Tenders normally contain a set of questions. Some of them may sometimes seem a little strange, but logic would dictate that just writing an answer should be enough.
However, that may lead to composing an answer that fails to score well. Further analysis of the question could unearth deeper meaning.
Key points to consider:
- Why have they asked the question?
- What is the right answer?
- What information are they looking for?
You may be surprised by what you can glean. The real meaning of the question may be cunningly disguised behind an innocent looking facade! In order to understand this you have to put yourself in the mind of the questioner. What might you be looking for if you were setting the tender?
This may sound over-analytical. Getting it right may shed some light on what appear to be very strange questions, but getting it wrong may cost you the tender.
So my tip is – don’t just take tender questions at face value. A little detective work, some psychology and plenty of verbal reasoning will be of enormous value and could pay off handsomely.