What to Do When You Don't Know the Answer to an Interview Question

No matter how confident and professional you are, job interviews often present challenges that test your calm. One of the most stressful moments is when the interviewer asks a question and you simply don't know the answer to. Don't let this type of difficult question break your flow. Follow these tips to stay on track and show the interviewer your ability to handle tough situations.

Relax

Maintaining your composure is an important part of dealing with tough questions. The interviewer wants to know how you handle stress. Remember to breathe deeply and to stay in the present moment. Show your best side by maintaining an open, confident body posture and working through difficult questions one at a time.

Clarify

Job interview questions that are not easily answerable tend to fall into three categories: technical questions that you lack the knowledge to answer, hypothetical questions that are hard to relate to, and weird questions that are difficult to understand. In all three cases, asking questions might give you enough information to formulate a good answer. When presented with a technical question, ask for more data. For a hypothetical situation, ask questions to get a better idea about what the interviewer wants. For truly strange questions, ask for clarification to better understand the question.

Start With a Firm Foundation

After listening to the answers to any questions you asked, start right in by stating something you know related to the question. Avoid long pauses. The best job interviews flow smoothly without periods of awkwardness. Making a statement related to the question also gives you a firm base to move from while developing your answer.

Talk Through the Question

Next, start confidently talking through the question. Consider this a process. Let the interviewer see how your mind works. Job interviews frequently contain questions designed just for this purpose. The goal is not giving the right answer. The goal is showing a logical thought process.

If you are dealing with a technical question, share how you'd go about answering that question on the job. Tell how you would get more information or learn more skills to give a firm answer. If it is a hypothetical situation, really immerse yourself in it through your words while talking about your response. You might be surprised how quickly you come up with a good answer when the story unfolds through your words. For weird questions, let the tone of the interview help with your response. For creative positions, a humorous answer might be appropriate. In other industries, it is best to stick to serious professionalism.

Add More in Your Follow-Up Letter

If you leave the job interview with the feeling that you inadequately answered a question, give more information in your follow-up letter. Let the interviewer know that you learned the information you needed to answer a technical question or thought more deeply about a hypothetical situation.

Regardless of how you respond to a tough question, keep a confident attitude throughout your job interview. Show the company that you are prepared to deal with situations in which the answers aren't always obvious. Let the interviewer know that you are able to gather information, think on your feet, and learn new things when necessary.

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