What was the hardest interview question you have ever been asked and what was your answer?

Capt Richard Desmond — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:00:04 -0400

This could be military board questions or civilian job interview questions. My last job in the Air Force was in recruiting and I conducted interviews for those who wanted to attend Officer Training School, mostly civilians or people who were prior service, and believe it or not the question most people got wrong was what was the Air Force mission and core values. Do your research people! My hardest question was for a volunteer position working with Adult convicts. It was what would you do if a convict brought up religion? I remember my answer being that I would acknowledge that fact but state that it really isn't a topic to discuss or a factor on how I can help them gain employment after their sentence is completed.

Response by LT Robert Belcher made Jul 23 at 2014 4:04 PM

LT Robert Belcher — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:04:15 -0400

The hardest question I have experienced, and I subsequently use, is "Describe a time to me you failed. How did you deal with failure, and what did you learn?" This type of experience based question catches people off guard, causes them to provide an objective response, and then quickly turn that into a selling point. It is very easy to detect the sincere responses from the marketing.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2014 11:27 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 11:27:59 -0400

As an HR leader, I find that behavioral questions in interviewing are usually the best indicator of future performance. Rob Belcher is right on with his comments. Questions that start with "Tell me about a time" or "Describe a situation" are great ways to lead off on questions. It's important to be able to drill down to get specifics of the situation if you are conducting the interview.

Questions that talk about "What would you do" or "How would you handle" tend to interview for thought process. Most candidates can game the interview with these and give the interviewer what they are ideally looking for in the question.

I highly recommend the book "Your Not the Person I Hired!" by Barry Deutsch as a guide to recruiting. It's a must-read.

As for the toughest question I have ever been asked, I will need to set this up. I was in an interview for the Naval Academy at a State Senator's office in New Jersey. The person conducting the interview essentially asked me if I was spoiled after a long diatribe. My response wasn't the best, and I almost walked out. I didn't get the Nomination from the Senator, but I did get one from a Congressman. I am still proud of the fact that I stood up for what I believed in. Moral of the story, don't change who you are. Be proud. Just don't be offensive.

Response by LTC Chad Storlie made Aug 11 at 2014 1:30 PM

LTC Chad Storlie — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 13:30:42 -0400

Attached is a recent article that I used two easy to remember frameworks for answering interview questions and the top 10 questions that will be asked.

http://taskandpurpose.com/3-communication-methods-master-next-job-interview/

Hope this helps!

Chad

3 Communication Methods To Master Before Your Next Job Interview

A successful interview uses a relaxed and effective communication style combined with a structured, complete response to common interview questions.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 11 at 2014 1:24 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 01:24:32 -0500

I haven't been intervewed that often and I don't remember much (because I mistakenly never wrote anything down), but my favorite board question is this:
--Why do you think you desrve to be on this board?
[Pause]
--I don't.
--...
--I don't think I deserve to be on this board. I do what I believe is expected of me. My supperiors are the ones that thought that I deserved to be on this board; that's why they nominated me.

Response by SPC Thomas Hobbs made Jun 23 at 2017 11:21 PM

SPC Thomas Hobbs — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 23:21:45 -0400

This is a very good question. And, though I'm going to decline to answer (because I can't remember any, my memory sucks), I would like to point out that ONLY enlisted actually answered the quest and didn't try to sell something. Other than the man posing the question, every officer tried to derail without giving a full answer (typical), and one officer pointed to a book to answer the question for him! THIS is why enlisted personnel constantly complain about the CoC failing them, very few officers have enough respect for anyone else to actually give THEIR OWN COMPLETE answer to the questions asked. They expect everyone else do respect them enough to do it, but will not do it themselves.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 22 at 2021 7:36 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 19:36:38 -0400

Whenever they ask me how I would make a great asset to the company. I have no answer, haha.