Hardest Behavioral Questions You've Been Asked
I've seen the thread with the hardest interview questions that was a great resource. However, I wanted to ask you fellows what is the Hardest or most interesting behavioral questions you've either been asked or heard about?
I was once asked ''tell me about a time when you showed integrity.' Much harder to think of on the spot than times of weakness or strength.
I was asked to define ethics and then asked about times where I've seen ethical and unethical behavior in business. It threw me off because it was so broad (I took a Greek philosophy class where we spent weeks talking about ethics) but I was able to salvage it with a couple solid examples of both ethical and unethical dealings I'd seen.
I was once asked about a time where I was unethical in the workplace. This was for my first professional job LOL
I was asked "What is the worst thing you've ever done?" I froze, lol. Eventually I lied and told them that I ate some weird crap while on a trip. He obviously did not believe me, but I still got offered.
.
What’s the biggest lie on your resume?
Wow, this one's a hard one to spin.
Yeah this is tough. I also exaggerate the skill of a language by a bit or a sporting achievement and call that a lie. I think lying about something key in the professional experience or academic sections can backfire.
My GPA isn't actually a 3,9... it's a 3.89, but I thought I'd save you the energy :)
"Nothing. And I'm offended you think I'm a liar."
Correct--the only answer to that question is "absolutely nothing, and that's no bullshit"
wow do people actually ask this? i imagine it's just one of those to judge how the interviewer handles the question / see if they get flustered
The only answer to that is "I stand by my resume"
Lol.
Gonna use this one.
Lol.
Gonna use this one.
This is one where I would actually push back on. Pretty bold to phrase it like that. Obviously you aren't typically exactly in a position with much leverage when being interviewed, but this one is a bit far in my opinion.
“My GPA- 1.6 doesn’t quite capture my essence or my work ethic. Have you seen the new Gucci sleds though? Waiting on that signing bonus for sureeeee”
'Hmmmmm that's a hard one, can I narrow it down to my top 3?'
( I think you have to go with humor)
What animal best describes your personality?
To this day I am kicking myself over saying the first animal that came to mind - my dog. But at least it wasn't as bad as the chick before me who said "caterpillar". I guess because she had some spiritual awakening and metamorphosed into a butterfly, or some shit.
I'd have said a dragon, because I'm legendary.
Sequence of two questions:
"Tell me about one of your personal heroes."
"Tell me about a time that hero failed you."
Ended up with the offer and the job, later found out that this is how they tested to see how people responded to strong emotion. Some people cry, some people walk out, some people lash out, some people smile and respond. Didn't really matter what your answer was, they were just looking for the way in which you responded.
I can't believe people would lash out or walk out... Maybe that question brings up stronger emotions for them than it would for me but come on.
The "Accusing the Interviewer of Lying" behavioral questions are the toughest.
ie.
Interviewer: Why didn't you say excuse me after entering the room and then farting?
Candidate's possible responses: a) "I didn't fart." (Accuses Interviewer of Lying) b) "Whoever smelt it dealt it." (Rejected)
You're pretty much screwed either way.
"Because it was silent and I didn't think it would smell"
"Trust me, we wouldn't be this far into the interview if I farted"
"Because I a few more coming throughout this interview and I figured I would offer a bulk apology at the end"
The only answer for this is "I'll take the fall for this one. I'm sorry"
interviewed with a top BB for a credit risk analyst position with the MD. To give some context, I only had internships in buy side positions.
After answering the why credit question, I got followed up with "your resume seems to strongly aligned to the buy side, so why do you really want to do credit risk analysis?"
I froze for a sec, then quickly spewed up some bullshit about how evaluating a company and managing risk was vastly similar as they both needed careful analysis.... Didn't get offer.
hahahaha something similar happened to me. I really didn't have a huge passion for credit risk analysis, but in undergrad interviews an alum got me an interview with the credit MD at JP Morgan and I printed "Objective: To become a credit risk analyst at a major US bank" or something like that on the top of my resume. Oh man, he tore me apart on that.
You probably had a better answer than I did...
whats the most unethical thing you've done
Least favorite question, hard to answer without something coming off as bad or weird
Teach me a concept/skill I don't know already. This one required some creative thinking on my feet.
How the hell are you supposed to know what the interviewer doesn't already know?
Haha. Exactly. That's what made it a challenging question. Really forces you to recall the most ambiguous things you've ever done/learned in your life.
"If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change?"
“On a scale of 1-10 how nervous are you for this Superday?” - ”I haven’t even looked at your resume yet, what part of it should I look at?”
What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Sounds like a party/date question more than an interview topic. Seems like the interviewer wants some entertainment.
from https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/whats-the-hardest-interview-ques…
I got asked "Are you smart" - I laughed and answered with "Smart is relative and I think that for my age and experience, im above the average." So he asked me again "So are you smart" I replied - Im intelligent, Yes.
Not the weirdest question he asked me either.
"I'm fucking smart" -Jeff Skilling
Got asked the same! Said I was above average, and was then asked to quantify it. Said 80th percentile b/c I didn't want to come across as arrogant. Was subsequently called stupid.
My trademark answer is "I like to think so"
"Tell me about your biggest failure this far in life."
"Tell me about a time you betrayed your friend's trust and describe what you did to regain it." Basically crushed me..
My response was "that never happened." They responded with "do the best you can." Stood silent for about 2 minutes after that. Began to sweat heavily.
While I was in forth grade at a sleep over at my friend's house; I stole three of my friends' Pokemon while they were sleeping onto my Nintendo DS. When they woke up I laughed at my friend who had his Groudon stolen. Meanwhile my friend who's Kyogre got stolen was crying. Other friend never noticed his missing Rayquaza somehow. Being in forth grade we decided to go to my friends pool and play. (Regained their trust) (Only real Pokemon trainers would understand how evil I really was back then)
These are the stupidest kinds of questions because you tend to get dinged for having a positive character trait (e.g., loyalty, conscientiousness, etc.) and answering honestly.
I was once asked to describe "a time that you i missed a very important deadline" and know that I got dinged for saying that I can't ever remember doing so.
Not difficult, but very awkward that it was asked.
Interviewer: What is something you've studied in your free-time?
Me: Irish history, my family is originally from Ireland, so I find it interesting to learn about my heritage.
Interviewer: What do you think about the IRA?
Interview in London?
American. My experience is that most Americans know little to nothing about the Angle/Irish conflict, so my guess is that he had family/ancestors on the opposite side of mine in that whole deal.
Interviewer: Did you vote for Trump or Clinton? Me: God Bless America
Interviewer: Tea or a Coffee guy? Me: Both are soluble with whey protein
Best answer to first one is to refuse to answer as it would be unprofessional and irrelevant.
What if you answered you didnt vote? even if it was or wasnt the truth
"a time you took a risk"
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