That was stupid!

Disciplines > Job-finding > Interview questions > That was stupid!

The question | What they are looking for | How to answer | See also

The question

That was stupid!

Why are you wasting my time?

I think that was a very poor answer.

You're not very organized, are you?

What they are looking for

When the interviewer insults the interviewee, they are either a poor interviewer or are doing it for deliberate effect. This approach is often used to confuse and stress the person not because what is said is true but to find out how they respond to conflict and tricky interpersonal situations.

How to answer

First, pause and bite your tongue to prevent yourself reacting in a fight-or-flight manner. Then think of an assertive response that neither fights fire with fire nor shows you as a shrinking violet who automatically backs down when criticized.

One way of answering is to reframe the question, turning it to your advantage for example by elaborating on the criticism and showing the apparent weakness as an actual strength.

 That's an interesting comment and I can see that on the limited information you have so far you might see things that way. Can I give you more examples of how good my organizational skills are?

An easy way of responding to criticism is to ask questions that seek the reasoning behind the question. If they are indeed playing games then they will quickly run out of steam and probably change the subject.

Assertiveness, Interrogation, Questioning techniques