Key Things to Remember for Tough Technical Questions
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01
Focus on the Method, Not the Memory (Mindset) Your main goal should be showing how you think, not proving what facts you memorized. Interviewers care more about the steps you use to solve a problem than if you remember the exact answer right away.
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02
Talk Through Your Steps (Execution) If you don't know the answer, speak your thought process out loud. Explaining how you would try to find the solution is much more helpful than guessing randomly or staying quiet.
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03
Be Honest About Gaps (Data Integrity) Admitting you don't know something shows you are trustworthy. Lying suggests you might hide mistakes later, while being upfront builds confidence that you won't cause problems on the job.
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04
Your Ability to Learn is Key (Long-term Value) Companies hire you for your potential to handle new challenges, not just your past knowledge. Show them you can handle things you haven't seen before without causing a major failure.
What Does "Handling an Unknown Question" Actually Mean?
Handling an unknown technical interview question means responding honestly when you don't have the answer, then showing the interviewer your problem-solving process instead. Rather than guessing or going silent, you walk through your reasoning out loud, connect the question to what you do know, and explain how you'd find the correct answer on the job.
This skill matters because interviewers design questions to find your limits on purpose. According to NACE's Job Outlook 2025 survey, nearly 90% of recruiters look for evidence of problem-solving ability above all other skills. The interview isn't a memory test. It's a live demonstration of how you work through gaps in your knowledge.
The Interview Mistake
You probably spent weeks studying hard for your next technical interview, treating it like a test where you have to remember every single fact. You memorized details, special cases, and library names, feeling scared that saying "I don't know" even once will ruin your chances. This is wasting your time. Most people think the interview is about remembering facts, acting like a human reference book.
The simple truth is: nobody is hiring you to be a search engine. Senior people don't care what information is stored in your head; they care how you react when your brain doesn't have the answer.
"I don't expect you to know everything. I trust someone much more who is quick to say, 'Look, I don't know but I will figure it out.'"
In a real job, a person who guesses or makes things up just to look good isn't smart. They create risk for the company. We call this the "Dangerous Junior" problem. When you try too hard to seem like you know everything, you actually show you aren't safe to trust with important tasks.
Real professionals don't hide when they are missing information; they show their step-by-step plan for figuring it out. If you can't show us how you think when you get stuck, you aren't as valuable as you think you are.
Thinking Process Over Stored Facts: Understanding Hiring Tech
In modern hiring technology, we don't look for people with the biggest library of facts (memory); we look for the best thinkers (logic). During an interview, the recruiter is watching your thought process for Logical Connections, specifically how well you link what you do know to the problem in front of you.
The Myth of Trivia vs. Real Shortcuts
Hiring ShortcutsThe "Trivia Game" idea doesn't work because hiring uses Mental Shortcuts to check if you are a "Safe Hire." If you get a question you don't know and you guess wildly, you create a messy, unreliable signal for the interviewer. This is a major warning sign. To us, a candidate who guesses is a risk who might cause expensive errors later because they don't know how to manage an unexpected problem. A LinkedIn survey found that 9 out of 10 global executives now rank soft skills like problem-solving and adaptability as more important than technical knowledge alone.
Why Talking Your Thoughts Is Important
Signal QualityThe professional truth is we look for your Error Recovery Plan. When you talk while thinking, you give a clear signal about your process. Even if you don't have the exact fact, you show that your thinking structure is solid.
The Real Deal-Breaker
Debugging SkillIn our systems, missing one fact is almost never an instant failure. But failing to show a logical "Error Log" (your ability to break down a problem) is. We aren't looking for a walking encyclopedia; we are looking for a reliable machine that can handle unknowns without shutting down the whole operation.
The most important measure of a person isn't what they already know, but how solid their internal system is for figuring out what they don't know.
Sorting Out Technical Interview Lies
If I don't know the answer, I should use lots of technical words to sound like I know what I'm talking about.
Experienced interviewers can immediately spot when someone is just repeating terms without understanding them. They aren't testing your vocabulary; they are testing your logic. Faking it shows you don't have the mental steps needed to actually fix something when it breaks.
Practice "explaining your process" instead. You can use stories from past projects to show interviewers how you worked through something difficult, which is much better than just reciting a definition. If you need help structuring these stories, our guide on preparing for a technical interview walks you through this step by step.
If I'm not sure about the answer, it's better to just say "I don't know" and wait for the next question to prove I'm honest.
In a job setting, "I don't know" is only the start. You need to show your resourcefulness by explaining what documentation you would check, what tools you'd use, or how you'd break the hard problem into smaller parts you understand.
Keep a record of times you started a project with no knowledge and successfully found a solution. These stories show interviewers your proven method for handling confusion.
I have to get every single technical question right to prove I'm qualified for the job.
Most interviews are set up to test you until they find your limit, the point where you don't know the answer. They want to see how you react when you hit that wall, not just confirm what you already know.
