What if you don’t have an answer to a question during the interview

Coaching and Training: https://bestofmany.com/ Never, ever, immediately say that you don’t have an answer Keep in mind that these questions, especially behavioral questions - but also situational ones - are designed to have an answer for If this is a technical question, my advice applies too Even if the question is something like: what is the command to reroute traffic on a Cisco ASR 1000 router Maybe you have no idea about this, but, maybe you’ve worked with other routers - for which you have an answer, so at least you show them that you do know what they’re talking about and you could eventually convince them this command is just a Google search away Remember that often times they ask you questions to see how you’d go about resolving a challenge - to see your approach: Would you be someone they’d enjoy working with or someone that when they get asked “what’s the most innovative idea you’ve worked on recently” - thinks like “I would never spill the beans on this one, especially with you” Do you have, or can easily acquire, the expertise to get the job done? As in my example with that router. Do you have the toughness to get the job done? Or you’re just complacent and says “I have no idea, next question please” What you can do: If you’re preparing for a phone interview, prepare cheat sheets Even for the onsite interviews, in some cases, usually on very short notice, they will allow you with a cheat sheet - just ask them Show them that you really want the job in the first place Win time Repeat question Can I take a few seconds to think about it Follow-up questions Does it have to be a recent one Can it be from my non-professional life Develop on a vague situation at first Explain the STAR method Think about why they ask you this question E.g. 75% through the project: you do pivot strategy and do whatever it takes to deliver E.g. failure: it is only normal to have failures, and these have helped me on several occasions to grow Do not invent a situation on the spot Unless you really know what you’re doing Keep eye contact Look somewhere else to demo what happens when you don’t Once you do get an example Make your answer quantifiable Usually whey they sound so-so it means they are not concise Don’t forget the STAR, including the results section Say it with confidence Coaching and Training: https://bestofmany.com/