How to Answer Open-Ended / Hypothetical Interview Questions

How to Answer Open-Ended / Hypothetical Interview Questions
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0:00 - Intro
0:54 - The Why
1:33 - Breathe
1:51 - Use the Whiteboard
2:14 - Reiterate the Question
2:44 - Follow Up/Clarifying Questions
3:07 - Solve - Including Example Answer
Other videos referenced as cards in this video:
0:19 - Vague Questions - • Customer/Client Google...
0:54 - Screen Share - • Open-Ended Interview Q...
2:16 - Restate the Question - • Interview Tips - Keep ...
2:56 - Tough Interview Questions - • How to Handle Hypothet...
3:07 - Keep it Relevant - • Interview Tips - Keep ...
Additional Videos that might help:
Google Interview - • Google Interview - The...
Program Manager Interview - • Program Manager Interview
Program Manager Interview #2 - • Program Manager Interv...
Questions to Ask Your Interviewer - • Questions to Ask Your ...
The Job Description - • What Questions Will I ...
Types of Questions - • How to Tackle The 7 Mo...
Interview Prep Checklist - • Interview Preparation ...
The STARL Method - • How to Use STAR Method...
How to End Your Answer - • How to End Your Answer...
Follow Up/Clarifying Questions - • Ask Follow Up / Clarif...
Add a Little Detail to Your Answers - • Tell Me About a Time Y...
How to Take Control - • How to Take Control in...
The Job Description - • What Questions Will I ...
Types of Questions - • How to Tackle The 7 Mo...
Social Media:
Connect with me on LinkedIn - / jeffhsipe
THANK YOU!

[@jeffhsipepi]

Hi everyone, I am receiving a lot of requests to create open-ended questions based on a specific role or focus area. I am happy to do it, but the reality is I would rather teach you how to do it yourself, so you do not have to wait on me to respond and so you know how to always do it in the future. For this reason I created these two videos to help people go through job descriptions and create your own questions. I am confident these two videos will provide you with excellent guidance on the HOW: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXu3gKWemcicfpY kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGKsZ5uYfrqslbc

[@jeffhsipepi]

I received a fantastic YT comment yesterday that I want to address for all my videos focused on answering open-ended questions. When questioning the interview question, you want to ask 1 or 2 questions - meaning, you ask, pause, and wait for a response. If your interviewer is answering your questions, try to see if they will answer 1 to 2 more. BUT at a certain point the questions need to go from regular questions to rhetorical questions. You still want to question the interview question, but focus on questioning by saying, I would want to know this, I would want to clarify that, but you need to move past pausing and waiting for a response. Because YES, it will not take your interviewer that long to get annoyed if you pause after every question. I hope this helps and please respond to this comment if you feel like this is another video! Thanks!

[@jordanmcdaniel1398]

Thank you super helpful

[@DrBrito]

Great content and insights. This concept wasn't clear to me, now it is. I really hope to apply it and be successful on my next interviews.

[@jeffhsipepi]

Douglas, good luck in your future interviews!

[@orazik92]

Hi Jeff, thanks a lot for these useful videos! I love how you simplify the ways to actually ace such an interview. Would you give an example though on how an open ended question would sound like for engineering roles? (less coding, more architectural)?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Omar, great question, big question. If we are talking about Software Engineers specifically, the question is likely going to be really simple and your interview is going to look for good dialogue/conversation, assumptions, etc. I love this video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnzYkIZ7eaasodk) done by Life at Google, if you have not watched this video, this is a must. Other questions I have heard at big tech companies are about how other platforms work, such as, tell me how twitter works or how does gmail storage work. Engineers can also get product based questions like adding a feature to a current product or creating a new product or a question like, build me 50 laptops. Lastly, you could get a question like, how do you know if the code is good. In this case you would want to discuss your methodology for how you test code, how you review it with others, etc. For Engineers the most important item is an ability to share thought process and think through these questions out loud, many Engineers do not take this approach and it is necessary for success. I hope this helps!

[@ganzee6928]

Great content, Jeff. Am learning a lot from your videos. (And the background is even better!) One question I have is, how far back can we go to cite examples in one's career to answer these? Say, something very relevant to the question happened 10 years back, is it still worth talking about it?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Ganzee, absolutely! The only company that I know of that does not want you to use old examples is Amazon. They look for examples from the last 2-3 years only.

