Hypothetical vs Situational
“How you would handle a difficult colleague?”
”Can you tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult colleague?”
These two questions seem like they’re asking for the same thing. They’re not.
The first question, “How would you…” is a hypothetical question. The reason this is dangerous is because you will always have an answer for this question, even if you have no idea what you’re talking about. Our brains are storytelling and rationalization engines. We’ll make something up, make it sound great, and if we’re really unlucky, believe it ourselves to be true.
The second question, “Tell me about a time…” is a situational ask. Instead of the hypothetical, which uses the storyteller part of our brains, a situational accesses memory. If you can’t remember having been in the situation, you won’t come up with an answer.
Disclaimer: I don’t know if this is objectively true, but I’ve observed this phenomenon in hundreds of people, including myself. I’ve asked the same person both questions two minutes apart, and received wildly different answers. And they knew in advance that I was going to do it.
Hypothetical = Pure Fantasy
Hypothetical questions are very, very dangerous in an interview - on both sides of the table. For an interviewer, you won’t know if the candidate is telling you anything based on reality.
For a candidate, you will usually invent a scenario that paints yourself in a good light. This is an interview, after all, and you’re trying to get picked. The trouble with scenario invention is that you’ll invariably dig yourself a giant hole. This opens you up to piercing follow-up questions that expose you as a charlatan who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Hypotheticals are bad.
Situational = Reality
Answering a situational question enables a discussion grounded in fact. Responding to follow-up questions is easier, since you’re remembering how the event went. It’s less stressful.
It’s better to have no experience in an area and admit that you don’t, instead of spinning a tale (lying) and getting caught.
How do I handle this as a candidate?
Not all interviewers have been trained in asking good questions. Most companies don’t have formal programs for this kind of stuff, much to their detriment. That doesn’t mean candidates have to fall into the same traps.
If you get a hypothetical question in an interview, turn it into a situational answer.
Example: “How would I deal with a difficult colleague? Well, I can give an example from a situation that happened in my last company, where …”
If you can’t come up with an example to a hypothetical, meaning you’ve never done it before, be up front about it. Say, “Well, that’s never happened to me, and while I’m glad to talk through what I might do, can you give me some specific scenarios so I’m not completely making it up?”
This benefits you as a candidate because you come across as truthful, and you’re not spinning a fantasy that will inevitably make you look bad. You can also teach the interviewer about hypotheticals vs situationals, and save future candidates from the hassle of hypotheticals.