Getting your dream job depends on a lot of factors, including how you answer the questions asked during an interview. A candidate prepares and practises for days because attending a job interview is no child's play. However, despite your best efforts, there are questions that you might not have an answer to. It's not uncommon for interviewers to ask totally unexpected questions that can throw any candidate off balance. If you face such a situation, what should you do? Throw your hands in the air and declare that you have no answer? Well, let's look at a few ways to approach such out of the blue questions during an interview.
Acknowledge and take your time
The first thing you should do when you face an unexpected question from an interviewer is to acknowledge the question. You can say something like, "That's a good question. Something quite unexpected but interesting." This is also a clever way to avoid the awkward silence that is most likely to prevail after such questions are asked. Take your time to assemble your thoughts and reply very calmly no matter what your answer might be.
Redirect the question to a topic you are well versed with
Sometimes interviewers ask such questions just to trick the candidates because a lot of times, how you handle a question is more important than the correct answer. So whenever you encounter a tricky question, you can always redirect it to a topic you are well versed with. For example, if you are applying for the job of a sub-editor in a daily newspaper and the interviewer asked you about your experience with social media, you can acknowledge the question and say something like this, "Social media has definitely become an integral part of our lives and one of my reasons for applying for this job in your organisation is to learn more about social media, because your news have good social media presence. If I am selected today and this question is asked a year later, I would say I have some good experience of social media because I have learned from the best."
Have a fail-proof answer ready
There might be some questions that you might fail to answer even after taking considerable time or trying to redirect it as per your convenience. So, how do you tackle such questions? One of the best ways to answer such questions is through honesty. While you can say that you are not familiar with the concept of whatever question the interviewer might have asked but at the same time you can say that you are willing to learn about it. This shows that you have a problem-solving attitude and are honest. You are also willing to learn, which definitely is a sought-after quality in an employee.
How you handle a tricky or unexpected question speaks volumes about your personality. An interviewer, for all you know, might not even be interested in the answer because all he cares about is your reaction. So, no matter what, never lose your cool, answer with confidence (even if you don't have an answer) and stay positive.
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