Pausing and stalling: What if you can’t think of an answer to an interview question?

Interview basics

Feb 5

Even though you should know what to say, you don’t. Even though you’ve prepared for your interview, you still get a question you don’t know how to answer.

What should you do if this happens?

Don’t panic

I know this situation is everyone’s interview nightmare, but you can handle it. Most importantly, stay calm. Not knowing how to answer a question is actually a normal thing. If you stay calm, you’ll be able to deal with it.

Pause / Stall

There are a few techniques you can use that are basically various ways of pausing or stalling to give yourself some extra time to think.

Acknowledge the question

One of your options is to acknowledge that the question was asked and that you’re thinking about it.

You can say, “That’s a great question. Let me think about that…”

Or you can say, “Let me think about that for a second…”

Then pause. You can be silent for a few seconds before you start talking. You don’t want to wait too long, 4-5 seconds is long enough, but this can give you a few extra seconds to gather your thoughts.

2. Ask for more time

Instead of saying you’re going to take a moment to think, you can also change this slightly and ask for a moment to think.

“I need a moment to think about that.”

You may feel awkward doing that, but you don’t have to jump in and answer the question in the first second after it was asked. You may think that’s what they’re expecting, but a pause is normal.

3. Repeat the question yourself

Sometimes all you need to think of an intelligent answer is a few extra seconds, so you need to stall a little.

Try repeating the question.

If they ask, “Why do you want to work at Amazon?”

You can say, “Ah, you’d like to know why I want to work here. Okay.”

Or if they ask this, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

You can say, “In five years, I’d like to be…”

This can buy you a few extra seconds to think of a solid response.

4. Ask them to repeat or rephrase the question

You can ask them to repeat or rephrase the question or say that you don’t understand the question and could they clarify.

Don’t use this more than once because it will look like you’re not paying attention.

5. Focus on the question or talk about it

When you’ve tried repeating the question, try focusing on it instead. Say things like "that's a really good question" or "I was wondering when this question would come up" or "I was hoping you would address that topic."

Again, this gives you a moment to think.

Aren’t fillers bad?

I know using “fillers” isn’t generally a good thing. Many people say “um” or “uh” or “you know” or other nonsense words too much. It’s true, you don’t really want to use fillers, and these stalling techniques are a type of filler. But it’s better to stall than to say nothing.

Drink some water

Do you have a bottle of water sitting next to you? Take a drink before you answer.

Be honest

If you have no answer, you can say that, but you need to do it well.

Admit that you can’t think of an answer at the moment and ask to come back to the question later in the interview after you’ve had a chance to think. You can say, “I’m sorry, I can’t think of an answer to that, can you ask me again at the end?”

This isn’t ideal, of course, because you’re supposed to be answering their questions, but it’s much better than silence. It shows you can handle an awkward situation.

You can only use this once, so don't use it on something where you have some idea of an answer, and they may actually remember to ask you the question again at the end, so keep working on an answer as you answer the other questions.

You also can’t use this tactic on a common, easy question. If they ask, “Why did you leave your last job?” and you can’t think of an answer, you have absolutely no chance of getting the job.

Use only in an emergency

Think of these as emergency techniques. They can’t substitute for thorough interview practice, but they can help you if things don't go as you would expect.