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Does anyone know how to handle a question you do not know how to answser? What do you say? Do you fake it? How do you handle it?
It depends.
Is it something you would be expected to know how to answer?
Faking it can be bad unless it's a general kind of question that wouldn't have a specific answer. If there's a piece of information contained in the answer that reveals technical knowledge, definitely don't make up an answer because that will be worse than admitting you aren't familiar with that. Then you can say you're heard of it but never used it in your workplace before.
If it's about where you plan to be in 5 years, fake it -- you can say you're open to where your career leads you or whatever.
Sometimes you get asked specific kinds of questions so they can get a sense of what you actually know but sometimes you get asked general kinds of questions with no right or wrong answer because they are trying to get a sense of what you are about or because they read somewhere it's a good question to ask.
If you don't understand the question, it is okay to ask for clarification. In fact, it is often good to summarize and repeat the question back to them before starting in on your answer. That way you can confirm that you have been listening attentively and are about to provide the right answer, before you give them a five minute spiel about something else.
If you don't know how to answer because the question seems inappropriate, you should politely decline. That is, if they ask if you own a home or are a renter and you don't feel your financial decisions are any of their business, you can simply say you do not wish to divulge that information but you have lived in your home for five years or something and have no plans to move
Are you referring to technicals skill questions or situational/behavioral questions?
If you don't know the answer to a technical skills question I would simply say that is a very good question and something I will have to investigate further, but right now I don't have a response I would feel comfortable giving (or something like that).
If it is a what would you do if...or tell me about a time when...and you are just drawing a blank it is ok to ask for a minute or two to compose a good response.
With those types of interviews (situational/behavioral) I always come in with 4-5 critical incidents in previous jobs that are malleable to any of those types of questions.
Well technically you should have an answer for everything. If you don't have a good answer, that is another thing entirely. Preparation for the top questions is a good idea. If you find yourself a "deer in the headlights", don't hold that pose for too long. If it's a deliberately wacky question, you can ask to come back to that question. However, in organizations that are known for doing that, might not be winning move. Otherwise, not sure how you'd fake something if you don't really know. That could create more issues if they follow-up with "ok, tell us how you'd do that." Then you're compounding the issue.
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