Hard job interview questions (and how you can answer them)

I once I landed two jobs in one week. They were the only two I had applied for. I'm not saying I'm an interview pro. Far from it. But I have participated in many interviews both as the interviewee and the interviewer.

Below you will find headings of the tough interview questions I have come across as an interviewee, and some advice on how to handle them.

Tell me about yourself

This can be such a hard request to answer. It threw me once, and I had to improvise. Since then, I always prepare for this or something similar.

Before your interview, try to rehearse a 1–2 minute spiel about who you are, what you've done and why you're interested in the role you're interviewing for.

The interviewers aren't looking for you to tell them your life story, so you don't need to go into much detail here. But it's a good idea to have some of the detail remembered in case they have follow up questions.

Say something

I was on a Zoom interview and the interviewer literally asked me to "Say something". The reason being, he soon explained, after I'd been put on the spot, was that he was pinning my video so that I wouldn't disappear. 

It's probably not likely to come up in an interview ever again, especially if interviews move back in person. But this is where I was able to use what I'd prepared for the "Tell me about yourself", but I kept it brief as I could tell he didn't need me to say too much. 

Why do you want to work here?

This question is insanely common. In my experience, good answers will be compelling and unique.

Instead of learning a stock, generic answer, research the organisation you want to work for. What excites you about their work? Do you have a personal connection with the organisation? Did you hear about it growing up and always want to work there? Tell them. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing for a museum that had had a huge impact on my life, and I was candid about that. They seemed to be genuinely impressed.

If you don't have too much time to research the organisation, then focus on why you want the particular job. Were you enticed by the job description itself? Mention that.

What would you improve about X?

Where 'X' is something that the organisation creates. Again, the research for the organisation and what they do is important. Have a think about at least three things that you would look to see change about what the organisation creates. It could be a blog, campaign or even a physical product.

In answering this question, you can start by mentioning what you like about their work. This will make the improvements your about to suggest seem less cutting. After all, the people interviewing you don't want to hear that their output isn't very good. So even if you think something is absolutely terrible, try to be diplomatic and positive about it nonetheless.

What did you do when you felt unmotivated at work?

To this day, I have no idea the best way to answer this one. My answer was that I spent time speaking to colleagues and people more senior than me about my feelings, and that that helped me get back on track. This is the truth. I once felt extremely unmotivated while working on an essay I did not want to do, but I found that talking it out helped me immensely.

I happen to not have been successful in landing the job where they asked me this, so I'd be interested to know about other ways of answering this! 

What's a common misconception people have about you?

I stalled when I was asked this one. I said filler things like "Oh, that's a great question. I've never asked people what they think of me, nor did they tell me! But I should do a survey amongst my friends and see what they say."

That's possibly verbatim what I actually said in the interview.

Anyway, I eventually came up with what is for me a genuine answer: "That I work all the time; I do have hobbies, like playing music and going for walks". 

Feel free to use that if it's applicable to you. 

My guess is that what the interviewer is looking for here is the extent to which you are self aware. 

As a shortcut, you could ask one of your close friends for a misconception they had about you when they met you.

Tell us about a time where you made a mistake at work, and what you did to rectify it. 

I'm sure this is a common question, but I hadn't thought about it beforehand. I remained calm and told them the truth. I probably had made mistakes at work, but that none were coming to mind. 

They were understanding and asked me to make one up.

I came up with a hypothetical situation that was relevant to the job I was applying for, and told them what I would do. This will be different for everyone, but I think a good feature of this answer will involve communication. You'll probably be working as a team. Mention how you would communicate with them as part of your answer. 

What are your weaknesses?

I've yet to be asked this question lately, but I'm prepared because it's a difficult one. 

The key point here is to say something with a positive spin. Maybe you've identified that your negotiation skills aren't as good as they could be. Are you reading something to improve on it? 

A very common answer, which you can feel free to use, is that you're a perfectionist. (The film Trainspotting made this one famous!)

I would try to think about weaknesses that you do have and also why they are secretly strengths. For instance, I am definitely conflict-averse. I hate conflict. Why is this a strength? Because, I am collaborative in how I deal with people, always looking for win-win situations. Again, this is what I would say because it's true. A couple of my other weaknesses are "saying sorry when I'm nervous" and "speaking too quickly when I'm excited". I've yet to work out ways to make these last two strengths, but if the interview isn't happy with my conflict-aversion answer, I have a couple of extra things I can mention. I'd suggest coming up with three to five of your own, just to be on the safe side.

How do you like to be managed?

You might also hear variations on this such as "what is your preferred management style?".

Avoid using the term 'micro-managed'. This is taboo. Everyone knows that micro-managing is a bad thing, so don't mention that. 

You can say things like "I'm a self starter, but I love to have weekly check-ins my managers at least to see how I'm doing and how I can improve." 

Hopefully, you will have had good managers in the past and therefore know how to answer this. 

It occurs to me that I've not yet interviewed for a managerial role, so I would guess that a question that might come up would be how you would manage other people. In that case, you can either use your expertise, or you can tell them about the style you yourself prefer.

Closing remarks

Interviewers everywhere are probably going to hate me for this, but I wanted to share some tough interview questions in order to help you prepare for your next interview. Even if you don't agree with how I would answer these, or the advice I gave for answering them, I hope they help you to prepare. 

I have three final takeaways:

1. Research the organisation you're going to be interviewing for. 
2. Be as positive as possible in your answers. (Unless your personal brand is that you're a complete pessimist, in which case, I'd err on the side of being yourself. What you don't want to do is be overly false as this may lead to issues further down the line.)
3. Have a think about how you'll answer these questions that's true to who you are and what you bring to the table.

Let me know in the comments if there are any tough interview questions you've come across lately. I'd be interested to know what they are and how you would or did handle them. Also, if you have any thoughts on how to answer the questions I've listed, let me know.

Good luck with your interview prep, and the interview!