Interview Questions: Feeling Like a Deer in Headlights?

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Imagine your job interview is going along fine – you’re giving satisfying and well-crafted answers.  You’re 20 minutes in, gliding through, then the next question comes up, and your mind goes totally blank.  Brain freeze.
What to do?

1. Take….your….time….answering, and allow the silence.  Long pauses can actually be very effective, and give you precious moments to collect your thoughts.  A delay in response can be a powerful way to demonstrate confidence (even when you don’t really feel confident).  It relays the message that you are a thoughtful and level-headed candidate.
2. Try repeating the question back to the interviewer.  This will cause you to process the question again and may make it more comprehensible to your brain, unlocking the freeze.
3. Just say something, anything relevant to your topic.  This approach can kick start your brain back into gear and get you back on track. 
4. Be assertive by asking for more time, such as “that is a good question, may I have a moment to collect my thoughts?”  Just by taking control in this way, you’ll calm down and that will get your thoughts flowing again. 
5. Ask the interviewer if they “wouldn’t mind repeating or rephrasing the question”. Hearing the question again or just hearing it phrased differently can jog your memory, make the question more comprehensible and thus easier to answer.
6. Ask for clarification such as “So, to put it another way, what you are asking is…?”
7. Request to come back to the question later.  This approach shows you as a candidate with a strategy for managing difficult questions or situations!
8. If you simply cannot come up with an answer, explain that you have a great answer but are just having difficulty recalling it.  Let the interviewer know that you would like to follow up with a response afterwards, if this is permissible.