tricky-interview-questions and answers

Tricky-interview-questions and answers


Tricky Interview Question : Have you already done the best work you are capable of?



Answer : Candidate should show confidence in regards to past work, believe that the best work is ahead of him, see this position, and the co-workers, as a positive way achieve more. Candidate should be modest, but confident.



Tricky Interview Question: How long will you stay with the company?



Answer : Candidate should have researched the company and be able to explain how he/she will integrate themselves in the company.



Tricky Interview Question: Who is your role model?



Answer : Applicant’s role model should contain the qualities and competencies employers would like to see in a successful candidate.



Tricky Interview Question : What would you like to be doing five years from now?



Answer : Applicant should see themselves well integrated in the company. Candidate should have researched the company and explain their potential skills that could benefit the company.



Tricky Interview Question: How would your friends describe you?



Answer : Answer should show focused and hard-working qualities and competencies. Descriptions should show the skills needed for this position.



Tricky Interview Question: How would you react if I told you your interview so far was terrible?



Answer Guide: This is a test to see how well the candidate can hold themselves together. Interviewer is looking for the ability to “think on your feet” and the skills to respond articulately under pressure. Applicant should be diplomatic notice that the interviewer used the word “if”.



Tricky Interview Question: Why should I hire you?



Answer Guide: Candidate should take the opportunity to sell their skills, knowledge, and abilities. Candidate should try to prove why t hey are perfect for the job, that they will do the job, and that they are manageable.



Tricky Interview Question: What can you do for us that someone else cannot do?



Answer Guide: Candidate should be eager to show his/her knowledge and interest in the company and eager to show that they have all the necessary skills and competencies to do the job successfully.



Tricky Interview Question: What was the last book you read or the last movie you saw and how did it affect you?



Answer Guide: Job seeker should emphasize his/her acquired skills, competencies, and interests. Some books or videos could demonstrate that the applicant is trying to improve their skills and knowledge.



Tricky Interview Question: Can you tell me what things really bother you?



Answer Guide: This question is similar to others in this section. The want to see if your answers maintain a reasonable level of consistency or if they are merely a façade. They are looking out for candidates with chips on their shoulder and repressed anger. The employer is seeking those who dislike under-performance and sloppy work practice.



Tricky Interview Question: Do you feel you could have done a better job than your previous boss?



Answer Guide: Candidates should not strongly criticize their old bosses. Their answers need to show diplomacy and tact with reasonable arguments. An enterprising attitude could be a positive option.



Tricky Interview Question: What are some of the things about your boss that you disliked?



Answer Guide: Candidate should remain calm and poised. They should not have strong, unreasonable emotions.



Tricky Interview Question: As we still have some time left, can you tell me a story?



Answer Guide: Candidate should maintain his/her composure and use the question to sell his/her abilities and skills to the employer.



Tricky Interview Question: Could I ask you, how do you rate me as an interviewer?



Answer Guide: This is a test looking for the candidate’s composure and ability to think on his/her feet. Applicant should be able to respond articulately under pressure.



Tricky Interview Question: What is the worst thing you have heard about our company?

Answer Guide: This question is designed to shock the applicant and test their composure and ability to think on their feet.

Why aren’t you earning more money at this stage of your career?

Why aren’t you earning more money at this stage of your career?


TRAPS: You don’t want to give the impression that money is not important to you, yet you want to explain why your salary may be a little below industry standards.

BEST ANSWER: You like to make money, but other factors are even more important.

Example: “Making money is very important to me, and one reason I’m here is because I’m looking to make more. Throughout my career, what’s been even more important to me is doing work I really like to do at the kind of company I like and respect.

(Then be prepared to be specific about what your ideal position and company would be like, matching them as closely as possible to the opportunity at hand.

What makes you angry?

What makes you angry?


TRAPS: You don’t want to come across either as a hothead or a wimp.

