Listen as Hard as You Talk
Many candidates answer the question they wanted to hear, not the one that was asked.
What to do
- 1
Never interrupt. The qualifier at the end is often the actual question.
- 2
Don't draft while they talk. You can't compose your answer and comprehend theirs at once.
- 3
Repeat it back. "Just to confirm, you're asking about...?" reads as care, not weakness.
- 4
Match the scope. Asked for one example? Give exactly one, not three.
- 5
Close the loop. After a complex answer: "Does that answer your question?"
The Repeat-Back Technique
"Can you tell me about a time you had to manage competing priorities from different stakeholders?"
Clarify first
"Just to make sure I understand: you want to hear about balancing different stakeholder requests at the same time?"
"Exactly, yes."
"Great. At my previous role, I had the product and marketing teams pulling in different directions on a launch..."
Confirms the question before committing to an answer
Ready? Show what you learned.
6 questions · get 5 right to complete the lesson