Hypothetical questions. I’m not a big fan of them but firms use them as part of their screening. Here’s the best way to answer them.
I'm not a big fan of hypothetical interview questions, because frankly, they set up circumstances where it's easy to lie to an employer about what you do. Let me give you an example. What would you do if you were put into a situation where you're required to put in additional effort to complete a task? Hmm, I wonder what they wanted to hear, huh? What if I instructed you to make a change to your schedule that wanted you to prioritize a separate obligation over finishing a task at work? Hmm. What do they want to hear? Now part of that on that question, is having a discussion with your boss about its impact upon you, and its impact upon those would be affected. But, you know, most of these questions encourage you to lie. There's nothing factual, unless you do something that connects it with a past situation. To me, that's the ideal way-- that you can connect the dots for an interviewer about hypothetical interview questions. If there's a way you could connect it back to something you've done previously, this really works because they can see how you thought it through for real, and thus equate how you would process it now, including, you know, why it worked, why it didn't work, some of the flaws that existed in your choice. And those are all good, because if you speak with confidence and self assurance about it, and you're not defensive, that shows your power and passion. It shows your maturity and leadership to be able to stand in the inferno, stand in the fire of perceived criticism of an interviewer and come through to the other side. Excuse me. When all is said and done, firms use them, but they're nonsense. Hope you found this helpful. I'm Jeff Altman. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us. Go there and go exploring. There's gonna be a lot there to help you. And if it's not the time to do it, put that URL into your phone with my name, Jeff Altman, and come back to me at a later date when you might need some advice. Or if you want to schedule time to for me to coach you, or you have a question for me, you can schedule that at the website as well. Lastly, connect with me on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/TheBigGameHunter. Oh, no. Lastly, follow me on YouTube. Click the small icon in the lower right and you'll get notifications when I release something new. Hope you have a terrific day and be great! Take care!
