How to tackle tricky interview questions
Most interview questions are pretty straight forward. These are asked to evaluate your skills, how well you would fit into the team and contribute to the organisation. But a few questions asked by the hiring managers are quite tricky and are meant to confuse you. They can land you in a little awkward situation where you might end up revealing more information about yourself than you actually intended to. Here are seven questions that you must answer after carefully thinking for a few seconds.
If you were the owner of your company, what kind of employees would you hire?
This question will help the interviewer to understand what kind of colleagues you would like to work with and what is your working style. Do you prefer flexible working hours or like to stick with traditional working culture? What are your work ethics? Are you a team player or like to work independently? Your answer to this question would be honest and candid, and might reveal loads of information about your professional life.
Do you want to be an entrepreneur?
Every employer fears hiring an employee who is more interested in starting his or her own business rather than focusing on the job. Honestly, most of us have considered entrepreneurship at least once in our career and the answer to this question needs to be quite diplomatic. Instead of saying a blunt ‘no’, explain how you started or thought about entrepreneurship and realised why working in a corporate job is a better option for you. Focus on talking about your learning experience and veer the conversation towards why you would like to work for the company you are interviewing for.
How do you define ‘success’?
This question helps the interviewer to understand your goals in life. Do you work for a fat paycheck or you are passionate about what you do? Are you career oriented or you are just working for the sake of money? Rather than talking about your personal aspirations, we suggest defining success by explaining your professional goals that appeal to your interviewer. Discuss how the KRA (key responsibility area) of this job would help you get a step closer to your goals and excel in the field.
What annoys you the most about your colleagues?
The purpose of asking this question is to gauge your emotional intelligence. We all like and dislike some of our co-workers but the way we deal with them makes all the difference. Do you take everything personally and react without thinking, or do you try to understand the person and see the logic behind their action?
Tell us about the last bad day you had at work?
All the interviewer wants to know is how you handle high-pressure situations, or how do you react when things do not turn out as you expected. Make sure you answer this question by sharing what all happened on that day and how your solution-oriented approach helped to solve the problems.
What would you do if you get Rs. 5 crores?
Rather than talking about buying the high-end car you have been dreaming for months or leaving your job and going on a road trip, impress the interviewer by talking about how you would wisely invest this money and continue working at your job. It would indicate that you are responsible when it comes to finances and a dedicated and passionate professional.
The one reason behind someone might not like working with you
Rather than asking you directly about your weakness, the interview might twist the same question by asking you the reason your colleague might not like to work with you. Be smart and do not dig your own grave by mentioning your own flaws. You can say that you have been fortunate to always share a good equation with the colleagues. Then, you can mention how you might have been disliked when you challenged your co-worker to perform better (or something similar) but that was temporary!
(All images used here are representational)