[@Steven-he8fo]

Hi Jeff, thank you for your videos, they are extremely helpful at breaking everything down into digestible amounts! I wanted to ask what an open-ended interview question would look like for a GCS Account Strategist look like? And if possible, can you provide an example of an answer to the question example you provide?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Ernest, the amount of open-ended questions you might be asked is endless . A few might be - How do Google Ads work? Sell me Google Ads? How do you know when a customer is happy? How you approach the answers to these questions depends on your experience working with ads/customers, but I would ask a lot of follow up questions and try to narrow the focus on the answer as much as possible. I hope this helps, if you have more questions, you can email me directly at [e-mail]. Thanks!

[@EshwarNorthEast]

Hey Jeff! That’s a great video! Thanks much. Dealing with open ended questions, Given its virtual interviews, are we allowed to use tools like Google Jamboard or we ll have to discuss only through google docs?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Eshwar NE, many organizations are allowing you to use a specific tool that they choose. You will definitely want to clarify this item with your Recruiter beforehand. Also, if you do have a whiteboard at home and your Recruiter says you can use it during the interview, go for it. Just make sure to have the set up perfect before the interview.

[@veevee1707]

Hi Jeff! Thank you! Could you give some examples for Strategic Partner Manager interviews? Or do a video around them? Thank you so much - love all your content!

[@jeffhsipepi]

Vaishnavi: -How do you define the strategy for your partners? -How will you drive the success of Google products? -What are the most important components of a successful ecosystem? -How do you determine risk in a program? -Imagine you are part of a complex strategic initiative, how do you make sure you achieve success? -How do you build and foster strong internal relationships? A few practice questions, good luck!

[@amychiu3502]

Hi Jeff , thanks a lot for those great and useful information here!! Could you please give me some examples for "government affairs and public policy" roles? Thanks:)

[@jeffhsipepi]

Chiu in order to help you I need more specific details please and thank you! I am also going to make a more general comment now for people watching this video that I think will be helpful, thanks!

[@komalmestry5957]

Hi Jeff, great video. thanks for your advice. What sort of open ended questions I can expect for Sales Operations Manager role?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Komal, literally anything sales or operations related! Also something random like help your friend open a pastry shop - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6rIqGmrhbOep9U. Use this video to create your own questions - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGKsZ5uYfrqslbc.

[@anishcool100]

Hi Jeff, your content is amazing and super helpful. Can you please share some open-ended questions for KZbin BizOps role?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Anish, I have a few resources that will help, first, log into our app, we have a ton of free practice questions - app.practiceinterviews.com/signin. Secondly, check out these two videos - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXu3gKWemcicfpY, kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGKsZ5uYfrqslbc, good luck!

[@anishcool100]

@@jeffhsipepi Thank you, I’ll report back on my experience!

[@mr.marianogarcia]

Hi Jeff! Thanks for another great video! If you're not sure about how to approach a question (Is it behavioral? Hypothetical? Do they just want to know my opinion on the topic?), is it ok to ask the interviewer what kind of answer they want?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Mariano, if the question is unclear you can definitely ask them if you should problem solve or if they want you to provide an example. Slow down when they state the question and write it down. Most of the time the time of question they are asking should be pretty clear!

[@Mist.o7]

Hi Jeff, great video. Thankyou for such a valuable content. Could you please tell me what could be the open ended questions for the role of global process operations (banking)?

[@jeffhsipepi]

@Mist.o7, use this prompt in your favorite Gen AI tool, "please create 20 hypothetical questions based on the following job description pasted below." Paste the job description into the tool and you will get great role-related hypothetical (open-ended) practice job interview questions.

[@venkatkanukollu]

Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing a lot of information on the overall Open ended interviewing process. Could you share some insight into a Customer Success Manager RRK interview process? What to expect and how to prepare well for this role specific discussion.

[@jeffhsipepi]

Venkat, the core focus of these roles is around working with external customers, so RRK for this role will focus heavily on your ability to create and foster great relationships. RRK for this role will involve both behavioral and open-ended questions. I have had clients interviewing for this role, so I have listed some questions I have asked them below (these are GCP focused, so adapt and adjust the questions if needed) good luck! -How do you make sure customers achieve their objectives? -A customer is considering leaving GCP for AWS, how do you convince them to stay with GCP? -Tell me about a time you developed a strategic roadmap for a client that achieved exceptional results? -What technical strategy or strategies might you use to get a customer to adopt more features of GCP? -What does customer advocacy mean to you? -Tell me about a time you won over an upset customer (please provide a complex example)?

