You have sailed through all the questions asked so far, and out of nowhere, the interviewer throws you a curved ball! Designed to throw you off balance……comes the killer question!
The phenomenon of the killer question is not new – in fact is has been a common type of question used in sales interviews for decades. It is however being increasingly used in a wide range of interviews in a multitude of sectors.
It is designed purely to see how you cope with the unexpected. The most important thing of all is to NOT PANIC!!!
Examples of these are:
“What is the worst thing you have heard about our company?”
“Would you say you are numerate? What is 7% of 7?”
“Is a jaffa cake a biscuit or a cake?”
There is often no right or wrong answer to some of these questions. The interviewer is simply looking at how quickly you can put together an answer and think through your response.
Stay calm, and think of a suitable, positive answer. Some suitable answers are:
What is the worst thing you have heard about our company?
Sample response = I have heard that whilst the company is superb to work for, it is incredibly difficult to get a job there. I am told the interviews are tough and very rigorous.
Would you say you are numerate? What is 7% of 7?
Sample response = the correct answer is 0.49.
The correct technique is 0.07 x 7 or indeed 7 x 7 divided by 100. Take your time, be logical and above all don’t guess!
Is a jaffa cake a biscuit or a cake?
Sample response = I would classify a Jaffa Cake as a cake, as opposed to a biscuit. Reasoning for this would be that McVitties the company who make Jaffa Cakes won a legal case regarding this very question. They proposed that cakes are made soft and go hard when stale, while biscuits are hard when fresh and soft when stale. According to this definition a Jaffa Cake is indeed a cake!