Anatomy of the “Million-Dollar Question” and how to answer it

Interviews are a nerve-wracking but necessary step in the job search journey. Even the most prepared among us can still feel a twinge of nervous energy at the thought of making a good impression with a prospective employer.

Both employers and prospective employees know that to fluidly navigate an interview, it’s best to get prepared by practicing with the basics. In fact, one of the most difficult questions that applicants have to face is “Tell me about yourself”.  Beyond being difficult to sum oneself up in a few words, it can be hard to find the balance of a humble, yet intelligent way to showcase just how right you are for the position in question.

And if that weren’t enough to worry about, there are other, more specific questions, formulated to catch candidates off guard. These are what we call “million-dollar questions”.

What is the point of a “Million-Dollar Question”?

Million-dollar questions are layered, and have a degree of complexity and surprise that are designed to keep the job candidate on their toes during the interview.

Interviewers don’t ask these questions to torture applicants, but it’s truly a way to help them see how candidates perform under pressure. This information can be especially helpful for recruiters when considering candidates for openings in industries with high-pressure environments. Interviewers really are trying to gauge whether the candidate’s reaction to pressure will be a good fit for the position in question. Namely:

• Are they a problem-solver?
• Can they stay calm under pressure?
• Or do they freeze, panic, or react?

Knowing this, the best tool for applicants to keep in their back pocket is to do their research and keep practicing.

It doesn’t hurt for applicants to come up with a few of their own questions, either. Interviews go much more smoothly when they are a conversation between interviewer and applicant, and having some thought-provoking questions of their own might just be the key to showing prospective employers that they are more than up for the job… Under pressure or otherwise.

Need help practicing for any curveball that may come your way during an interview? Check out our smart AI job interview simulator. It generates interview questions, and then rates your responses in a personal report so that you can find areas for improvement, and then practice again. If you go in prepared, you’ll be interview-ready, no matter what questions are coming your way.