Answering 5 Tough Interview Questions and Dilemmas

By Martin Yate, the author of Knock ‘em Dead: The Ultimate Job Search Guide 202

1. Why does your resume have a gap? Or why were you out of work so long?
Whatever the reason for your hiatus, be honest. Discuss the decisions behind your absence from the workplace, whatever they were. What’s most important to the interviewer is how long it will take you to be productive if hired.

Your answer should emphasize that while you may not have been in the corporate workplace, neither have you been idle. Talk about how you have kept current with classes or part-time work, and/or what you have been doing to keep the specific technical skills of the job honed. You can also talk about how you used other transferable skills and applied professional values in whatever work you were doing, noting that these skills are fresh, current, and needed in every job.

(For more tips, read “Resume Dilemma: Employment Gaps and Job Hopping.”)

2. What is the most difficult situation you have faced?
You’re really being asked two different questions: “What do you consider difficult?” and “How did you handle it?” This means the interviewer will be evaluating both your critical thinking and technical skills.

Don’t talk about problems with coworkers in your answer. Instead, focus on a job-related problem. Demonstrating problem-solving abilities is important, so show the steps a professional takes to identify the most appropriate approaches and solutions; you should have numerous examples from to illustrate your answer with. At the end of your answer, be sure to identify the benefits of your solution.

(For more tips, read “Interview Question: What Did You Like Least About Your Last Job?“)

3. What are some of the problems you encounter in doing your job, and what do you do about them?
There’s a trap in this question and two areas you need to cover in your response, so your answer has three steps.

1. First the trap: Note well the old saying, “A poor workman blames his tools,” and don’t find problems with the job itself or the tools you have to execute that job. Next, the two areas you need to cover:
2. Whatever your title, at its heart your job is about problem identification, prevention, and solution. Make this statement with details of the problems you are a specialist in preventing and solving. This part of your answer demonstrates your deep understanding of your work.
3. Your awareness that careless mistakes cost the company good money means you are always on the lookout for potential problems caused by oversight. For example: “Some parts of my job are fairly repetitive, so it’s easy to overlook problems. Lots of people do. However, I always look for them; it helps keep me alert and motivated, so I do a better job. To give you an example, we make computer-memory disks. Each one has to be machined by hand, and, once completed, the slightest abrasion will turn one into a reject. I have a steady staff and little turnover, and everyone wears cotton gloves to handle the disks. Yet about six months ago, the reject rate suddenly went through the roof. Is that the kind of problem you mean? Well, the cause was one that could have gone unnoticed for ages. Jill, the section head who inspects all the disks, had lost a lot of weight and her diamond engagement ring was slipping around her finger, scratching the disks as she passed them and stacked them to be shipped. Our main client was giving us a big problem over it, so my looking for problems and paying attention to detail really paid off.”

4. I’m not sure you’re suitable for the job (too inexperienced).
In a job search you quickly develop a feeling for whether a particular position is a close match, a job you’ve already done for so long that you might be perceived as too experienced (too heavy), or a job that might be a bit of a stretch (too light). If you can see a potential problem with an opportunity, the employer probably can too. Nevertheless, you were close enough to get the interview, so make every effort to land the offer.

It could also be used as a stress question (to see how you handle adverse situations on the job). The interviewer’s “I’m not sure” could really mean, “I’d like to hire you, so here’s a wide-open opportunity to sell me on you.” Either way, remain calm and accept this as another opportunity to set yourself apart from other candidates.

Put the ball straight back into the interviewers court, “Why do you say that?” You need more information and time to organize an appropriate reply, but it is also important to show that you are not intimidated.

When you might be too light, your answer itemizes all the experience and skills you bring, and offsets weaknesses with other strengths and examples of how efficiently you develop new skills.

You can also talk about the motivation you bring to the job, and that you will expect to be motivated for some considerable time because of the opportunity the job offers for your professional development, while someone with all the skills is going to need a quick promotion to keep him happy. You can finish your answer with a reflexive question that encourages a “yes” answer, “Wouldn’t you agree?”

(For more tips, read “How to Answer Tough Interview Questions.”)

5. I’m not sure you’re suitable for the job (too experienced).
If you are told you have too much experience, respond with the positives: how your skills help you deliver immediately, and why the position fits your needs; perhaps, “I really enjoy my work, so I won’t get bored, and I’m not looking for a promotion, so I’m not after anyone’s job. I’ll be a reliable and trustworthy person to have at your back. I have excellent skills [itemize], so I can deliver quickly and consistently. My experience makes me a steadying member of the team, and when you think I’m ready I can help mentor.” Finish with a smile, “. . . and let’s not forget I’ve already made my mistakes on somebody else’s payroll.”

(For more tips, read “Overqualified? Six Tips to Shed the Label.”)

Martin Yate, CPC, the author of Knock ‘em Dead: The Ultimate Job Search Guide 2012, is a job-search and career-management expert. The author of Knock ‘em Dead Resumes, Knock ‘em Dead Cover Letters, Knock ‘em Dead: Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World, and numerous other books, he has helped millions of people turn their careers and their lives around. For more of Yate’s job-hunting resources and advice, visit www.knockemdead.com.