“Tell me about an interesting experience or encounter you’ve had recently.”
Imagine you’re in the midst of an interview for a job you really, really want, and the hiring manager just asked you this question. On its face, it’s not an outlandish question. You probably have plenty of interesting experiences to draw from. But when you’re nervous, under pressure, and placed in the hot seat, it’s not uncommon for your mind to go blank—despite the amount of time and energy you poured into interview prep.
Having your mind suddenly drop into a deep, dark abyss during a super important interview is less than ideal, but luckily, there are strategies for recovering and taking back ownership of the meeting. We asked career coach and personal branding expert LaTrice Huff for her input on strategies for recovering from unexpected questions with confidence and how to make interview preparation more impactful.
Read more: Ask an Employer: What Interview Questions Do You Wish Women Would Ask?
But first, why do we blank in interviews?
Unfortunately, it’s our brain's natural response to stress. Thanks a lot, evolution. Our brains have been wired to fear rejection and ostracization since the beginning of time, so when we have to do nerve-wracking things that skyrocket the potential of being rejected, like public speaking or interviewing for a job, our brains blank as a way to protect us.
That’s because high-pressure situations in general can trigger a “fight-or-flight” response, diverting energy and resources away from the prefrontal cortex—the area responsible for complex thought and reasoning—to more primal regions focused on immediate survival. This impairs our ability to think clearly and retrieve information, leading to temporary memory lapses, and in turn, difficulty articulating responses. Basically, our brains are wired to prioritize survival over non-threatening (yet stressful) tasks like answering interview questions.
It makes sense that we get anxious in job interviews—our self-worth, financial stability, and overall career trajectory are perceived to be on the line. The pressure to perform well coupled with the unpredictability of interview questions can heighten anxiety, making it challenging to stay calm and composed.
Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist and the author of The Healthy Mind Toolkit and The Anxiety Toolkit, describes how interview anxiety spirals: “You want to do a good job, so you put pressure on yourself. That pressure only makes you more anxious. The anxiety that is building inside you impacts your performance, as well as your perception of how you’re performing. As a result, you start doubting your competence, and the pattern repeats and continues.”
When you start to feel anxious, remind yourself why you’re feeling that way. Your brain is trying to protect you, but you’re not in danger. If you stumble over a few words or need a second to collect your thoughts, the interviewer will understand. It’s how you recover from your blunder that really matters.
Use these five strategies to handle unexpected questions
Huff says there are many ways to reduce the likelihood of being caught off guard in an interview. “Go on Glassdoor and take a look at some of the interview questions the company usually asks for a specific role,” she says. “Research the company culture, too. What do they value and what do they focus on? Companies often will ask questions about their values and culture, so you should be prepared for those.”
Huff also suggests having go-to anecdotes, what she calls “hero stories,” prepared to discuss during the interview. “Try to have three to five hero stories for some of the most common questions like, ‘tell me about yourself,’ ‘why should we choose you,’ or ‘tell me a time you made a mistake.’ Having pre-prepared stories will allow you to take pieces from each when you're answering a particularly challenging question or something that catches you off guard.”
Even when you prepare, your mind still might go blank. If it does, here are five strategies for recovering.
1. Focus on your breath
Focusing on your breath activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm your body's stress response. Breathing slowly can lower your heart rate and help ground you in the present moment. Taking a sip of water, too, can provide a brief pause, allowing you to regain composure and calm your nerves. When you’re asked a question you weren’t anticipating or you’re struggling to get a thought out, try to slow down your racing thoughts by bringing your attention back to the current moment to better articulate a response.
2. Repeat the question
“One of the things I always recommend my clients do if they're faced with an unexpected question or a challenging question is to write down the question while it's being asked or ask the interviewer to repeat it,” Huff says. Repeating the question buys you extra time to think about your response and helps you fully understand what to include in your answer. You also respond with another more specific question. For example, you could say, “That’s a great question. I haven’t dealt with that exact situation. Can you give a little more context on the scenario you have in mind so I can take a minute to think about what my strategy would be?”
