No matter how prepared and confident you are for an interview, it is possible that the interviewer asks you a question that you are very uncertain about or you do not know the answer to. Even highly experienced candidates get flustered in such moments. This article will give you a simple methodology to tackle such situations.
What should I do?
Step 1: Ask the interviewer for a minute to think and respond.
Step 2: Stay calm. Tell yourself that this is very normal, it happens with even the best of candidates.
Step 3: Try to recollect or logically arrive at an answer.
Step 4: If nothing comes to your mind, calmly tell the interviewer that you do not know the answer, at times, with a brief explanation or reasoning. Read further in the next section.
Step 5: Tell yourself that it is only a small dent in your interview and you still have a high chance of getting selected. Tell yourself that this is perfectly normal.
Two types of situations for step 4:
Situation 1: You do not know the response to a factual question
In this case, it is very straightforward, if you cannot recollect then just acknowledge the same to the interviewer and go to step 5 above.
Situation 2: You don’t know the response to a question that can be solved either based on logic, or on previous knowledge
Here, don’t give up easily. The key is to think out loud. Even if you don’t know the proper answer, you may have some intuition or some basic thoughts on the question. Share them with the interviewer while acknowledging that you are not completely sure about it. Most often the interviewer will give you a hint or guide you to arrive at the right answer. If not, go to step 5 above.
Am I expected to know the answer to all questions in an interview?
Most often, no. An interviewer typically does not expect a candidate to have an answer to all the questions they ask. At times they may intentionally ask you a question that they don’t expect you to know the answer to just to see how you would respond under stress or to throw you off your feet.
Should I make a guess?
You can. However, acknowledge to the interview that it is a guess, otherwise, if your guess is incorrect then it will reflect quite negatively on your candidature. You need to ask yourself if you are willing to take this risk.
Do I really stand a chance if I don’t know the answer to multiple questions?
Yes, definitely! From personal experience and that of several others, it is possible to not answer several questions in an interview and still get selected. What matters is your overall performance in the interview and how you respond when you don’t know an answer.
The key is to convince yourself that you are still in the running, and not let that one question impact the rest of your interview. Keep the above discussion in mind as you sit for your next interview.
If you have any more interview related questions, write to us at the ‘contact us’ page.
To prepare for other aspects of your personal interview read How to prepare for any interview | The 7 key components.
Further Reading:
How to build a professional CV to get shortlisted
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All the best!
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