You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for today's lesson on dealing with difficult questions in a job interview.
In a job interview, even simple questions about your experience and background can be difficult to answer well.
Even though you've done your preparation, you might feel nervous or uncomfortable.
And then, to make it even more challenging, the interviewer asks you a difficult question.
Sure, everyone expects a question about a personal weakness.
That's one that you need to have a good answer for.
But you might also get a range of other difficult questions that you can't prepare for, and so you need to think on your feet and give the best answer you can.
Today, we'll look at some of the techniques and language you can use when faced with these difficult questions.
We'll learn how to answer hypothetical questions and leading questions.
We'll also cover softening language for talking about a weakness and stalling for time with a difficult question.
And finally, we'll look at how to explain how you're different from other candidates and how to connect an idea back to an earlier idea.
In the dialogue, we'll rejoin Ryan, Sandra, and Victor.
Ryan is interviewing for a job at a software company, while Sandra and Victor are giving him some difficult questions to deal with.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
How does Ryan answer the question about what he would do in a certain situation?
2.
How does Ryan describe his weakness?
3.
What does Ryan think makes him different from other people?
Now, Ryan, let me put you into a team leader's shoes for a minute.
Imagine a couple of your team are having a real problem working together.
Major personality clash.
Now, this conflict is threatening to hold up work and stop you from meeting an important deadline.
You've got to answer for that to the project manager.
So would you reorganize the team to prevent any further conflict, or would you try to resolve it even though you're pressed for time?
Okay… Well, I'd try to resolve it first.
I think we need to figure out if this conflict is truly an impediment.
And to do that I'd use a little process that Scrum Masters often use, which is asking why five times?
So, we find out an initial reason for the conflict, then the reason for that reason, and so on.
That process can help resolve the conflict, or show us where the conflict actually lies.
So you wouldn't be concerned about meeting the deadline?
No, that's not the case at all.
I'd be very proactive about it and attempt to get to the bottom of it right away.
I think the best option is resolving it, because we've got future deadlines to consider, as well as overall team dynamics.
Okay, fair enough.
Now I'd like to switch direction a bit and ask you about your weaknesses.
Is there anything you think you can identify where there's room for improvement?
Right.
Well, I'd have to say that I might need to work on being a bit better listener in some situations.
A better listener?
And why is that?
Well, in the past sometimes I've been very focused on what I think is the right solution.
And others might think I push too hard without getting enough input first.
So I've been trying to do that whenever I'm in a lead role.
And that ties in with why I try to resolve the conflict between team members.
Okay, listening skills are really important.
We all know that.
But if I interviewed someone else with the same experience and the same qualifications as you and he says he's a good listener, then why should we hire you instead?
Ah, interesting question.
So, this other person, everything is the same except for that?
That's right.
Exact same background.
I see.
Well, I'd say that you should hire me because of one of my strengths that I'm adaptable and I'm a good learner.
By nature, I might not be the best listener, but I know that, so I work on it.
I believe I'm much more flexible than most people and in different situations, on different teams, I can adapt as required.
And this is one of your key strengths, this flexibility?
Yes, for sure.
And, as I mentioned before, I think that will help me in a move from a smaller company to a bigger one, like this
Okay, very interesting.
Now you're talking about your current career shift, and I'd like to talk about your longer-term goals in the future, what you plan to do next.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the techniques and language Ryan used in the interview.
Victor starts the dialogue with a tough situational question.
Now, Ryan, let me put you into a team leader's shoes for a minute.
Imagine a couple of your team are having a real problem working together.
Major personality clash.
Now, this conflict is threatening to hold up work and stop you from meeting an important deadline.
You've got to answer for that to the project manager.
So, would you reorganize the team to prevent any further conflict?
Or would you try to resolve it, even though you're pressed for time?
Victor is putting Ryan into a team leader's shoes.
That's a way of saying that he wants Ryan to imagine that he's a team leader.
And the entire question is about what Ryan would do about a conflict between two team members.
We call this a hypothetical situation.
It's not real.
It's just an imagined situation.
Interviewers often use this kind of question to find out how you deal with problems.
So let's listen to Ryan's response.
Okay, well, I'd try to resolve it first.
I think we need to figure out if this conflict is truly an impediment.
And to do that, I'd use a little process that scrum masters often use, which is asking why five times?
Ryan starts by stating directly and confidently what he would do.
I emphasize the word would, because when we talk hypothetically, we normally say would and could.
It indicates that the situation is imagined.
