Have you answered an interview question saying " I don't know" and still got the job?

Question

Do tell.

Answer 1

saying "i dont kno" doesnt mean that ur bad or demeaning. it shows that u r being honest. to most employers they would sooner hear u say u dont kno or dont understand rather than just tell them what u think they want to hear. ask a lot of questions, that will show them that ur interested. and once they ask u a question dont just blurt out ur answer, take ur time, breathe in, relax. think about it, make them think that ur the perfect person for the job

Answer 2

Yeah, then I mention that I learn fast and am a hard worker. Mention that you hate being bored, and how you often find "busy work" to do just to keep the time moving. I have impressed a few employers with that.
Schmooze is the name of the game in any interview, but I've found that you want to be honest about your skills and abilities. If not, you could find yourself in trouble.
If they ask you a personality question, just say, I never thought of that before, good question.
Hey, I still can't decide what I want to be when I grow up. Been on lots of interviews looking though.

Answer 3

No - unless the interviewer said, "where do I live?" saying "I don't know" probably won't work in your favor.

If this happened to you, do yourself a favor and write/email a thank you letter for the interview. Word the letter to help clarify whichever question you were stumped on. As a rule, you must always send out thank you letters within 24 hours after interviews.

Say something along the lines of "In retrospect, I think that..." and answer the question asked.

See the link below for an example of a damage control letter.

Answer 4

Yes. I find it is best to be honest about what you do and do not know. The best thing to do is say "Well, no, I don't have experience with that in particular, but I am in a fast learner.." or "No, I am not sure what that is, perhaps I know it under a different name?" or the like..sometimes an interviewer may be testing you to see if you are going to BS them..stick with what you know..and good luck..

Answer 5

Yes.
Sometimes honesty is positive. Sometimes there is not an answer.
If you really dont know say it. They may rephrase the question for you or just move on.
But yes I have said I dont know the answer, but then added "thats a very good question, and made a statement about something I knew about, sort of related"
Goodluck

Answer 6

Yes. It is much better to be honest than to try to sell a lit -- and if you approach the question with curiosity - all's the better. For example, "No, I don't know what the most common reason for resistance to staying at a nursing home is, but I am curious to know more about it. I wonder if something constant or something that changes from generation to generation."

Answer 7

Can't say that I have but I have been in the position to hire people for the company I work for and if I interviewed someone and they said "i don't know", I wouldn't even think of hiring them. Even if its something they don't know the exact answer to, it the effort of trying to answer that counts. Someone who says "I don't know" does not have the correct frame of mind to be successful. I'd rather have a wrong answer than do answer!

Answer 8

Yes, I have actually. I used to work with juvenile sex offenders and one day one of them lept out of the shower naked at me. My employer encouraged me to press charges, so I did. When I was applying for my current job, they asked if I had ever had any extremely stressful situations at previous jobs and I told them about naked shower boy and how i handled it. They then asked what I could have done differently and I said I don't know.

Answer 9

Yes, but I answered the other questions and it was only for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Answer 10

No, but an interviewer said 'So why should I hire you?' and I said 'Why not?'. I was hired on the spot.