7 Hypothetical Interview Questions and Answers

Hypothetical interview questions and answers: In this article, you will learn 7 hypothetical interview questions that is strongly recommended you prepare for.

If you have a job interview coming up for any role or any organization, make sure you read this post article to end because it will help you to be successful.

Hypothetical Interview Questions

Hypothetical interview questions are often used by interviewers to assess how you think, how you approach problems and how you are likely to perform in a given workplace situation.

Examples of hypothetical interview questions include:

• How would you deal with an irate customer?
• How would you resolve conflict with a co-worker?
• What would you do if your manager asks you to do something that you strongly disagreed with?
• How would you persuade someone in your team to see your point of view?

Whenever answering difficult hypothetical interview questions, it is really important that you put yourselves in the shoes of the employer. What do they want to hear from your answer and how would an ideal employee act in that given situation?

So let’s now take a look at seven common hypothetical interview questions that is strongly recommend you prepare for.

Hypothetical interview questions, important tip for answering and brilliant example answers

• Hypothetical Interview Question 1: How would you deal with an irate customer?

Tip: Always remember that customers are the bedrock of all businesses, therefore they need to be treated with respect and you should always remain calm whilst dealing with any irate customer.

Below is a really good answer.

Answer:

“I would deal with the irate customer by listening to them, by remaining calm whilst using open body language, and by asking them questions to get to the bottom of their issue.

If the company was at fault for anything, I would apologize immediately and inform the customer of the steps I was going to take to put things right. At all times I would follow company procedures and I would go out of my way to win around the customer.”

That is a brilliant example response to that top hypothetical interview question, how would you deal with an irate customer?

• Hypothetical Interview Question 2: How would you resolve conflict with a co-worker?

A lot of interview candidates respond by saying: “I would inform my manager immediately”

That is not the way to respond to this question.

Tip: When dealing with any form of conflict, it is essential that you say that you will always try to resolve the conflict yourself.

Below is a really good answer to help you.

Answer:

“I would try to resolve the conflict myself by first assessing if I were doing anything to contribute to the conflict. I would then speak to my co-worker in private to get to the bottom of the problem.

I would be calm, I would be respectful and professional while speaking to them, and I would seek a resolution that we were both comfortable with so we could then move quickly forward for the sake of the team.”

• Hypothetical Interview Question 3: How would you respond to a difficult problem at work?

Tip: Whenever dealing with workplace problems, it is really important to keep a level head to focus on what it is you want to achieve and to gather as much information as possible so you can then make the right decision.

Below is a great answer to help you.

Answer:

“I will deal with any problem by remaining calm and by deciding what it is I want to achieve. I would gather as much factual information as possible about the issue, and determine what my end goal was.

I would then use the information I had gathered to ascertain the options I had available before taking decisive action to resolve the problem that was in the best interests of the company.”

That’s a brilliant answer to that difficult interview question, how would you respond to a difficult problem at work?

• Hypothetical Interview Question 4: How would you respond to failure?

Tip: Naturally, people dislike failure. However, failure is an opportunity for you to improve, for you to develop and for you to help the organization you are a part of continually move forward. It is really important to be positive about the failure and to not dwell on it in a negative manner.

Here’s a really good answer to help you pass your interview.

Answer:

“I would respond to any failure by assessing what had gone wrong and the reasons why it had happened, before deciding what I needed to do to put things right.

With any failure there is an opportunity to improve, so I would be transparent about the failure, I would apologize if needed, and I would take decisive action to put things right.

I would also look to share any lessons I had learned with my manager and my co-workers so the organization could learn from it, too.”

• Hypothetical Interview Question 5: What would you do if your manager asked you to do something that you disagreed with?

Tip: This hypothetical interview question is assessing how you would react when you disagree with someone who is in a position of authority. It is important to say that you would disagree with them, but that you would do it respectfully and professionally.

Below is a really good answer to help you.

Answer:

“I would explain to my manager in a respectful and professional manner the reasons why I disagreed with them. I would then try to offer an alternative way of working that was beneficial to the team.

However, if they then still wanted me to carry out that particular task, I would do it to the best of my ability.”

• Hypothetical Interview Question 6: How would you prioritize multiple tasks in this role?

Tip: This hypothetical interview question is assessing how you manage a large workload. The best way to answer it is to show that you are able to assess tasks quickly, and carry out your duties based on the needs of the team or the company that you are a part of.

Below is a really good answer to help you.

Answer:

“I always prioritize tasks by assessing my workload by deciding what needs to be done first based on the team’s goals, and then making sure I allocate sufficient time to each task so it is completed as required.

I would always keep a list of tasks that needed doing, and prioritize them based on urgency. If I needed to put in the extra hours to get a particular task completed, then I certainly will do so.”

• Hypothetical Interview Question 7: What if we asked you to work with a very difficult client?

Tip: This hypothetical interview question assesses your willingness to work with difficult clients, and your approach whilst doing so.

Remember to say that you will always put the organization’s goals first, you will not take anything the client says or does personally and you will do all you can to always provide an excellent service.

Below is a great answer to help you.

Answer:

“I would enjoy the challenge of working with the clients and I would try my best to build a connection with them, to meet their needs and to make the process as smooth as possible.

I would start out by assessing the client’s needs, what it is that’s important to them and what challenges they had.

This would then give me the information needed to meet their needs. At all times whilst communicating with the client, I would be confident, resilient, and consistent.

Finally, I would always keep the client updated regularly with progress reports and I would answer any questions they have.”

Those are the 7 brilliant example answers to those difficult hypothetical interview questions.

Thank you so much for reading this article and I wish you all the best for passing your interview.