Interviewing: It's complicated

Interviewing for a new job is almost always stressful, anticipating the difficult questions to be thrown your way and trying to ascertain if you’re a good fit for the job you’re interviewing for.

Is there any interview question that has really thrown you for a loop?  In an interview today, the third person I talked with asked me about my weaknesses. I know this has always been a pretty standard interview question but I’ve typically avoided asking it when I interview people since everyone knows to expect it and has a prepared, acceptable, pat answer. After all, is anyone going to say anything really negative?

However, even after thinking about this question prior to the interview, I couldn’t think of a weakness (without making up something that sounded trite…).  So, I told him I couldn’t think of a weakness but a former supervisor once mentioned I sided too much with my clients (which I vehemently disagreed with) but I was able to turn that into how I saw the role and what I could have done better to address that perception.  There are plenty of things that aren’t necessarily my favorite things to do, and I know I have weaknesses (doesn’t everyone?), but in an interview I want to emphasize my positive, desirable qualities in hopes that I’m a good match for the requirements of the job.

I find interviews are often like conversations in any business situation. They become a give and take of questions and answers, sharing information yet allowing the interviewee an opportunity to probe about the position and the company while seeking the appropriate opening to share ideas or one’s own successes.

If it helps you who are, or may soon be, interviewing for a new job, here are some recent interview questions I've encountered:

1. Would you be bored in this job?
2. Tell me about a time you’ve had to negotiate something with a client.
3. How do you handle giving bad news?
4. Have you ever had to fire someone?
5. What kind of role/job do you see for yourself in 4 or 5 years?
6. Is the commute a factor for you?
7. What have you been doing since you left your last job?
8. Why did you leave your last job?
9. What classes have you taken?
10. What are you looking for in a job?
11. Why did this position interest you?
12. Describe a time that something went wrong and how you handled it. 

What is the most unexpected, most challenging interview question you’ve been asked?