arrived at their current roles. Ask about next steps and timing.

Email a short thank you note, at least to the recruiter

[Anonymous]

Also even though it’s zoom and your notes nearby might help you, don’t sound like you’re reading.

Also, write down 5 practice questions and have your family read them to you and you practice answering.

[Anonymous]

Example.questions.

Tell me about a time when the needs of one stakeholder were at odds with the needs of another stakeholder. What did you do and what was the result.

Tell me when you successfully drove a project to completion.

Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone to follow your recommendation

[Anonymous]

one that really tripped me up at the time: "tell me about a time recently that you were wrong."

[Anonymous]

tell me about a project that did not go as planned.

(I now ask this one and it is amazing to me that people say-I have never had a project go poorly).

[Anonymous]

I recently interviewed- three rounds, each round with multiple interviews, so I did a lot of interviews. What was hardest for me was to pull examples from my brain under pressure. In a thoughtful moment I have tons of examples and have something to say about all of those behavioral questions. But what the interviews were really testing was my memory under stress, which is one of my weaknesses. When I’m really nervous I don’t really show it, but I also can’t access memory well. So if you also have that challenge you might do what I did - write down half a dozen situations/projects and think of them as stories that you can answer types of questions with - the challenge project/situation, the management one, the equity one, etc. Write them down. When you blank, you can look down and pick one to talk about.

[Anonymous]

Behavioral questions suck for those exact reasons. I can't think of the exact scenarios to fit their criteria on the fly and sometimes there just isn't an example that fits. So, I make something up. It's stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:tell me about a project that did not go as planned.

(I now ask this one and it is amazing to me that people say-I have never had a project go poorly).

Np but curious- so would you rather hear the honest answer (I have never had a project go poorly) or hear a made up story that was well thought out to impress you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:tell me about a project that did not go as planned.

(I now ask this one and it is amazing to me that people say-I have never had a project go poorly).

Np but curious- so would you rather hear the honest answer (I have never had a project go poorly) or hear a made up story that was well thought out to impress you?

DP. If I were answering, I would go with a project that initially did not go as planned but then once I fixed X, Y, and Z, it was highly successful.

[Anonymous]

Behavioral interviews are exhausting and ultimately unhelpful for everyone involved because they assume there are problems - big ones. In reality, most people continuously adjust their plans, not wait for catastrophe and then course correct. I don’t have examples of projects that have gone off the rails!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:one that really tripped me up at the time: "tell me about a time recently that you were wrong."

“When I sat down for this interview, thank you and have a great day.”

Or

“When I assumed you wouldn’t ask stupid questions in this interview.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Behavioral interviews are exhausting and ultimately unhelpful for everyone involved because they assume there are problems - big ones. In reality, most people continuously adjust their plans, not wait for catastrophe and then course correct. I don’t have examples of projects that have gone off the rails!

I could see this being true given in particular fields, so maybe this is true for you. And if it is, this response here would be a totally appropriate way to fleshing out a response and not just saying I don't have projects go off the rails. In my field, however, where we aren't working on projects but make a ton of judgment calls, there's lots of room for people to make mistakes.

[Anonymous]

What is your passion?

Super hard to answer! If you are honest it may not relate to the work. Something linked to work - may sound too political.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your passion?

Super hard to answer! If you are honest it may not relate to the work. Something linked to work - may sound too political.

Answer: Pleasing my manager.