There are no easy questions when attending an interview but some can be a lot more difficult to answer well than others and a few can be completely off the wall!! Here some of the ones we have personally come across and what the interviewer is really trying to get from you?

 

Describe a situation with a client or prospect where you made a mistake. How did you handle the error?

This can be a question that a lot of people find uncomfortable answering as they do not want to make themselves look incompetent. Being open honest about this subject can really put the interviewer on your side especially if you hold your hands up and admitted to the client or prospect that you had made an error and you work hard to rectify the issue. Not matter how conscientious you are at your job everyone makes mistakes from time to time and it is how you react to that and deal with the problem that truly lets the interviewer understand your character and what sort of employee you would be.

How would those with whom you work now, across all areas of the company, describe you and the work you do?

What would your friends say about you / how would they describe you?

Both of these questions are very similar in their approach but require slightly different tact’s when answering. The first question is looking to discover more about your professional persona and how you interact with your colleagues and clients whilst the second questions is trying to find out a bit more about you outside of the professional environment. Try and be honest in your answers but beware not to be to open especially if your friends would tell the interviewer about lots of drunken escapades and misdemeanors! It has been known to put a company off of a candidate if they take a look at the candidates Facebook page and they mention or have photographs posted about pranks or drunken nights out!

If I gave you £10,000 what would you spend it on?

Whilst this might seem like a strange question at first glance what the interviewer is really trying to discover is what really motivates you, what drives you? If you said you would spend it on a party that could seem that you are a very social animal and going out is your main focus and you might arrive to work a few times with a hangover?! Or it could be taken to mean that you are a real people person and interact well in groups and as part of a team. There is no right or wrong answer to this question it is all about understanding you more and whether you will fit into the existing culture.

What do you like and dislike about the products or services you’re selling now and why?

How well do you really know the products you are selling? If you are looking at a role within the IT Sales industry where you can be dealing with very technical products the more you understand the better you can sell them and it will show the interviewer that you are prepared to fully immerse yourself in the company and will make the effort to expand your knowledge to enable you to make the best possible impact for the company.

If you were one of the Muppets which one would are you?

A very strange question which I have personally been asked! Very off the wall and the interviewer is trying to understand if you have a sense of humour about yourself or if you are someone who takes everything too seriously all the time?