6 really smart answers to the toughest interview questions

6 really smart answers to the toughest interview questionsYoure in a job interview, and have been rocking all the usual questions that come your way. Whats your five-year plan? Tell me about your last job. What brought you to this industry in the first place? Then theres a question that stumps you a little, and you pause. Uh oh, theyve hit a gap in your prep, or touched on an uncomfortable subject. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) How do you deal with questions that you didnt anticipate? Lets look at some of the toughest interview questions, and some sample responses.I know everyone has a go-to weakness in unterstellung job interviews, but whats your real biggest weakness?I tend to take on too much myself, because I have high standards and get impatient when others dont meet them. But Im working on my delegating skills and learning how to let others do their jobs while I do mine.Why do you have so many jobs on your resume? Do you consider yourself a job hopper?No, I dont think of it that way. I have been very faithful to my vision when it comes to my career. I have very specific goals, long-term, and have taken advantage of growth opportunities along the way when certain jobs started to feel stagnant. For example, I left XYZ Corp because there was no room for professional development, no chance to be promoted. Thats why I was so excited to hear about your opening here. This is the kind of place I can landsee myself growing and evolving for a long time.Looking at your resume, youre awfully senior for this junior-level job. How do we know you wont jump ship as soon as something else comes along?Im a big believer that you cant always take a linear approach to your career, that its about the quality of experience rather than the quantity. This job appeals to me because its a chance to learn and grow in an area that interests me for the future, so to me that step back in seniority is an investment.It looks like you have a significant gap on your resume, and your cover letter mentioned that you took time off to start a family. Will you be having mora kids in the near future?Taking time off was a choice that worked best at the time, but now Im ready to move forward with the next phase, and focus fully on the next steps in my career. Note its illegal for interviewers to ask about your family status, so if you get a sneaky question like this one, its best to turn it into a general answer without giving specific information about your spouse, your family, your personal plans, etc.Do you think youve peaked in your career?Oh jeez, I hope not But seriously, I dont think of a career as an uphill/downhill thing. I try to keep learning new things and finding new and better ways to do my job. So its less about being on the way up or on the way down, and more about keeping things moving forward, no matter what.How would you deal with a colleague who threw you under the bus for something that was their fault?Off ice politics are always fun, right? Seriously, though, Id start by taking it up with the person directly. I dont think theres anything to gain from publicly humiliating anyone, even if they just tried to do it to me. Id also make aya that my boss privately understands the reality of what went onwhat my role was in the issue, whether I shared any of the blame, or what I did to help resolve the problem.If youre facing challenging questions, dont stress out too much, and dont let yourself get that deer in headlights look. The most important thing is to pivot the question into familiar territoryespecially if you can use it to highlight one of your strengths, or emphasize your goals.