While most candidates know to prepare for the simple interview questions that come up in every interview like “why do you want to work here” and “tell me about yourself”. But you’ll be asked tough interview questions, which are even more important to prepare. A few tough interview questions in a row can destroy your confidence and derail the rest of the interview with stammering and stress.
If you’re not prepared, these tough interview questions could easily cost you the job. But if you prepare, you can stay calm and impress interviewers.
Like most behavioral interview questions, tough interview questions tend to be repeated by most interviewers. That’s why we’ve listed six of the most common tough interview questions and sample answers.
How to Answer Tough Interview Questions
When preparing for tough interview questions, there are two key steps:
- Prepare situations from past work experiences
- Write your response and practice reading the answer aloud
Situations from past work experience allow you to use the STAR interview technique, which has become standard at interviews. These situations will also be used in the interview responses you write down.
While you don’t need to memorize the response word-for-word, you should be able to deliver your prepared answer whenever asked. We recommend you practice answering these tough interview questions in front of a mirror at home, aloud.
5 Most Common Tough Interview Questions
1. What has a past mistake taught you?
A common variant of the common “What is your biggest weakness?” question, this tough interview question will gauge your adaptability. When answering, make sure that you don’t list a serious mistake. Saying that you used to show up to work habitually late or that you cost a former employer millions of dollars due to a careless error may disqualify you from the job even if you’re able to spin it as a learning experience.
Instead, use a relatively minor blunder, and show how it’s contributed to your growth. For example, you might say that you used to take on more work than you could handle. However, coming close to missing a critical deadline taught you the importance of collaboration and proper scheduling. In your current role, you recently split up a UX design project to revamp the company landing page in just 2 weeks with the help of your team working together.
2. What are you reading right now?
This seemingly outside-the-box question has become more common in recent years. Employers value curious individuals and lifelong learners. The reading material you mention doesn’t have to relate directly to your job, but you should be able to tie it back to your work in some manner.
For example, the pop psychology bestseller Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is a fantastic book to trot out, since you can directly link the book’s central message, how we learn and remember, to your workplace performance.
You could also mention productivity blogs or a major newspaper such as the New York Times to show that you’re informed about ongoing trends in the world around you.
The key with this question is to not freeze up and get stressed. While having a few titles and authors memorized can help, there is no wrong answer. Any book or article can work if you connect it to your work and show curiosity.
3. What are your salary expectations?
These salary related tough interview questions ruin salary negotiation in only a few words. Asking your salary expectations can seem innocent, but giving an answer makes salary negotiation more difficult after getting an offer. The key is to not give a number. Some specific things you can say, rather than an exact dollar figure, include:
- Salary is not my primary concern when looking at career opportunities, but it would be competitive based on the area.
- I’m not familiar with salaries in the area. After all, the salary of a software engineer in San Francisco can be twice the salary of a software engineer in Wyoming. I’ll have to research what is competitive.
4. What about our company stands out to you?
The hiring process is expensive, both in terms of dollars spent and hours lost sorting through resumes, interviewing, and training. Companies want to make sure that they’ll get a good return on their investment. Ensuring that you’ve done your research signals that you’re more likely to put in the work necessary to be a great employee, and that you’re less likely to leave shortly after getting hired.
This tough interview question is basically just a variation of “Why do you want to work here”. But what makes it tough is that interviewers want you to share something specific that differentiates the company from others, which requires at least some understanding of competitors and the market. The key is to research the company beforehand. Ideally, mention both the company culture and something that differentiates it from competitors in the niche. You can find key details about the company, such as culture and size, in our company guides.
Great answers to this question will center on the company’s competitive advantage. In other words, focus on what makes that company unique. It’s also a good idea to tie this back to your career goals. For example, if you’d like to focus your career on a particular type of software, you can explain that your interests dovetail with the company’s primary offering. However, mentioning any key details about the company’s mission or media about the company can be satisfactory.
5. Why should we hire you over other applicants?
It’s the specificity that makes this one of the scariest tough interview questions. It also forces you to advocate for yourself and be extremely confident. Afterall, the question is essentially asking you about the qualities that make you better than the competition. But you don’t have to mention the competition. Instead, highlighting measurable accomplishments and your potential to make an impact is key here. Mention specific figures and impact statements like you would on a resume.
- In my last role, I spearheaded C# development of an internal conference room booking app, which led to 40% less employee time spent on searching for open rooms. I think my experience optimizing booking apps will help me quickly make an impact at your company.
Stay away from vague or unverifiable information. Saying that you’re a hard worker does nothing to differentiate you as a candidate. However, showing off the app that you developed or the open-source project that you contributed to gives the interviewer a concrete example of your skills.
Ready to take your interviewing skills to the next level? When you sign up for Pathrise, you’ll get the opportunity to conduct a mock interview with an expert Pathrise mentor and get high-level feedback. You’ll also receive access to a full suite of career development services, from resume writing to best interviewing practices. Apply to become a Pathrise fellow today!
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