How to answer behavioral interview questions about ambiguity

“Ambiguity” is becoming a more popular topic when hiring, so you should plan how to answer these questions in your interview.

Ambiguity questions in tech interviews

I had a client this week who was applying for a Software Development Manager job at Amazon. The recruiter sent him the agenda for the onsite interview and it was:

1.    Coding (Problem Solving)

2.    Coding (Logical and Maintainable)

3.    Coding (Data Structures and Algorithms)

4.    System Design (Heavy Focus)

5.    Dealing with Ambiguity

6.    Communication

You can see 5 and 6 are the only two sections that are non-technical. He was a little confused about what types of questions these sections would have. Communication is pretty obvious but what about ambiguity?

What does “ambiguity” mean?

The first thing my client asked me was “what does ambiguity” mean? Good question, because it’s not a word you hear every day.

Ambiguity means something that can be understood in two or more possible ways; being open to more than one interpretation; inexact.

When I think of something ambiguous, I think of something that is unclear, or where the path forward isn’t clear, or a situation where there are choices to be made.

Why ambiguity is a popular topic for interviews

If you think about the business world – whether tech or many other industries:

• things move fast.

• often the best way forward isn’t clear

• companies are operating in an external environment that has some chaos

So you’ll need to have some tolerance for and ability to deal with chaos (also known as ambiguity) - that’s the type of person the companies are looking for.

Why ambiguity is an especially popular topic for tech interviews

If chaos is common in the business world in general, imagine how much more chaos there must be in an industry based on technology. After all, the one thing you can say for sure about technology is that it will continue to advance. There’s no chance that you can continue to do the same thing year after year for your entire career if you work in tech. And there’s no one making the rules.

The only rule in tech is constant innovation.

If something is constantly changing there is little certainty and a lot of ambiguity. That’s why the best candidates for tech jobs need to be comfortable with ambiguity.

How to show your tolerance for ambiguity in an interview

What do you need to show in your interview answers to prove you can handle an ambiguous work situation?

• I can make decisions in unclear situations

• I don’t panic when something unexpected happen

• I don’t need fixed guidelines

• I can handle a loose organizational structure/an unclear chain of command

• I can function well with competing priorities and moving deadlines

• I can handle a disorganized project

• I appreciate the opportunities related to ambiguity

• I feel positive about ambiguity, not negative

• I like to take risks and I understand how my risk taking can help the company

• I’m okay with change

• I have created positive outcomes from my experience with ambiguity, such as improved decision-making or creative problem-solving.

Interview questions about ambiguity

These are different questions you might get asked about ambiguity:

1. Describe an ambiguous situation you faced. What actions did you take? What results did you achieve?

2. Tell me about a time when you had to work on a project with unclear responsibilities.

3. Describe a time when you found it difficult to focus and stay productive due to uncontrollable external factors or changes to your job. What actions did you take? What resulted from your actions?

4. Tell me about a situation where you had to make a decision without enough data. What did you do? How did it turn out?

5. Walk me through a time that you chose to keep moving forward in a risky or ambiguous situation. How did you cope? Please describe your results.

6. Decision-making in the face of uncertainty can be difficult. What, if anything, are you doing to increase your tolerance for ambiguity?

7. Tell me about a situation where you persuaded your team to move forward instead of waiting for more data.

Use the PAR method as your answer structure

The PAR method is a structure used to answer behavioral interview questions.

Note: Don’t use it for intro questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “Why do you want to work here?” since those aren’t behavioral questions.

The four steps in the acronym help you remember all the info you need to include in your answers.

P = problem/situation/issue

A = action (what did you do?)

R = result

Use the letters as a structure to tell your story. 

Sample ambiguity interview question and answer

Tell me about a time you had to work on a project with unclear responsibilities.

Answer given by a Cloud Architect

When I joined Oracle, the Cloud Customer Success Team was new, and the scope for the role wasn’t clearly defined. I knew that because the responsibilities were unclear, I should let client objectives guide the project with feedback from me.

During my first client onboarding, I understood that my objective was to ensure a successful go-live and that I needed to help them realize the value of cloud in the form of lower OPEX, elasticity, and speed and flexibility. In order to do that I knew that I would need to plan carefully.

I developed a project plan, schedule, milestones, and agreed upon criteria with the client on what would be a successful deployment. I learned what they wanted and eventually I understood the client’s requirements better than anyone. I took responsibility for understanding and resolving the client issues, and advocated internally on behalf of the client when we needed support from other teams like when there was an escalation due to a provisioning issue.

Although my task was unclear in the beginning, listening to the client paid off. It was a successful go live since we did more than the agreed upon criteria, which instilled trust in the client to migrate more core workloads to the cloud, so the total contract value of the account increased.

Analysis of the answer

This person showed how she would act in the face of no clear direction - she walked into chaos and turned it into order. That’s what dealing with ambiguity. She knew how things in a well run, organized environment would function and so she imposed that structure on the disorganized situation.

The answer is also well written in terms of following the PAR structure and keeps to the right length and level of detail.

You can answer the ambiguity questions

With the right preparation, you can showcase your ability to navigate complex and uncertain situations.

Remember to use specific examples to demonstrate your problem-solving skills and adaptability. Emphasize the positive outcomes that have resulted from your experience with ambiguity, such as improved decision-making or creative problem-solving.

Show your interviewer you’re comfortable with ambiguity and can excel in situations where there is no clear answer.

With these tips in mind, you can approach behavioral interview questions about ambiguity with confidence and demonstrate your value as a candidate.

Practice your answers

Before you go to your interview, practice answering questions with a friend or a colleague. Practicing helps you build confidence, improve your communication skills, and increase your chances of landing the job.

Practicing your interview answers can help you identify any weak areas or gaps in your experience, allowing you to address them proactively.

Set up a coaching session with me if you’d like some feedback from me about your answers.