Graduate Interview Question: What Do You Dislike About the Field?

In the last post, we talked about how to answer questions about what you like about the field. Like any good anarchists, today we are going to do the complete opposite. What don’t you like about your field?

How to Answer

We often discuss how important it is to stay positive. It is especially important if you are talking about working in a new field. If you are a recent graduate or have not worked in the field for very long, saying anything too negative about the industry may cause the interviewer to doubt how long you will stick.

Avoid talking about a major part of the field. You do not want to accidentally say negative things about your job. Focus more on something existential, like the politics involved in the position.

Bad Answer

“I don’t like how repetitive the tasks are. Every day you usually do the same thing over and over. I don’t mind the repetition, but it would be nice if something new happened once in a while.”

Good Answer

“Interestingly, I think one of the things I dislike about the field is the instability of the market. I can make an extremely well researched marketing plan, put it into action, and suddenly the market changes unexpectedly and the campaign needs to be completely changed. At the same time, that is also one of the things I like about the field, since it makes every day interesting and exciting.”

Making the biggest negative you can think of both a negative and a positive is a good way to show that you do like the field – because you even like the things you don’t like about it.

Take Away Interview Tips

• See if you can spin the negative into a positive.
• Do not complain about anything that plays a major role in your job.
• Struggle to come up with something.

Related posts:

1. Graduate Interview Question: Who Had the Greatest Influence on Your Choice to Become a Part of This Field?
2. Graduate Interview Question: What Do You Like About The Field?
3. Interesting Interview Question: If This Field Became Obsolete, What Field Would You Choose to Go Into?
4. Interesting Interview Question: Did You Get Into the Field By Choice or By Accident?
5. Common Entry Level Interview Question – Why Did You Choose This Field?