[@venkatkanukollu]

@@jeffhsipepi Thanks a lot Jeff for taking the time to answer my questions and providing the insight into the role. Much appreciated..

[@gayathrikarthik9041]

Hi Jeff - Thank you for the videos. Wealth of information here!! Can you give me some examples for open ended questions for TPM roles?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Gayathri, the possibilities are endless, here are a few to practice: How do you evaluate the complexity of a program? Enhance an already existing Google product. What is more important quality or cost, why? How do you prioritize one feature over another? How do you determine risk in a program? How do you measure success? A large GCP customer experienced a technical failure, what do you do? How do you plan requirements? How do you ensure the Engineers you are collaborating with provide you with good code? I want to imagine you are the technical expert on a project, how do you make sure everyone understands what you need from a technical perspective? How do you handle stakeholder conflict? How do you navigate ambiguity? How do you present to leadership?

[@gayathrikarthik9041]

@@jeffhsipepi Thank you for the pointers!!

[@lifevsme7861]

Hi Jeff! Thank you! Could you give some examples for devops and cloud engineer?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Priyanka, we currently have an app with 15,000 questions - try it out for free, you can search by company and role! app.practiceinterviews.com/signin

[@Elsonnewgate]

If we've done quantitative, but before we done the quantitative we actually have unstructured data interview. Can i conduct that unstructured interview for my additional quantitative confirmation without doing structured interview again? Because the unstructured interview contain data confirmation to support valid quantitative analysis variable. Is it allowed?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Zakharia, I don't know that we will be able to control the order of the interviews at any company, but you can always ask!

[@rudzunplugged-topic1522]

Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing the info. Could you please help me with some pointers for ‘Engineering Compliance, Program Manager’ role ?

[@jeffhsipepi]

RudZ, find the balance of focusing on more generic Program Manager skills, and then really niching into the Eng Compliance side of things ask yourself what are the most important engineering compliance items/issues (think top 5), then start creating questions around these items and creating a solid framework. Those two steps should help you have great success, good luck!

[@rudzunplugged-topic1522]

Jeff H Sipe Thank you Jeff 😊

[@kaitlynbanaszynski1800]

Hi Jeff, can you provide examples of open ended questions for an enterprise field sales rep. for Google Cloud? Thanks so much!

[@jeffhsipepi]

Kaitlyn, I created a few for you: How do you get an existing customer to purchase additional services/features? What are some strategies you would use to accelerate customer adoption of GCP? What company should we acquire in order to broaden the Google Cloud scope? If you had to change any of the features in GCP, what would those be and why? How does GCP compete with AWS and Azure? How do you determine customer needs? How do you handle and prioritize feature requests from the customer? How do you influence long term strategic vision? Thanks and good luck!

[@DAHLIATEE]

Hi Jeff! Will these open-ended questions always incorporate the role/job description or could they be completely random and not related to the role at all?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Dahlia, both! I really want you to dive into the job description, but also be ready for something random. Ugh, I know that is not super helpful!

[@pradeepmavilla914]

Hi Jeff, thanks for this insightful video. What are someone of the open ended questions you think can be asked in a Program Manager interview? I was asked to reinvent the homepage of a popular ecommerce website in an interview recently. How would you have approached it? Thanks

[@jeffhsipepi]

Open Ended Program Manager questions typically fall into a few different buckets. Build, enhance or reinvent a product. You may also get a question about removing a product from the market. Lastly, more generic questions like how do you stay organized and how do you know if a program is complex are likely open ended questions as well. For your question, I would have restated the question then I would have asked a lot of follow up questions. Are we reinventing our homepage because of customer feedback, because of a technical need, to add a layer or complexity or simplify, etc. These questions are going to help you at least think through the why before diving in and doing the work. Once I asked about 15 to 20 follow up questions I would make some assumptions and create a framework. This is where you really rely on your PM skills. How do you tackle any type of larger project or program and with your assumptions break it down. Continue to ask follow up questions, and if you are able, implement an example. These are obviously just the basics. Please let me know if I can answer any more question for you. Thanks! Jeff

[@rockems4959]

Unless you knew the website had determental ideals, why ask?

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@rockems4959 I was searching for this question and finally found it! You ask this question to test thought process. When any company looks at any of their features including their own website they are always looking to improve it, even in the simpliest way. Companies need to continually be adapting to their users/customers, I believe this why they ask the question. I hope this helps!

