Ask the Expert: Dealing with a difficult question
A: There was a fashion a few years ago for deliberately wrongfooting candidates in interviews by asking clever or aggressive questions. Some people still do it, as you have found, but thankfully these sorts of daft questions are less common these days.
Generally speaking they give you more information than the interviewer...so don't panic. Gimmicky questions usually mean an inexperienced, arrogant, or just ill-prepared interviewer. The only possible legitimacy they can have is to see how the candidate reacts when wrongfooted. Do they fall to pieces, become aggressive or otherwise lose their cool? Or do they have a smart reply up their sleeves or a humourous one or just a low key, sensible one?
It is often a good tactic to answer with another question, that steers the conversation in a direction you prefer. "Why do you want clever people?", "Do you find that clever people perform better?" or "What do you mean by clever?" If you're in a more confident mood you could throw the gauntlet back more decisively: "What are you trying to find out about me with that question?" or "What's the best answer you've ever been given to that?"
Worst case scenario, if your mind goes blank, play for time, as elegantly as you can. "I'd like to give that some more thought. Let's return to it later." With luck, the interview will move on and everyone will forget the original question - smartalec questions rarely bear repeating.
Readers advise
In general, there are three types of interview question:
1. Questions to test whether you have the technical expertise required for the position. These are straightforward. You either are a mining engineer with 30 years' experience in the Eastern Bushveld, or you aren't.
2. Questions to see if you will fit in with the existing team / corporate culture. These can be trickier, but by demonstrating a sense of humour (unless you are interviewing for a job in compliance) and humanity (unless you are interviewing for a job in HR) you should be fine.
3. Variants of (2): questions that are asked because the interviewer couldn't be bothered to prepare, and an awkward silence has to be filled. These are particularly frequent in interviews for sales positions, especially after lunch. Common examples include "what are your greatest weaknesses?", "what do you believe that can you bring to this organisation?" and the classic "what do you expect to be doing in ten years' time?".
I strongly suspect that the question you were asked is one of these.The obvious answer, by the way, is: "That one. And are you always such a smartarse?".
William Vincent
Next week's question: I have been approached by a direct competitor to join them, offering significantly more money with equal or better prospects. It sounds like a no brainer, except that I have a non-compete clause for 6-months from the date of leaving my present company. Is there any way I can wriggle out of this or am I stuck with it?
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