I'm always preaching about proper preparation prior to interviews. If you research the position and company carefully, you can anticipate likely questions and prepare excellent answers.
But something I also tell job seekers is that you can never anticipate every single question.
I once had to respond to a "How would you...?" question about exhuming a dead duck. I am not making this up. The position involved community affairs work for a sewer treatment plant. How could I have anticipated such a strange question? It took me totally by surprise.
But I got the job.
Often with problem-solving questions, the interviewer isn't looking for a "right" or "wrong" answer. He or she is more interested in the thought processes you demonstrate to come up with your answer.
The dead-duck question was based on an actual incident, and the person who asked it is the person who had to deal with it. My response showed that I would have handled the situation differently than she had, but it also showed that I knew about problem solving. I didn't panic at the unexpected question; I didn't answer before thinking about it for a few seconds; and I didn't blow it by giving a lame response like, "Gosh, that's a really tough question! I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation."
Here are a few tips to help you deal with "How would you...?" problem-solving questions:
1. Ask questions to determine exactly what the interviewer is looking for. (This will also give you a bit more time to think.)
2. Explain how you would gather the information and data necessary to develop a solution to the problem.
3. Tell how you