How to Answer an Interview Question you DIDN'T Prepare For

🤯 No matter how much you prepare for an interview, you are bound to receive a question or two you haven't prepared for. In situations like these, it's best to rely on a tried-and-true 3 step method: Stall for time, Break the question down into bite-sized pieces, and address each segment

In this video I share the hardest interview question I've ever received and how I answered that question. Interestingly, although the interviewer told me after the fact that my answer was NOT what she was looking for, I still passed that round

The reason I passed the interview is very simple: the interviewer knows the question is open to interpretation and therefore has no "correct" answer. More importantly, it's about HOW the interviewee approaches the question that matters

For harder interview questions like this, it's best to tackle it like a traditional consulting case interview question: First buy yourself some time, then break the question down into segments, and finally address this part

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Hardest Interview Question Ever
00:55 Stall for Time
02:44 Break Question Down into Segments
04:15 Address Each Segment
05:52 The "Correct" Answer

RESOURCES I MENTION IN THE VIDEO

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👨🏻‍💻 WHO AM I:
I'm Jeff, a full time Product Marketer. In my spare time I like to tinker with tools and create systems that help me get things done faster - or as one of my friends puts it: "Get better at being lazy" 😏

PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links I get a kickback from 😇

Disclaimer: My opinions are my own and may not reflect that of my employer

#interview #jobsearch

[JeffSu]

🌟 What was the HARDEST interview question YOU'VE ever received in your life??

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Hardest Interview Question Ever
00:55 Stall for Time
02:44 Break Question Down into Segments
04:15 Address Each Segment
05:52 The "Correct" Answer

[TheDaviddai]

Used this approach when meeting my girlfriend's dad and now I'm married.

[sk]

I find it annoying when interviewers expect you to read their mind and know what they're looking for. In this situation, it's interesting that she explained her thoughts behind the question after the fact. But she should've been clear up front. Asking vague, unexpected, or trick questions ends up wasting the interviewer's time because they get irrelevant information. Plus, it stresses out the interviewee. Stressed people give more canned, scripted answers, so it's harder to get to know the candidate. Interviews should prioritize building rapport and making the candidate feel comfy so they answer honestly and openly and don't stick to their scripted answers too much.

[yasminebouziane]

I liked both approaches, yours and the interviewers answers both make sense. I think if you were a fresh graduate, you would think in terms of family, friends and classmates. And if you were a highly experienced professional, you would think in terms of colleagues at work and business partners. Great question, Jeff

[lillogadget]

To be fair, you weren't wrong. If she had asked if 10 random colleagues instead of ten random people in your life, she would've gotten the answer she was anticipating for. You would've broken down your thought process the same way. Surprised she didn't clarified when you asked follow up questions. Also kinda weird she made the assumption that you ONLY have colleagues; maybe that's what the culture is like there. Awesome video, thanks for sharing Jeff!

[gporterjr]

Love the logic used to break the question down

[lyudmilalazareva]

THis is a cool approach. I've just finished an interview where I was asked "Imagine that we hired your copy, what would be the most difficult things to work with you for you?" I just started to tell everything came to my mind...

[DemetriPanici]

Stalling for time helps so often in plenty of circumstances. When you end up having a clearer idea of what you are going to say you will have a much better answer!

[rommelalmeida]

Your interviewer's own answer was also spot on, and what's good about her was that she was objective enough to pass you knowing the logic you used with your answer. I've had many interviews where their answer is different than mine, and when they gave me the feedback, I can tell it's a major reason why they failed me. Worse, my answer is similar to theirs, but they were waiting for me to mention very specific words and phrases.

[atnguyentien]

I was amazed. You led me from surprises to surprises. Such highly recommended content. I will watch and like all of your videos.

[WesT]

What the hell kind of question is that at a job interview? I'm trying to get a job, not results for my personality test.

[ushnishchakravarty]

This video is really golden enough to be heard multiple times in the future. Thanks for sharing and do keep sharing these interview types of questions in the future.

[deeveecreate]

I just wanted to pop on and tell you I love your editing style. You keep it fun and interesting!

[charlesbretz]

As a Talent Acquistion leader I really dislike these questions. It’s the thought process on how you arrived at your response that’s important. That people at work may dislike you due to a business decision you had to make comes with some jobs. If they are trying to understand how you react to people disliking a call you make, a behavioral or situational question would be better. It will have less ambiguity and get the desired outcome they are seeking.

[MoniqueXSM]

I need this ‘cause I have an interview coming up on Thursday & I feel as though I’ll be a bit out of my depth. Thanks again for always coming through in the clutch, Jeff ✨.

[bertonnawi]

Jeff Su.. i consider as "The Best And Fun Mentor" i have seen in the Whole Youtube..

[lucas_teo]

Lots of great tips in this video, thanks again for the content!

[bingbinghe]

awesome Jeff ！this is what I want to know always，then here comes the video，case interview framework mindset is pretty useful in many situations

[pulkitjain]

Thankyou for the insights.. The common mistake people does, starting mentioning people they don't like. This video is definitely help to be positive always during an interview irrespective of interviewer trying to bring some negative comment from you.

[MissLlah]

You both came up with three out of 10, which is the number I would have picked in the first place. Kind of goes back to Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" Theory.