What Makes You Angry

It can be difficult to decipher what an interview question really means. What the interviewer is actually trying to learn might not be readily apparent. However, if you recognize what is really being asked, you can focus your answer and create a strong response.

One of the most difficult questions to answer is "What makes you angry At first, it may seem like there is no correct answer. In actuality, it is important for them to know if a part of the job will frustrate you enough to affect your performance. This question is often followed by asking if a specific conflict will make you especially angry.

Points to Emphasize

Because of the sensitive and complicated nature of this question, you need to choose your words carefully. Follow these tips to provide a strong response.

• Be honest. They are asking for a reason and you are not doing yourself any favors by just saying nothing angers you. They will assume you are just being polite or telling them what they want to hear.
• That being said, you should downplay what frustrates you. You should mention that they annoy you, but do not communicate that you cannot function in certain situations.
• It is wise to conclude by mentioning what you do to deal with your frustration and how you are able to do a good job despite getting angry.
• The best approach to this question is to remain calm, reasonable, and positive.

Mistakes You Should Avoid

In many ways, the areas you should avoid are more important than the points you should include. Your emotional reaction to this question is important to the interviewer.

• Do not get upset. If relating a story from previous work, do not get worked up about something that happened.
• Do not completely deny ever getting upset. Even mentioning mild workplace annoyances answers the question and still communicates that you are a cool and collected individual.
• Avoid an excessively long answer. It should not seem like you have a long list of anger-inducing incidents.
• Do not be too uptight. Showing a little humor about your pet peeves could lighten the mood.

Sample Answer

A calm and reasonable answer to this complicated question would look similar to this:

I remember at my previous job, one of my coworkers would frequently slack off on the job. All the work would be done, but often others would have to work harder to compensate. It really helped alleviate my frustration by more actively communicating with him. We were able to work together to solve the issue.

Popular Interview Questions