If you do not know the answer, don’t make up one up, or say “I don’t know the answer, but let me just guess here…” Just say “I do not know.”
I’d have to say that “I don’t let me know, but …” is perfectly ok if you’re going to talk out your thinking. Sometimes the answer isn’t so important as how you address the problem. Don’t just stall and make stuff up, but do talk through the problem and some of your assumptions about it. You may find the interviewers willing to give you some feedback that will help. Or you may find that you arrive at a different correct answer than the one the interviewer is expecting. Just like your math teacher always said “show your work!”
Of course if it’s a straight up fact like “what are the seven layers of the OSI model”, better to say “I don’t know” than to take a wild guess that will certainly be wrong.
June 1st, 2011 on 8:34 pm
If you do not know the answer, don’t make up one up, or say “I don’t know the answer, but let me just guess here…” Just say “I do not know.”
I’d have to say that “I don’t let me know, but …” is perfectly ok if you’re going to talk out your thinking. Sometimes the answer isn’t so important as how you address the problem. Don’t just stall and make stuff up, but do talk through the problem and some of your assumptions about it. You may find the interviewers willing to give you some feedback that will help. Or you may find that you arrive at a different correct answer than the one the interviewer is expecting. Just like your math teacher always said “show your work!”
Of course if it’s a straight up fact like “what are the seven layers of the OSI model”, better to say “I don’t know” than to take a wild guess that will certainly be wrong.