Know where your skill gaps are before the interview. If you know what you don't know, you can enter the conversation with a plan to fix those areas, making you look proactive instead of unprepared. Building a technical portfolio is one way to map your strengths and identify what you still need to learn.
Testing Your Honesty Level
To see if your current way of handling hard questions is helping you or hurting you, quickly check these points.
Think about the last time a client or boss asked you something technical you weren't totally sure about.
Did you spend more than 5 seconds trying to give background context or hint at the answer before admitting you didn't have the exact facts?
In your reply, did you use phrases like "I think," "Maybe,"* or *"It usually works this way"?
Did you finish by promising a specific time (like "by the end of the day") when you would deliver the real answer?
What Your Answers Show
If you used weak words or stalled, you are caught up in the main idea that experts must know everything right away. You are choosing to look smart over being correct, which tells people your information is unreliable when you have to guess.
If you were honest but didn't give a deadline, you look disorganized. "I'll look into it" sounds like "I'll forget about this unless you remind me."
If you said what you knew, stated what you didn't know, and gave a specific time to follow up, you passed. You understand your job is to be a dependable source of truth, not a walking fact sheet.
In important work situations, a "confident guess" is a problem. The best people aren't the ones who never make mistakes; they are the ones who are never wrong because they refuse to guess when they lack data.
Using Our Tools to Gain Confidence When You're Unsure
Strategic Help
Job Skill CheckCompares your resume to the job opening to show you exactly which skills you need to work on right now.
Practice Time
Interview PracticeWorks with you like a patient coach, helping you master the "STAR" method to explain your thinking process during tough moments.
Mental Edge
Career MentorAn always-available mentor that uses helpful questions to prepare you for stressful job situations and office politics.
How to Win the Technical Interview
The Interview Is Not a Fact Test
Many job seekers fall for the Common Lie: the idea that an interview is just a test of things you’ve memorized. In this belief, if you don't have the exact answer in your head, you've failed. This causes people to either guess wildly to look good or just shut down with a simple "I don't know."
What Really Matters
In reality, experienced interviewers aren't looking for human encyclopedias. They want to see your "Troubleshooting Log." A large part of any job is dealing with things you've never encountered before. They need to see your thinking process: how you start breaking down the problem, what you already know, and the steps you would take to find the correct answer.
The Danger of Making Things Up
When you try to hide your lack of knowledge by guessing, you create the "Dangerous Junior" impression. You signal that your ego matters more than being correct. A person who guesses when they are unsure is a risk because they might hide mistakes in the actual job. Trying to look smart through memorization accidentally proves you aren't reliable.
Common Questions Answered
If I don't know something, should I just say "I don't know" and move on?
No. While being honest is good, stopping there tells the interviewer nothing about your skills. Instead, try saying: "I haven't used that exact tool, but here is how I would start figuring it out based on my experience with similar tools." This shows you are proactive.
How do I start "thinking out loud" if I am completely lost?
Begin by focusing on the parts of the question that sound familiar. You can say something like, "I'm not sure about the final step, but I know the first thing we need to do is [X] because of [Y]." This lets the interviewer see your logic and might give you a small hint to move forward.
Will I be rejected if I get a technical question wrong?
Not necessarily. Most companies care more about how you approach problems than if you remember every single fact. If you show a solid, logical way to find the answer, you can still succeed. However, you will likely lose the job if you try to lie or pretend you know something you don't.
How long should I pause before answering?
Taking 5 to 10 seconds to collect your thoughts is perfectly normal. Most interviewers prefer a brief pause followed by a thoughtful answer over an immediate guess. You can say "Let me think about that for a moment" to signal you're working through the problem, not stalling.
Should I send a follow-up email after missing a question?
Yes. Researching the answer and emailing the interviewer a short summary of what you learned shows initiative. It proves you care about getting it right, not just getting through the interview. Keep it brief: one to two paragraphs explaining your findings and how they connect to the role.
Is it better to guess or admit I don't know?
Admit it. Experienced interviewers spot guessing fast, and a wrong guess raises doubts about your judgment in real work situations. Honesty paired with a problem-solving approach ("I'm not sure, but here's how I'd find out") leaves a much stronger impression than a shaky guess.
Stop "Playing the Game" and Start Proving Your Worth
Success in the interview isn't about memorizing every piece of trivia. It's about showing the interviewer you can solve problems. TestGorilla's 2025 State of Skills-Based Hiring report found that 85% of employers now use skills-based hiring, up from 81% the year before. The trend is clear: what you can figure out matters more than what you already know.
When you stop trying to act like a perfect computer program and start showing your real thinking process, you prove that you are a reliable and smart person to hire. And if you still don't know the answer after the interview? Send a follow-up email with what you researched. That single action shows you're proactive and serious about growing.
Focus on what matters.
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