7 Things to Do If You Can’t Answer an Interview Question
Job interviews are the gateway to your dream career. If you create a favourable
impression, it can open doors to amazing growth opportunities.
However, you will often come across tough interview questions that get you
sweating. Sometimes, you may not know the answer. Sometimes, you may
know the answer and still freeze up due to the pressure.
Here are 7 things you should do if you can’t answer an interview question.
1. Calm Down
The first step is to stay calm and not panic. Most candidates think they need to
answer all questions in an interview to get a job. That is not true. Sometimes
interviewers deliberately throw a curveball to see how you deal with pressure.
The key is to remember that others will also find it difficult to answer this tough
question.
If you panic, your body language will reveal this in many ways (for example,
sweating, your tone, voice and posture) and you won’t be able to think clearly.
Take a few deep breaths. Tell yourself that even though you don’t know the
answer off the bat, you’ll figure it out if you spend some time on it.
Instead of aiming for a perfect interview, focus on delivering a solid interview
with confidence. Spend some time going through interview prep sites like
Career Cup to find out the most common questions asked by the employer so
you will have a good idea of what to expect. Also read other people’s interview
experiences on Glassdoor and Quora to understand if the employer asks many
tough questions, or if it’s likely to be an easy one.
2. Don’t stall or make up answers
If you don’t know the answer, don’t try to make one up. Also, avoid stalling the
interviewer by repeating or rephrasing the question, or even talking about the
question.
3. Ask questions
Sometimes, it’s just that you haven’t understood the question properly. So ask
the interviewer to provide more clarification. For example, you can say
something like “Are you looking for an example of how I met the deadline
under pressure?” Go deeper into the question to get more details that will
hopefully help you figure out the answer.
4. Tell the Interviewer what you do know
Most candidates commit the mistake of keeping their thoughts to themselves
when they don’t know the answer. This gives the perception that you’ve frozen
and don’t know how to proceed.
Tell the interviewer whatever little you know about the topic, and what you’re
thinking. This will help them understand that you’re trying and what’s going on
in your mind. Consequently, they’ll help you arrive at the answer by giving you
some hints (e.g. “Have you considered…”) or rephrasing the question (e.g. Let
me ask it another way…) such that it becomes easier for you to find the answer.
5. Explain Your Approach
Not all interview questions are meant to be answered completely. Sometimes,
the interviewers just want to test your thought process, ability to communicate,
and think under pressure. They want to see that you can take the initiative and
use the resources at hand to tackle new problems that you haven’t faced before.
For example, when I interviewed for Yahoo!, I was asked only one question in
my first round. The interviewer started by saying, ”None of the candidates
before you has been able to give me a complete answer to this question. So I
don’t expect you to crack it either. I just want to see how you approach the
problem and find your way out.” I was able to provide only a partial solution,
and had given up all hopes. To my surprise, I made it through to the next round.
Explain how you would go about solving the problem. You can say, "I'm not
entirely sure of an answer, but given my limited understanding of the topic, here
are a few thoughts."
While solving problems, clearly mention the parts that you don’t know, or the
assumptions you’re making. This will help you show your honesty. In fact,
many times, the interviewers will provide you the missing information and help
you shape the solution.
Similarly, during interviews, it’s common for people to make mistakes during
calculations. So you can respond by saying, “I can’t do these calculations off
the top of my head but I think they’ll give us the answer”.
6. Know when to say “I don’t know”
Although it’s generally advised not to tell the interviewer that you don’t know
the answer, there are times when it’s better to admit otherwise. For example,
sometimes you may be asked a for definition that cannot be arrived at unless
you’ve memorized it.
Just don’t say it immediately. Give it some time. Try to find the answer. Ask for
hints. If nothing works, then tell them, “It’s a good question. I’m sorry I don’t
know the answer off the top of my head but I will surely follow up with the
answer after the interview.“
This will show that you’re not trying to fake, lie or buy time.
7. Follow up
Send a follow up email after the interview to show that you’re hardworking and
persistent, and that you deserve a second chance. To grab their attention, ensure
that your answer really stands out. You can do this in a few ways:
1. Provide an in-depth, data-backed answer
2. Provide multiple ways to solve the problem. For example, if you were
asked one way to create an info graphic, provide them at least 10 different
ways to do it - with pros and cons for each method.
3. Now that you have the time to think, you can also provide creative out-of-
the-box solutions that the interviewer may not have thought about.
Wrapping it up
When you don’t know the answer to a question, the key is to try and arrive at an
answer using a step-by-step approach.
Ensure that you proactively communicate what you are thinking. You’ll be
surprised to see your interviewer drop hints that help you keep going. Even if
you don’t get it completely right, your persistence, ability to think under
pressure, problem-solving approach and logical thinking will surely impress the
interviewer. In fact, many times, that’s exactly what they’re looking for.
For more than 8 years, Sreeram Sreenivasan has worked with various
Fortune 500 Companies in areas of Business Intelligence, Sales &
Marketing Strategy.