[@sunpark9257]

Hi Jeff! Thank you so much for very helpful video! Today I had a screening call and got an answer during the call that I will be moved forward to the next step. Would you kindly advise questions for Administrative Business Partner role? Thank you so much for your support in advance!! Stay safe! cheers.

[@jeffhsipepi]

Sun, I am very happy this video helped you, below I provided a few potential open ended questions you may have to answer in your interview: How do you anticipate the needs of your manager? What are the three biggest administrative issues you will face in this role? How do you stay organized? What are the keys to strong communication? How do you handle conflicting priorities? Thanks!

[@sunpark9257]

Jeff H Sipe super thanks for the tip! Btw after the first call I am still waiting for the intv arrangement and no response yet. (It’s been a week and half) Should I contact coordinator or better to wait? Thanks a ton and stay safe:)

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@sunpark9257 definitely reach out that is a long time to wait!

[@sunpark9257]

@@jeffhsipepi thanks! I sent email but no response yet.. hope to hear soon... :D Truly thanks for all your advice...!!

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@sunpark9257 Good luck!

[@riteshkumardce]

Hi Jeff, I am from an operations background, currently managing a team of 5 HoD (Purchase, Warehouse, logistics, Product, Category) for an early-stage market place for automotive spare parts. Can I find a suitable role for myself in Google? I have no idea about coding.

[@jeffhsipepi]

Ritesh, you do not need to know how to code to get a job at Google. It sounds like you could be a Program Manager, Supply Chain maybe? Go to Google's career page and search for positions that align with your skills and do not require coding, good luck!

[@riteshkumardce]

@@jeffhsipepi You are awesome! :)

[@ramenblizz8982]

Hi Jeff, I have General Cognitive Ability and Leadership/Googleyness interview with Google Cloud for Customer Engineer position in a few days. Do you have sample questions for these kind of roles (nothing covered by NDA obviously), or maybe just general guidance? Thanks in advance. Love your videos!

[@jeffhsipepi]

RamenBlizz, my best advice is to create questions based on the job description - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXu3gKWemcicfpY an. But specifically for the CE role, really focus on relationships internal and external, especially external customer relationships. And take some time to brush up on the technical fundamentals. I hope this helps!

[@ramenblizz8982]

@@jeffhsipepi Do you have samples of open ended questions for the Customer Engineer position? I've been preparing for this GCA interview and it's been stressing me out. Not to mention that people have been saying that Google Cloud has a different sense of Googleyness compared to the rest of the Google. I really don't know what to expect.

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@ramenblizz8982 - I created some sample questions for you, but remember to expect anything. The questions are less important than creating the frameworks. Google Cloud has the same expectations as the rest of Google in terms of Googleyness. Good luck! How do you prioritize two urgent deadlines? What is solution architecture and why is it important? How does Netflix work in the Cloud? Explain GCP to a customer that knows nothing about the cloud. How do you help someone develop their technical skills? How would you run a business similar to KZbin TV utilizing the Cloud? What is the application architecture for instagram, snapchat, netflix, etc.? How do you measure success? How do you explain something technical to somebody that is not technical? What storage would you use to get video's metadata? How do you determine risk? Convince an AWS or Azure user why GCP is better.

[@ramenblizz8982]

@@jeffhsipepi Thanks so much!

[@IlhamAB]

@@ramenblizz8982 Which question that actually appeared during your real interview?

[@ashleywang3989]

Hi Jeff, thank you for your video. I'm interviewing with Google SG for strategy and operations analyst role. Could you give me some example of open-ended questions for this kind of role? It would help a lot if you could also provide example of SQL questions! Thanks!

[@jeffhsipepi]

Ashley, I created a few questions for you, good luck! How would you analyze large quantities of data? How do you handle multiple projects at one time? Create an initiative from scratch. How do you deal with a difficult stakeholder? What are the components of a successful strategy? How do you know your data is correct? What are the three most important components of optimization? What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL? Which one is better? How would you teach SQL to someone that has never used it before?

[@ashleywang3989]

Jeff H Sipe thank you so much for your help!

[@ashleywang3989]

Hi Jeff, I got another interview for the International Growth Consultant role at Google. I know you already shared some questions with me , but could you also share GCA questions related to this role? Thanks.

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@ashleywang3989 How do you find the optimal advertising solution for each client? What is the most important trend in online media? Why? Pitch me a Google Product. What are the keys to building international expansion for clients? How do you understand client objectives? How do you utilize data to achieve exceptional results? Watch these two videos to develop more questions for yourself: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXu3gKWemcicfpY kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGKsZ5uYfrqslbc

[@marie-joesalloum5894]

Hi Jeff, can you provide examples of open ended questions for program manager positions please? Thanks!

