In 2nd year of undergrad, I got an opportunity to lead my batch in a literary fest, along with three more people.
Before any of us got selected, however, we had to appear for an interview, taken by 4th year students.
“During the fest, suppose if any of your batchmates are ignoring their duties, what will you do as the leader?” They asked me.
You see, on one hand you have technical interviews, where your answer is either right or wrong; by the end, you will either arrive at the solution or you won’t.
Black and white.
On the other side, however, you have subjective questions, the type you’ll mostly encounter during your MBA placements.
Most people think that since such questions have many possible solutions, they’d be easier to answer.
But wait.
The more subjective a question, the easier it becomes to find loopholes in answers. Again, the more possible solutions a question might have, the easier it becomes for the interviewer to present an alternate solution as a ‘better’ one.
The question I was asked during the fest interview is an example of this.
What would you do? Are you sure it’ll work? How? And why not this alternate solution which we think is actually better?
You’re trapped.
In scenarios like this, never give a single approach, one-solid-confident answer. Believe me, some loopholes can always be found. And they will be.
That day, I knew they were just waiting for me to do that, so they could pounce on my answer like a hungry tiger.
So instead, I thought out loud, and started laying down the options for them to hear:
If a person is ignoring the assigned duties and also not communicating clearly:
1. I can tell my batchmates that this particular person is not interested in doing his/her work, and hence has been removed from the role.
2. I can write on the groups that I’m worried about that person not being able to do the assigned tasks, and hope all is well with him/her. That might create accountability in a polite way. Again, if the problem is a genuine, I’d get to know that too.
3. I can ask someone else to do that work, and let the event go smoothly. When it all ends, I shall confront that person.
“Most likely I’ll try option 2 first, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go for the 3rd. Though it all depends on the circumstances at that time.” I said.
I was later told that I was selected based on this answer.
When you lay out options, you come across as accomodating, and not as an overconfident know-it-all, who’d be later forced to change his opinion.
And when you come across as accommodating, you come across as a team player. You come across as someone who’d listen to various opinions before announcing the solution.
In interviews and in life – when you’re faced with complex subjective questions, offer a range of thoughtful solutions, rather than committing to a single rigid answer.
This way you will not only avoid pitfalls, but also display qualities that stand out in any collaborative environment.