3. Draw parallels to other experiences
If you’re stumped on a question or draw a blank, draw parallels to other experiences you have more top of mind by relating the core aspects of the question to similar situations you've encountered. This tactic allows you to showcase relevant skills even if you haven't faced the exact scenario presented. For example, if you’re asked about managing a project with a large budget but you don’t have direct experience, you could say something along the lines of:
“While I haven't managed a project with a large budget, I have led a team through a complex, high-stakes project with limited resources. In that situation, I prioritized tasks for the team, allocated resources efficiently, and maintained clear communication to ensure we stayed on track, which are skills I believe would be valuable in managing larger budgets.”
4. Be honest
It’s okay to be honest when your mind goes blank. “If you need time, you can ask for time,” says Huff. She recommends using phrases like these to recover:
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“That's a really great question. Let me take a minute to think about it.”
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“Great question! Let me write that down so I have a moment to reflect on an answer.”
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“At this moment, I can't recall a specific scenario when I’ve done [x], but here’s how I would normally figure that out.”
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“That’s a tough one. Whenever I’m initially stumped, this is the process I use to figure out how to get clear on how I want to move forward.”
Honesty pays off, according to Huff: “At a prior company, we actually hired a candidate because she said something like, ‘I don't know that answer, but I would call the person who's the head of [x] department, and I would ask them the question and figure it out.’ I actually hired her because that was a great answer.”
5. Address gaps in your thank you note
Your thank-you email should be sent within 24 hours of the interview. If you blanked or didn't fully elaborate on one of your answers in the interview, this follow-up email is your last opportunity to add more context. Mention the specific question where you felt you struggled and share the points you wish you had conveyed. Here are two examples:
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“For the question about innovative solutions I’ve implemented, I had difficulty recalling a fitting example on the spot. After reflecting, I realized that my work on the XYZ project, which involved a new approach to streamlining processes, would have been a strong response. I’ve attached a link to the project overview for your reference.”
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“In addressing your question on leadership experience, I struggled to find the right example during our conversation. I would like to highlight a recent initiative where I led a cross-functional team to successfully launch a new product. I’ve included relevant details and metrics in the attached file.”
If you want full email templates to send after a less-than-stellar interview, read more here.
Make interview preparation more impactful
By now, we know the basics of preparing for interviews—research the company, prepare for common and tough interview questions, brainstorm STAR method responses, and breathe (read more: 4 Grounding Techniques to Keep You Calm).
Beyond the basics, mock interviews are incredibly helpful. “Mock interviews help get you out of your head and make you practice answering questions out loud. If you record the session, they can help you see what you need to improve on and what questions make you nervous,” says Huff. “Give the mock interviewer—a friend, a colleague, whoever—10 to 15 different questions and have them randomly choose five to ask you so you don't know what they’ll ask. Encourage them to ask a couple of difficult questions. Interviewing is a skill, and with practice, you can improve and strengthen it.”
Huff also recommends practicing in front of a mirror to build confidence and repeating positive affirmations. “Affirmations before an interview can get you in the right mindset and energy. Tell yourself you’re ready, you can answer any question that comes your way, you are confident, and you know why you deserve this role. Just saying things like that can ground you and motivate you before an interview.”
Prepare and practice more than you think you should. When Boyes trained as a clinical psychologist, her mock-examiner told her to expect anxiety during the oral exams would throw off her thinking by 20 to 25 percent. The examiner suggested overlearning the material to compensate, and she still uses that tidbit today: “Even if you unexpectedly become caught in a spiral, find solace in the fact that you’ll still remember 75 percent of what you know.”
Finally, try to integrate more exercises and activities into your daily life to improve your quick thinking and adaptability skills.
One very easy way to do this is to find games that require you to storytell. Host a game night with your friends, family, or whoever you feel comfortable with, and play games like Catchphrase or Snake Oil. When you’re describing an object or making a pitch, you’ll get to practice thinking on your feet and keep the momentum going when you lose your train of thought or stumble during your turn. Try to join a book club or a walking club or attend an event in your community that would normally be outside of your comfort zone. Surround yourself with new people, and when you’re inevitably asked what you do, practice giving your best elevator pitch and fielding questions about your job.
Read more: Post-Interview Self-Evaluation: How to Conduct an Interview Autopsy
