Is "Tell me about yourself" really about yourself?
Is "Tell me about a time you had a conflict" really about the conflict?
Every interview question:
- Has a face-value question
- And a question-behind-the-question [QBQ]
I learned about this from one of my mentors, Ramit Sethi.
He said, “The toughest interview questions seem like they’re asking one thing while really asking another: the Question Behind the Question,” it blew my mind 🤯
Here are some examples.
Q: Why do you want this job?
QBQ: Do you really care about this job, or you just applied here to get any job?
Q: Tell me about yourself.
QBQ: How are you different professionally, why are you here now, and why should I care?
Q: Describe a situation where you had to resolve a conflict with a colleague.
QBQ: Are you able to navigate difficult conversations? Do you have systems for it?
Q: How do you handle feedback, both positive and constructive?
QBQ: Are you capable of learning from your experiences and adapting?
Q: Tell me about a time when you were disappointed with yourself.
QBQ: What were you disappointed about? What changed after that experience?
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It is vital to understand: Why are they really asking this question?
Essentially, the hiring manager is trying to:
- Uncover a red flag not visible on our resume
- Check if we can answer vague questions clearly
- Make sure they will not get burned (like they did in the past)
We must think carefully about what they want to find out.
And answer that question.