BEST ANSWER: Give an answer that’s suited to both your personality and the management style of the firm. Here, the homework you’ve done about the company and its style can help in your choice of words.

Examples: If you are a reserved person and/or the corporate culture is coolly professional:

“I’m an even-tempered and positive person by nature, and I believe this helps me a great deal in keeping my department running smoothly, harmoniously and with a genuine esprit de corps. I believe in communicating clearly what’s expected, getting people’s commitment to those goals, and then following up continuously to check progress.”

“If anyone or anything is going off track, I want to know about it early. If, after that kind of open communication and follow up, someone isn’t getting the job done, I’ll want to know why. If there’s no good reason, then I’ll get impatient and angry…and take appropriate steps from there. But if you hire good people, motivate them to strive for excellence and then follow up constantly, it almost never gets to that state.”

If you are feisty by nature and/or the position calls for a tough straw boss.

“You know what makes me angry? People who (the fill in the blanks with the most objectionable traits for this type of position)…people who don’t pull their own weight, who are negative, people who lie…etc.”

Can you work under pressure?

Can you work under pressure?


TRAPS: An easy question, but you want to make your answer believable.

BEST ANSWER: Absolutely…(then prove it with a vivid example or two of a goal or project accomplished under severe pressure.)

Would you lie for the company?

Would you lie for the company?


TRAPS: This another question that pits two values against one another, in this case loyalty against integrity.

BEST ANSWER: Try to avoid choosing between two values, giving a positive statement which covers all bases instead.

Example: “I would never do anything to hurt the company..”

If aggressively pressed to choose between two competing values, always choose personal integrity. It is the most prized of all values.

Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?

Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?


TRAPS: This question is usually asked to uncover any life-influencing mistakes, regrets, disappointments or problems that may continue to affect your personality and performance.

You do not want to give the interviewer anything negative to remember you by, such as some great personal or career disappointment, even long ago, that you wish could have been avoided.

Nor do you wish to give any answer which may hint that your whole heart and soul will not be in your work.

BEST ANSWER: Indicate that you are a happy, fulfilled, optimistic person and that, in general, you wouldn’t change a thing.

Example: “It’s been a good life, rich in learning and experience, and the best it yet to come. Every experience in life is a lesson it its own way. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

On confidential matters…

On confidential matters…


TRAPS: When an interviewer presses you to reveal confidential information about a present or former employer, you may feel it’s a no-win situation. If you cooperate, you could be judged untrustworthy. If you don’t, you may irritate the interviewer and seem obstinate, uncooperative or overly suspicious.

BEST ANSWER: Your interviewer may press you for this information for two reasons.

First, many companies use interviews to research the competition. It’s a perfect set-up. Here in their own lair, is an insider from the enemy camp who can reveal prized information on the competition’s plans, research, financial condition, etc.

Second, the company may be testing your integrity to see if you can be cajoled or bullied into revealing confidential data.

What to do? The answer here is easy. Never reveal anything truly confidential about a present or former employer. By all means, explain your reticence diplomatically. For example, “I certainly want to be as open as I can about that. But I also wish to respect the rights of those who have trusted me with their most sensitive information, just as you would hope to be able to trust any of your key people when talking with a competitor…”

And certainly you can allude to your finest achievements in specific ways that don’t reveal the combination to the company safe.

But be guided by the golden rule. If you were the owner of your present company, would you feel it ethically wrong for the information to be given to your competitors? If so, steadfastly refuse to reveal it.

Remember that this question pits your desire to be cooperative against your integrity. Faced with any such choice, always choose integrity. It is a far more valuable commodity than whatever information the company may pry from you. Moreover, once you surrender the information, your stock goes down. They will surely lose respect for you.

One President we know always presses candidates unmercifully for confidential information. If he doesn’t get it, he grows visibly annoyed, relentlessly inquisitive, It’s all an act. He couldn’t care less about the information. This is his way of testing the candidate’s moral fiber. Only those who hold fast are hired.