This is why Ryan says, I'd try to resolve it, and I'd use a little process.
Let's practice some more ways of answering hypothetical questions using would and could.
If I were in that situation I would definitely accept the deal.
I would talk to the employee first to try to work things out.
In those circumstances I would ask to speak to the client privately.
What I could do is ask a co-worker for feedback on the report.
You'll notice that Ryan used the words impediment and scrum master.
These are ideas related to agile software development which Ryan was trying to show his knowledge of in our last lesson.
Let's hear him explain his approach in this situation in more detail.
So we find out an initial reason for the conflict, then the reason for that reason, and so on.
That process can help resolve the conflict, or show us where the conflict actually lies.
As you can hear, Ryan doesn't just give a simple short answer to the question.
He starts by stating his initial idea very directly.
Then he gives some explanation about why he would take a certain course of action.
But remember, the question had two sides to it.
Victor gave the choice of reorganizing the team, which would be faster, or resolving the conflict even though they don't have much time.
Ryan chose to resolve the conflict, which leads Victor to his next question.
So you wouldn't be concerned about meeting the deadline?
This is what we call a leading question.
It's a tricky way of leading someone into saying something they don't want to say.
Often it involves asking if you think or don't think something.
You need to watch out for this type of question and respond appropriately, as Ryan does.
No, that's not the case at all.
I'd be very proactive about it and attempt to get to the bottom of it right away.
I think the best option is resolving it, because we've got future deadlines to consider, as well as overall team dynamics.
As you heard, Ryan is very clear and direct when responding to the leading question.
He says that's not the case at all, which means that's not true.
Before giving some more explanation of his decision,
And that explanation uses some strong words like proactive, which means you try to solve problems before they happen.
He also says they need to think of future deadlines, which shows that he can think about the bigger picture.
Anytime you have a hypothetical situation, it's a good idea to fit that situation into the larger context.
So I mentioned that we need to respond to leading questions clearly and directly.
What are some other ways of doing that?
Let's run through a few more examples.
No, that's not at all what I would do.
Definitely not.
I am quite the opposite in fact.
No, I actually enjoy the business side of things quite a bit.
I wouldn't say that's necessarily true all the time.
Now let's get back to the dialogue as Sandra asks Ryan another difficult question.
Okay, fair enough.
Now I'd like to switch direction a bit and ask you about your weaknesses.
Is there anything you think you can identify where there's room for improvement?
Right.
Well, I'd have to say that I might need to work on being a bit better listener in some situations.
Sandra wants to switch direction or change the topic to ask if Ryan has any room for improvement.
That's another way of saying, do you have any weaknesses?
Now, you know you're going to be asked about weaknesses.
And when you are, you can use softening language as Ryan did.
Notice he said that he might need to improve and that he needs to be a bit better listener.
And finally, he says in some situations.
These words might, a bit, and some make the weakness seem less serious.
You can also use words like slight, may, and somewhat.
Let's practice using these kinds of words to soften a weakness.
You could say that I have a slight tendency to get upset when I face disagreement.
I think that I may have some trouble being brief or concise.
I might be somewhat impatient. especially with people who are a bit slow to learn.
Of course, a good interviewer won't let you get away with a simple answer.
You'll always need to explain in more detail.
A better listener.
And why is that?
Well, in the past sometimes I've been very focused on what I think is the right solution.
And others might think I push too hard without getting enough input first.
So I've been trying to do that whenever I'm in a lead role.
And that ties in with why I try to resolve the conflict between team members.
When Ryan explains his weakness in more detail, he continues using softening words like sometimes and might.
You might also notice that Ryan mentions how he's trying to improve and how it ties in with or connects to his previous idea about resolving conflict.
So he's taken a question about his weakness, softened his answer, then used his efforts to improve to support one of his previous responses.
He's doing really well, but now he faces another tough question.
Let's listen.
Okay, listening skills are really important.
We all know that.
But if I interviewed someone else with the same experience and the same qualifications as you and he says he's a good listener, then why should we hire you instead?
Victor's question is about why they should hire Ryan over someone else with the same qualifications.
Qualifications are your particular combination of experience and training that make you right for the job.
Ryan isn't sure right away how to answer.
You've probably been in this situation before, so what can you do?
Ah, interesting question.
So, this other person, everything is the same except for that?
Ryan is stalling for time.
He needs to think about this question some more, so he fills the time by commenting on the question and asking about something he already knows.
