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Navigating Communication Barriers in Interviews

akj
1d ago 161 1

Has anyone been rejected because the interviewer couldn't ask clear questions? I recently had an interview where the interviewer (a non-native English speaker) really struggled to frame their questions. It was incredibly hard to figure out what they actually wanted me to solve or answer, and I ended up getting rejected.

Has anyone else dealt with this? It's frustrating when you know you have the skills, but the barrier is just understanding the prompt. How do you guys handle this mid-interview without making it awkward?

1 Comment

Ishan Dev Shukl
This is where communication becomes a two-way responsibility. Don’t guess the question... rephrase what you understood and ask for a concrete example or clarification.

“Let me confirm my understanding before I answer…” can save the conversation.

Interviews should evaluate problem-solving, not just how well someone deciphers an unclear question. The ability to clarify ambiguity is itself an engineering skill.

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