A FEW years ago, a mysterious billboard appeared on the highway into the US鈥檚 Silicon Valley. The only thing on the billboard was the text: 鈥渰first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of e}.com.鈥 Anyone smart enough to work this number out unlocked the address of a website. There they found another mathematical riddle. Calculate this, and they were allowed to submit their CV to local company Google.
Not everyone is expected to answer such mind-bending questions to win a job, but you will undoubtedly be bowled a few googlies at some point during an application. Usually these questions come when you鈥檙e sat opposite an employer in a job interview, and your chances of a job can live or die in those 30 minutes. So here are the best ways to answer some common tricky interview questions (and how not to).
Tell me about yourself
Wrong answer: 鈥淗i, I like to breed pigeons.鈥
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This should be a straightforward ice-breaker, but it鈥檚 simple to misinterpret. The employer wants to hear how you鈥檙e suitable for the job, not an exhaustive account of your hobbies. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to fall into the trap of tilting the agenda away from the interviewer and towards yourself,鈥 says Chris Vaughan, a consultant at Newcastle-based Nigel Wright Recruitment. 鈥淚ntroduce yourself, relate your experiences to the role and keep your answer down to 2 to 3 minutes.鈥
You don鈥檛 have to be completely impersonal throughout the interview, says Kris Richards, a recruitment consultant at On Assignment Lab Support. 鈥淢entioning one key event outside of work that you may have in common with the interviewer may help build rapport, for example, if you have just bought a house, or got married.鈥
Why should I hire you?
Wrong answer: 鈥淚鈥檓 desperate and need to pay off my gambling debts.鈥
This is clearly about selling yourself, and the key is to provide concrete examples to back up your claims. Try to think of something you have done that demonstrates how you could contribute to the company. Waffling about future challenges and prospects is not what the employer wants to hear. So says Rob Bailey, an occupational psychologist at Oxford-based consultancy OPP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about the hypothetical 鈥楬ow would you deal with an angry customer?鈥 but the actual 鈥楬ow did you deal with an angry customer?'鈥
There is such a thing as too much information, though. 鈥淭he worst thing to do is let your mouth run away with you,鈥 says Suzie Jones, an HR adviser for a Nottingham-based IT company. 鈥淚鈥檝e had an interviewee explain how making a pipe organ demonstrated his planning skills, but by the end of the interview I knew enough to make my own organ.鈥
Finally, Ian McKinley of recruitment consultants SRG warns not to lie, or even exaggerate. 鈥淏e honest. The worst trait for an interviewer to find is that they can鈥檛 trust the interviewee.鈥
Where do you see yourself in five years鈥 time?
Wrong answer: 鈥淪itting in your chair.鈥
This question is about how long you intend to stay in the job. 鈥淎void talking about wanting to travel for 18 months, studying for an MBA or PhD, or essentially anything that would make the employer think 鈥榯his person鈥檚 going to walk in a year鈥,鈥 says Richards. If you鈥檝e moved around a lot, then take this issue head-on: explain that you鈥檙e now looking to settle and develop your career. This is also a chance to demonstrate that you are ambitious. A pitfall is being too precise about it 鈥 if you say you want a specific future role, but it doesn鈥檛 exist, then the interviewer may assume you鈥檙e likely to leave.
Are you a team player?
Wrong answer: 鈥淔irst as a friend, second as an entertainer and third as a boss.鈥
The answer to this can only be yes, says Richards. 鈥淕ive an example of the role you like to play in a team: some like to lead, others take notes, some are creative, others are analytical 鈥 all important roles.鈥 Other questions along the same theme include: 鈥渉ow do you get on with people?鈥 and 鈥渉ow would your colleagues describe you?鈥
Have you ever had to resolve a conflict with a colleague?
Wrong answer: 鈥淏oy, I鈥檝e tried, but the idiot just won鈥檛 accept that I鈥檓 right.鈥
Resist bitching. Instead, give an example here of a simple difference of opinion and what you did to get your point across, says Richards. This question is a great opportunity to show how you cope in a difficult situation 鈥 so choose an example that reflects well on you. However, try to avoid bringing up the subject of conflict voluntarily: it looks bad.
