The Worst Interview Answer

When you have an interview, everything you say is under scrutiny. Words are so important—what you say, how you say it, and the expressive body language that gives it context and emotion.

Good interviewers know that the more candidates talk, the more they reveal about themselves. Interview questions are crafted to get response, but it’s how long a candidate talks that gives the best insight. Candidates should talk about 80 percent of the time. Interviewers are there to ask questions, listen and then ask great follow-on questions to get the candidate talking even more. Then there’s the silence. Those awkward times when an interviewer intentionally stops talking and a candidate, uncomfortable with silence, starts talking even more. 

Just about any comment or answer is revealing, but one, according to Time Business and Money, is a real no-no. In fact it is no, as in “I don’t know.” Interviewers may secretly give themselves a high-five for stumping the candidate but feel for them for making an almost fatal blunder that can take them out of the running.

You may not know the answer to a question, but you can have some kind of opinion or insight. At the least, you can let an interviewer know you don’t understand the question or don’t know the context, but not that you just don’t have a clue. This is the time to ask questions to come to a point where you can offer some kind of an answer or response.

It’s not just the phrase itself that brings an interview to a halt. It’s the phrase without any other comment or explanation. A simple “I don’t know” is a declaration of defeat. I don’t know and I can’t figure out any way to make this question work for me. Regardless of the job or company, employers are looking for people with an imagination and the curiosity to come up with some kind of response to a question.

USA Today goes even further, listing 10 things never to say in an interview. The first is admitting the company isn’t your first choice. No one wants to come in second.  If the company isn’t the candidate’s first choice, will they bolt as soon as they get the call from their first choice? Several of the other comments have to do with the “me” questions. Can I negotiate more vacation time? Can I work from home? You don’t want to start adapting the job to your personal needs during an interview. 

Being late for an interview, slamming your old boss, or admitting you don’t have the experience for a job are other faus paux for a job interview. Representing yourself as anything less than right for the job is a big mistake. If it’s true, it’s even a bigger mistake, for you and the company. What are you doing at the interview in the first place? A little stretch is OK, but a true misfit isn’t worth the interviewer’s or your time.

From a recruiter’s point of view, you want to create some tough interview questions to challenge a candidate and make her think. Know what kind of answers are winners. If you hear “I don’t know,” wait for the rest of the answer. If there is none, you may want to move on.

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