How to Answer Tough Interview Questions?

This article discusses some of the toughest yet most effective questions from actual nonprofit interviews, and suggests strategies for how to communicate the best possible answers to these questions.

Preparations:
Answering hard/tough interview question require preparations. Do your best to prepare yourself to these difficult job interview questions.
Walking into an interview without a good preparation, knowing exactly what you are going to say, is like trying to give a speech without preparing it – few can do it though..
Have you ever been on a job interview where you’ve been the best candidate, but you didn’t get it?
It is not always something to blame the interviewer. If another candidate was chosen, you probably didn’t impress them. It can happen. But why to repeat failures? If you don’t impress your interviewer, answering the right answers to the tough questions, your chances for a second interview round are reduced to almost a zero.

Nonprofit Organizations Interview:
In a nonprofit interview, candidates are expected to do more than talk about their professional skills. Nonprofit hiring managers rely on interviews to explore a candidate’s soft skills and potential cultural fit with the organization. This information is uncovered through the content of a candidate’s answer, as well as the candidate’s ability to understand the question, think critically about an answer, and communicate that answer effectively, confidently and articulately.

Let’s face :
Not all interview questions are created equally, and some are more challenging to answer than others. However, most hiring managers are not out to stump or trick candidates in their interview questions. Rather, the majority of interviewers approach the process as an opportunity to gain the information they need to evaluate if a candidate is the right match.

Your Interest In Position:
Hiring managers are generally looking to evaluate a candidate’s specific connection to the organization’s mission, as well as skill fit with the particular role. Speak with passion from a personal place about your connection to the position and organization. Then, get specific about this connection, using examples from your past experience. If you are unable to talk specifically about your fit with the role and organization, the hiring manager may question your interest, as well as how much you thought about your interest prior to the interview.
Avoid answers that are completely focused on you e.g. “this would be a really good move in my career path” or “I’m really good at accounting.” An organization wants to know what excites you about the work that they do. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge about the role and organization, and what you like about both.

Specific Responsibility:
Do your homework. Research as much as you can about the specific position at the organization where you are interviewing, as well as comparable positions at similar organizations. Become as familiar as you can with specific duties and responsibilities, specifically if the position will require you to take on tasks you have never before done.
A larger part of successfully answering this question is also demonstrating your capacity to approach projects in a strategic and organized manner.  Make sure that your answer also demonstrates an effective prioritization of the many facets of the role.  So, you could state what you perceive to be the most important aspects of that function, and then address how you would exceed set goals along those lines, for example specific strategies you would implient or partnerships you would form. You can also use this opportunity to discuss similar experiences you’ve had in past positions, and how you successfully approached those responsibilities and challenges.

Your Weaknesses:
Organizations often ask about a candidate’s weaknesses for three reasons. The first is to evaluate how a candidate talks about his/her weaknesses and is able to position them in a positive light. The second is to hear how a candidate has addressed his/her weaknesses in real-life situations.  The third, especially true in the nonprofit sector, is to assess the candidate’s self-awareness and sense of humility (overly egotistic candidates do not see themselves as having any weaknesses).
A strong answer to this type of question communicates that a candidate is self-aware, able to think critically about his/her own personality, and is focused on growth experiences. A pitfall of this type of question is to come off sounding “cliché” (e.g. “My greatest weakness is working too hard.”)  Having real-life examples prepared in advance will help your answer sound genuine, as well as demonstrate to the interviewer that you are able to be reflective about your own personality and characteristics in the workplace. Another way to respond to this question is to share an example of when a supervisor provided constructive feedback, and how you used that feedback to grow in your role.  Overall, your goal is to reframe the issue away from “weaknesses” and toward “professional development opportunities” of which you are already aware and actively working to ameliorate.

Position Requirements:
This type of question reveals how familiar a candidate is with the general requirements of a job, as well as how aligned a candidate is with the organization’s priorities for this role. This question is considered difficult because it requires the candidate to ascertain from the job description and other cues what requirements are most valued by the organization for the position.
To prepare for this type of question, read the job description at a high level and think about the top 3-5 competencies communicated in the description. For example, does the job description communicate that the organization wants a strategic thinker? Someone who can roll up their sleeves? Or is the priority on being able to forge relationships with constituents? By identifying these competencies in advance, you will be better prepared to talk to the importance of these requirements during the interview.

Challenging Situation:
For many nonprofits, diversity is a core value. This is especially true for organizations that serve a specific population, and believe that their staff needs to be able to relate to the experiences of the people they serve. For these reasons, questions that explore a candidate’s experience with issues of race, class, or gender sometimes come up in a nonprofit interview.
This type of question can be difficult for candidates for a few reasons. First of all, candidates don’t want to come across as biased or prejudiced in any way. Issues related to diversity can also be highly personal, and a candidate may be caught off guard by this type of question. Finally, for candidates that have not been in this type of situation, it can be difficult to have a meaningful answer.

Salary Requirements:
Talking about salary requirements in the early stages of the hiring process can be harrowing to some candidates, especially those who want to advance to the next level of the hiring process and not be screened out for salary reasons. Nonprofit hiring managers often inquire about salary requirements early in the process so that expectations are clear from the start.
Before you answer, it is generally acceptable to ask for the salary range for the position. Prior to the interview, research comparable salaries for similar positions at similar organizations. If the salary level for a given role represents a pay cut for you, it is ok to acknowledge this in the interview. However, don’t belabor the point to try and appear like a “martyr” (remember, the person who is interviewing you is likely to be earning a salary within the range of the organization).

Most importantly, be honest with your interviewer. If you are genuinely flexible on salary, say so. But if you are unwilling or unable to accept the salary for a position, do not waste the organization’s and your own time.
If you refuse to answer the question, realize that the organization may choose to no longer pursue your candidacy. At the very least, provide a baseline number or a general range for the organization’s consideration.

Last edited by hasnain (2015-03-26 06:40:59)