So, you are ready for the job interview and have impressed your hiring manager with your professionalism and dressing sense. But, your interviewer asked you something you don’t know anything about from nowhere.
What’s next? Are your blood vessels swelling out with stress and anxiety, making it hard for you to stay calm and give a second thought to how you can handle the situation? And now, you have made a blunder with your answer that you could have avoided!
Relax. We have got you covered for your coming interviews. Check out the best ways to know how to handle the situation if you don’t know the answer to a question in your job interview.
Best Ways to Handle – What if You Don’t Know the Answer in a Job Interview
1. Don’t Lose Your Composer
Your interview is not the place to freak out. So, if your hiring manager has asked a question, and you don’t know the answer because you don’t have any prior experience, stay calm and maintain your composure.
Usually, recruiters ask candidates questions not to get the correct solution but to test how they respond in a demanding situation. If you start panicking right after hearing a question, your heartbeats will start racing uncontrollably, and you might provide answers without thinking, which could be a massive interview setback!
Practise deep breathing in a situation like this to avoid panicking and make yourself relaxed throughout the interview. It will help your mind think clearly and analytically so that you can provide answers that can help increase your chances of getting selected.
2. Take Time to Think
Next is, if you don’t know the answer, take some time to think aloud. Tell your interviewer that you need some time to think about the answer. They won’t say no to you for that. Remember, an interview is not only about what you say or how you would answer. It is about how you think or process your thoughts before answering if you are under pressure.
Therefore, instead of reciting a terrible response for the sake of it, take a moment to slow down and think. Explain your thought process as you go forward, and don’t plunge over to give a snappy answer.
3. Avoid Saying You Don’t Know
If possible, avoid saying that you don’t know. It’s alright to take some time to think, but this statement is too blunt and also won’t show you in a good light in front of your hiring manager.
Instead, try thinking to find a way out of coming up with an answer, but don’t make up things for the sake of it. It is not professional, and your interviewer may not fall for it.
4. Redirect toward the Best Possible Approach
Previously, we have mentioned that interviews are party ways of testing how you respond in stressful situations, especially the process that includes using your problem-solving skills, ability to take initiative and personality. That’s why interviewers sometimes ask difficult questions to check how you answer (basically, they want to see your approach) in a challenging situation. Your behaviour in an under-pressure situation is equally important to your answer.
One way to tackle this situation is to admit and explain that you don’t know the answer, this is not your area of expertise, and what steps you can take to find the possible answer.
This approach shows that you are proactive and ready to take the initiative to manage situations by yourself. It also shows that you are a resourceful individual who will not give up at challenging times just because you don’t know something.
5. Ask For More Information
Another way to avoid awkward silence or rushy answers is to tell your recruiter to reiterate the question or ask additional questions related to the topic to understand the question better. It will help you figure out the best ways to answer it.
It’s more likely that you didn’t understand the question, and if this is the case, asking for some added details will provide you extra time to think through and provide an answer without rushing it.
6. Focus On Your Expertise
If you don’t know about some specific topic, you can handle the situation by redirecting the discussion towards your expertise that can go along with the topic more.
You can tell your recruiter clearly that you don’t have expertise on the topic. However, you have experience and knowledge in a related area that can help solve the problem equally. Your approach shows your positive attitude and willingness to solve problems if you don’t know the answers immediately.
7. Send A Follow-Up Email after Your Job Interview
One of the best ways to show that you are genuinely interested in the job is by sending a thank you email to your interviewer and the other members post your job interview. Plus, sending a thank you email allows you a second chance to make up for things that went left during the interview.
You can mention the answers to the questions you missed during the interview or feel your response was not up to the mark. However, include the questions that you think you made a blunder on. Avoid adding anything extra to draw the recruiter‘s attention, who might have ignored it in the first place.
Conclusion: Answer Difficult Questions with Ease in Your Job Interview
Interviews can be taxing and heart-pounding, but if you can take all the measures stated above, you can ace your interview like a pro. Interviews are to test your knowledge and skills, but they are also to check how you behave under stressful situations.
If you find interviews challenging, try these tips and prepare for your job interview. Also, Remark Jobs can help you find your perfect job in moments. So, brace yourself and get the interview ready.