Page 169 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 92

What's your favorite dish, and how would you convince someone
who hated an ingredient in it to try it?

I think the ‘favorite dish’ part of this question is a throwaway part. They don’t really care what your
favorite dish is (mine is pizza). What they care about is your ability to construct a compelling
argument in the face of strong resistance. This could be a good question for sales jobs,
management jobs where they’re trying to change the culture, or any other jobs where persuasion
would be required.

To convince someone of something, it often works to use the ‘feel-felt-found’ argument.(I know
how you feel…I felt the same way…this is what I found.)

In my case, I would use sweet potatoes:
"I didn't like sweet potatoes either, until I was 30 years old. I thought they were gross and
disgusting, like you do—but the ones that you tried aren't like what I want you to try. Those were in a
can and disgusting and you are right. But these are fresh sweet potatoes that have been baked with
honey and butter and brown sugar all over them and they are incredible.
Sometimes when you find an ingredient that you don’t like, in another situation you may very well
like it. And sweet potatoes are so incredibly good for you and have so much Vitamin A that they are
worth another shot. You need to always try different thingsand have different foods to eat.”
So I’ve established common ground, I’ve engaged their emotions and senses, I’ve used logic as
well as a good nutrition argument.