Tough Interview Questions

Whenever a candidate appears an interview he/she has to face some really tough interview questions and if these find you unprepared then the whole effort is lost. All the questions that interviewer will put to you are specifically formulated to draw out some insights on your personality and traits. If you keep this in mind you will know where your answers should always lead, i.e. to your best qualities, particularly those which will be a match to the job you are being interviewed for.

There is a lot many questions that you will face as 'tough interview questions' and these are called tough because most of the time you will be confused as what would be the best answer; would take you by surprise and/ or would bring about sudden not so favorable reactions from you.

There are a number of such questions, such as 'why were you fired', 'what do you think about yourself', 'what was your opinion about your ex-boss', 'how would you handle an unreasonable person', 'what would you do if your boss is unreasonable' and so on. The best answer is not always the right answer, as paradoxical as this sounds. The best answer is something that comes out as objective and as possible, and answering which focuses on solution and positive outcome rather than blaming and dead analysis.

The interviewer seeks to gauge the depth of your maturity in handling a rough situation in order to evaluate your stability as value addition for the company. Each of the 'tough interview questions' are tests by themselves - testing your attitude - whether you are aggressive, reactive, passive or objective; testing your thinking-on-the-feet capacity - whether you can come up with a workable solution when you are under pressure of situation and time; and your reaction - whether you are resentful, defensive, offensive or take things in your stride.

The 'trick questions' as these 'tough interview questions' are also known are put in order to make it easier for the interviewer to project the way you would react in situations that can come up in the company for which the interview is taking place. Keep in mind always:

• to remain calm when faced with tough interview questions
• to remain objective and focus on the solution not problem
• not to badmouth or blame any of your past colleagues or bosses
• to check and beware of body language during uncomfortable questions
• to practice on every possible uncomfortable question regarding your past job before the interview (so you would be in control of your emotions if that touches a raw nerve - 'why were you fired' type of questions)
• to identify and beware of what triggers uncomfortable reactions regarding your past job (analyze before hand what exactly you hated about the job and whether you could have avoided it)
• to have sufficient questions for the interviewer to ensure that the past job experience (if it was unpleasant) does not repeat here; the question should be subtle but which can give you sufficient information to help decide whether you should or not take the job if offered
• never to tell lies - even if you are sorely tempted during a tough question
• not to show frustration, anger or disappointment on circumstances of the leaving the past job
• to show that you have outgrown the past and gained out of the experience, even if was not a pleasant one