What is your greatest weakness?
Wrong answer: 鈥淚 hold my hands up: I鈥檓 a perfectionist and a workaholic.鈥
鈥淪o many people say perfectionist or workaholic,鈥 says Jones. Relying on stock responses here may reveal a different weakness 鈥 lack of initiative or originality. One tactic is to mention a minor weakness that wouldn鈥檛 affect your job. 鈥淢ost important is to show self-awareness and problem-solving in how you have worked to resolve any weaknesses,鈥 says Vaughan.
Sandwich a weakness between two positives, says Richards. 鈥淚 would say: 鈥榤y clients have a really good relationship with me and as the numbers have grown I鈥檝e become very busy. However, I鈥檓 disorganised, so I write everything down and use a diary or planner.'鈥
What do you know about our company?
Wrong answer: 鈥淎re you the plastics people? Sorry, it鈥檚 my third interview today.鈥
Clearly you know the address, since you turned up at the interview. Now is your chance to demonstrate you have done your research. A good way to slot this in seamlessly is when you鈥檙e talking about your skills, for example: 鈥淚 speak fluent Arabic and I see you鈥檝e recently expanded your client base into the Middle East.鈥 That shows you鈥檝e done the research and also gives the impression that you will fit in. Try to talk about more than just your potential employer, but the industry or sector in general. Employers will be impressed if you demonstrate an awareness of the bigger picture.
Why are you leaving your current job?
Wrong answer: 鈥淪ome brown-noser got the promotion I deserved.鈥
Keep it positive 鈥 talk about where you want to go, not what you want to escape from. 鈥淪ome candidates are obviously very bitter about the job they are leaving and spend most of the interview moaning about their ex-employer,鈥 says Jones. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the best way to introduce yourself.鈥
What are your salary expectations?
Wrong answer: 鈥淚 just hope you pay better than the last lot.鈥
鈥淭hink hard about what you would be happy with 鈥 and be honest,鈥 says Vaughan. 鈥淚f you wouldn鈥檛 move jobs for less than a certain figure, then it won鈥檛 help to say otherwise.鈥 It鈥檚 also better to give a range rather than a specific amount. Again research pays dividends here 鈥 being aware of the market rate for the role can make all the difference. Visit for our latest survey of scientists鈥 salaries.
Do you have any questions?
Wrong answer: 鈥淲here鈥檚 the toilet?鈥
Any questions on sick pay and holidays are ill-advised here and should have been covered already. Questions that demonstrate you have done your research on the company are good, but remember the interviewer is only human, so avoid: 鈥淚 see you had a poor performance last year 鈥 why was that?鈥 You should prepare in advance a few questions that are pertinent to the job. If they all get covered, then there鈥檚 no shame in simply saying that the interview covered everything.
Lateral thinking鈥
Microsoft is well-known for flummoxing job applicants with interview questions along the lines of 鈥淗ow many cars are there in the US?鈥 and 鈥淗ow would you weigh a plane without scales?鈥 Many other employers now do the same. Don鈥檛 worry if you鈥檙e asked a brain-teaser, it鈥檚 not about getting the right answer but how creatively you approach the question. Here are three classics to get the brain juices flowing:
Q1. You walk 5 miles south, turn left, walk 5 miles east, turn left again and then 5 miles north. You鈥檙e now in the same place you started. What is the weather like?
Q2. Why are manhole covers round rather than square?
Q3. In a new tube station, the builders put in only three escalators. Two always go up, but only one goes down. Why?
(Answers)
Answers
A1 Cold. You could be at the North pole or in Antarctica, at a point 5 miles north of where the circle of Earth鈥檚 latitude is 5 miles around. You could also be 5 miles north of any circle of latitude whose length is such that walking 5 miles along it takes you around a whole number of times
A2 There鈥檚 more than one answer, but the main one is that their shape means you can鈥檛 drop them down the hole no matter which way you turn them
A3 Plenty of possible answers, but one is that people disembark from trains in a surge, whereas those entering the station arrive in a steady trickle