[@jeffhsipepi]

Marie-Joe, this question keeps coming up so I am hoping to create a doc of some potential questions, but here are a few to start,: How do you evaluate the complexity of a program? How do you determine risk in a program? How do you know you have the right stakeholders in place in a program? What is shared vision? What are the most important resources in a program? How would you run a successful program? How do you move a program forward without all the data? Additional questions can be found under Gayathri Karthik's comment.

[@marie-joesalloum5894]

@@jeffhsipepi Thanks a lot! The ones under Gayathri's comment are for Technical PM right? I'm looking for sales & ops program manager, so would it be the ones you gave me already? Thanks

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@marie-joesalloum5894 Yup, remember Program Managers in any role at Google should have some domain specific technical knowledge. Thanks!

[@rajuldesai5851]

Hi Jeff,Are you familiar with the hiring process at Google for Product Managers?Do you have any open ended question examples or videos on the topic?ThanksRaj

[@jeffhsipepi]

Rajul, some practice questions for you: -Enhance an already existing Google product. -Design an app for someone that is visually impaired. -Launch a new product. -Redesign Amazon's homepage. You also definitely need to anticipate an estimation question - watch this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIXWnmunp7CliJY I hope this info helps, good luck!

[@user-li9xc6in5t]

Dear : Jeff how are doing i have some request to need answer for it could you teach use the important point in programme management 1- how to begning our programme 2-what the imortant step for the programme thanks so much

[@jeffhsipepi]

محمد يحي محمد Please check out my KZbin Channel , I have done a number of videos on Program Management.

[@user-li9xc6in5t]

@@jeffhsipepi Thanks so much for feedback and reply , keep me As friend& student

[@mitumanidas7680]

Hi My name is Mitumani Das from India and I have experience in human resource field so give some idea how to crack interview in same field at Google

[@jeffhsipepi]

Mitumani, HR interviews are truly no different than any other role at Google. The questions will be a mix of behavioral and open-ended. Focus on getting those examples down on paper and creating great frameworks. Thanks!

[@presleygirI]

hi, do you have any open ended questions for a business internship interview?

[@jeffhsipepi]

E, I think two videos will help you determine the open-ended questions that will be asked of you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHTbZZ-YZr6beKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXu3gKWemcicfpY If you can explore the high level frameworks of what the job requires and then dive more into the job description, you will recognize themes/patterns that will likely present open-ended questions. I hope this helps!

[@presleygirI]

@@jeffhsipepi thank you I watched most of your videos, I'm talking about a GOOGLE business internship (phone interview) which im having in an hour sdfghj

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@presleygirI good luck! One quick additional item to think about (the video I am finalizing now), if you get a really vague question like how do you measure success? Remember to question the words measure AND success before diving into your answer. With only minutes before your interview I do not want to overload you, just something to ponder.

[@presleygirI]

@@jeffhsipepi haha omg im dying. I'd answer: 'how do I measure success? Well, it depends on what I'm measuring? If I'm measuring a business it'd be sales/profit but can also be how much time was saved, user experience, money, etc.

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@presleygirI Yup, perfect!

[@johngil9052]

Should have chosen Austin - TX hehe

[@jeffhsipepi]

John, so there is a funny story behind this comment. I never knew how to respond to it, so I never did, but it shows up in my YT comments section as something I did not respond to, so, I have seen this comment many times and it was finally time to clear out my comments. Austin is an awesome city, have a great day!

[@rockems4959]

An aptitude for solving complex problems... What about simple problems?

[@jeffhsipepi]

Fantastic Point! Often times open ended questions appear to be and are simple problems and the questions on the surface are simple. It is the answer that is more complex because of the depth your interviewer expects/wants. Great comment!

[@rockems4959]

@@jeffhsipepi looking forward to seeing your response. Trying to figure out my question on my own. It's tricky

[@jeffhsipepi]

@@rockems4959 I saw your initial question and it seems to have disappeared from the comments section, please re-ask and I will answer this weekend. Thanks!

[@jeffhsipepi]

@Rockems following up another time to see if you can re-ask your question, I want to make sure I answer it for you! Thanks!

[@rockems4959]

@@jeffhsipepi I won't and stop spamming my inbox. This isnt a new video for you friend so please don't contact me again. It's absurd that you did 3 times in 8 minutes