We’ve all been there: the interviewer asks you a question that seems totally out of left field and you freeze. For a hot second, you can’t remember even your name or why you’re here. Eventually you babble something semi-coherent and hope that you didn’t sound like a complete idiot.
Is there a way to handle moments like this?
In fact, there are several! Try these on and see what works for you. It may be a combination of things, or maybe just one will work for you.
- Prep beforehand. Write down notes on frequently-asked interview questions: times you failed (and what you learned!), times you succeeded (and why you did, with the focus on your actions), times you had to deal with conflict, times you worked as part of a team (and your particular role), and times you worked with someone very different from you. Sketch out 3 or so answers to each of these questions, and then give yourself memory prompts for the interview. If you’re interviewing virtually, you can have sticky notes on your computer screen; if you’ll be in person, you can have a notepad in front of you.
- Take a deep breath, repeat the question, and think for a moment about why they’re asking you that. I know there’s a lot of belief out there that interviewers are asking lots of gotcha questions, but there isn’t really a reason for them to do that—it certainly doesn’t help them find a candidate for the role they want to fill! So most questions really do have something behind them. If you can figure out what that is, you can use the info to inform your answer.
- Again taking a deep breath, mentally note 5 things you can see without turning your head. If you’re on camera, make sure to make some small “I’m thinking” movements or gestures so they know you haven’t frozen, or the call hasn’t dropped.
- Practice a quick moment of mindfulness to yourself: “My feet are on the floor, my butt is in the chair, a pen is in my hand,” etc. Like the previous exercise, this will re-ground you and re-orient you in the moment.
- Ask them to repeat the question, or repeat it yourself. This is really buying time for yourself, but that’s often the magic of coming up with an answer. Don’t worry about taking too long to answer. As long as they can tell you’re thinking, they would generally rather have a thoughtful answer than a quick one. (Note that this is slightly different if you’re on the phone because those silences can stretch pretty quickly. For thinking time in a phone interview, make some thinking noises as you do any of these exercises: “Hmmmm.” “That’s a good question.” “Let me think about that.”)
- If all else fails, say you can’t think of an answer and ask if they can return to the question later. The gift of removing the pressure may very well let your brain relax enough to come up with an answer for you.