If you're not sure how to respond right away, you can stall for time instead of giving a weak answer.
Let's run through some more ways of doing this.
Well, I think I know what you're asking me here.
Ah, yes.
That's certainly a tricky situation.
Okay, I see.
Well, there are a couple of different ways of looking at this.
What would I do?
That's a great question.
And so, let me just start by saying...
So, Ryan has stalled for time, but it doesn't mean he can avoid the question completely.
Let's listen.
That's right.
Exact same background.
I see.
Well, I'd say that you should hire me because of one of my strengths that I'm adaptable and I'm a good learner.
By nature I might not be the best listener, but I know that, so I work on it.
I believe I'm much more flexible than most people and in different situations, on different teams, I can adapt as required.
A common difficult interview question is, why should we hire you?
This is basically what Victor's question means.
And to respond, you need to show how you're different from other people.
How do you do that?
Well, you focus on your strengths.
As Ryan explains, he's adaptable, or he can change to fit different situations and teams.
And this helps him overcome his weakness. since he can learn and change.
Everyone has weaknesses.
You have to admit them.
But you should use your strengths to overcome those weaknesses and show how you're better than other people.
And you should choose a strength that really sets you apart.
Let's practice some more ways of doing this.
I think what sets me apart is my strong work ethic.
I'm always the go-to person in the office when there's a conflict to resolve.
I might not be the fastest, but I'm proud to say that I make virtually no errors.
I can honestly say that I've never met anyone who loves this work as much as I do.
Now, let's get back to the dialogue.
Yes, for sure.
And, as I mentioned before, I think that will help me in a move from a smaller company to a bigger one, like this
In our last lesson, Victor asked Ryan if he thought it would be difficult to go from a small company to a large one.
That's an important concern for the interviewers, and so Ryan makes sure to use his strengths to help support his previous response.
Anytime you can connect back to an earlier idea like this, your responses will be stronger.
To connect to an earlier idea, Ryan used the expression, as I mentioned before.
There are lots of other expressions we can use, so let's try a few more.
This relates back to what I was talking about earlier.
So, once again, I would say that efficiency is the key.
Well, as I was saying before, I spent 10 years overseas in a variety of roles.
This is similar to my earlier point about the importance of good communication.
Now, let's finish off with one last statement from Sandra.
Okay.
Very interesting.
Now you're talking about your current career shift, and I'd like to talk about your longer-term goals in the future, what you plan to do next.
Sandra wants to talk about long-term goals, but we'll have to wait for our next lesson to find out some good ways of doing that.
For now, we've seen Ryan handle some tough questions with skill and confidence.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are interviewing for a job with an accounting firm.
The interviewer is asking you some tough questions, and you need to respond appropriately.
During the role play, you'll hear some questions from the interviewer.
Then, I'll give you some suggestions for how you can respond.
We'll guide you through each step of the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Now, in the situation I've described, would you call a meeting and tell everyone about the problem?
Start by saying that you would deal with the problem yourself instead of telling everyone.
No, I would deal with it myself without telling everyone.
Okay, so you don't think the staff would have any good ideas about possible solutions?
Next, respond to the leading question by saying that's not what you think at all.
Answer No, I wouldn't say that at all.
Well, this makes me wonder how your previous staff would describe your management style.
Now stall for time by saying that it's a very good question.
Answer.
Okay, well, that's certainly a very good question.
And so, what do you think they'd say?
Say that you believe your former staff would say that your style is calm but confident and firm.
Answer.
Well, I think they'd say that my style is calm but confident and firm.
I see.
And can you give me an example of what calm but confident might mean?
Finally, connect to what you said earlier about dealing with the imagined problem yourself.
Answer.
Well, this relates back to what I said about dealing with the problem myself.
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear, I'd just like to switch here and ask you about your future plans.
You can say, I'd just like to switch directions here and ask you about your future plans.
After each response we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
David and I had a real personality that made it difficult to work together.
Answer.
David and I had a real personality clash that made it difficult to work together.
Answer.
I believe that I have some room for improvement in my communication skills.
With a small staff we often found ourselves pressed for on big projects.
Answer.
With a small staff, we often found ourselves pressed for time on big projects.
Before releasing the ads, we need to get some from potential customers.
Before releasing the ads, we need to get some input from potential customers.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our review of key skills for job interviews in English.
We've looked at how to answer hypothetical and leading questions, as well as how to soften a weakness.
We've also covered how to stall for time, explain how you're different from other people and connect back to an earlier point.
Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
