How to Answer Difficult Questions – If You Were A …

Most difficult job interview questions and answers are designed to be challenging and catch you in a moment of honesty. Questions like “what is your biggest weakness” are hoping you provide an actual weakness, one they can judge you on accordingly. Yet there are some interview questions where what you answer does not matter in the slightest. What matters is the way you answer it.

Difficult Interview Question – If You Were a _______, What Kind Would You Be?

• If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
• If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?
• If you were an alcoholic beverage, what kind of alcoholic beverage would you be?

Maybe you won’t get asked that last question, but the other two have occurred in many different types of job interviews. These questions seem silly. What kind of answer could the employer be looking for? Is it better to be a dog and a cat? Does the interviewer even know what an Amur Chokecherry is?

Interview questions about “What you would be” are difficult to answer. Luckily, the employer is not looking for a real answer. What the employer is looking for is your ability to answer an unexpected question. They are looking for your behaviors, reactions and confidence with your answers. They are looking for how you answer the question, not what the answer is.

• Don’t roll your eyes or act annoyed.
• Don’t ask the interviewer if they are serious.
• Don’t laugh hysterically and then wait to answer as though it’s not a serious question.
• Don’t half ass your answer like it isn’t important.

When you answer this question, you should answer it as though it was any other interview question. You should make eye contact with the employer. You should smile and provide a confident answer with a thorough explanation. “I would be a canine because they are reliable, trustworthy, friendly, and smell a little bit after a hard rain.”

All you need to do is give a nice answer to this question, just like you would any other interview question. There are no wrong answers (though “I would be a sloth because I don’t work hard” may not be your best choice), only wrong delivery. Give a great, thoughtful, interesting answer and you will easily pass the test.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Answer surprise and odd questions with an honest, confident, thoughtful answer.
• Every interview question has a purpose, so never dismiss a question as irrelevant.