By Caroline Forsey

As a hiring manager, asking questions like, “What’s the greatest challenge you’ve overcome?” is important to learn about an applicant. But what creative interview questions will help paint a fuller picture of a potential candidate?

Imagine you ask your candidate: “If you were a pizza delivery person, how would you benefit from scissors?” The question changes the conversation. Suddenly, you’ve caught your candidate off-guard.

Traditional interview questions are still necessary, but funny or unexpected questions like the following can provoke a more honest, insightful conversation during your interview.

Funny Interview Questions

1. “How would you solve problems if you were from Mars?”

This question, asked by Amazon, helps you see if your candidate can think outside what‘s traditional or typical. You’ll want your candidate to demonstrate problem-solving ability even under bizarre circumstances.

Her answer can show you whether she can enter a new workplace environment and evaluate it fairly before offering solutions.

For instance, an ideal candidate might say, “If I were on Mars, they’d likely have their problems separate from those on Earth. First, I’d research to determine cause and effect and then offer potential solutions.”

With this answer, your candidate has shown an ability to be thoughtful and analytical when making decisions.

2. “What do you think of garden gnomes?”

This question, asked by Trader Joe’s, is ridiculous. More than anything else, it’s intended to loosen the candidate, see a glimpse of their personality, and gain insight into a cultural fit.

There‘s no correct answer to this question, but if your team likes to be sarcastic with one another, you might want a candidate to say, “If I could get a job as one, then I probably wouldn’t be here today talking to you.”

Ultimately, if your candidate can easily handle this curveball, it shows an impressive ability to react quickly to bizarre circumstances.

3. “Why are manholes round?”

UBS, a Swiss multinational investment bank, asks this sneakily insightful question in Operations interviews.

At first glance, it seems like another funny “loosen the candidate up” question — but, in actuality, it‘s a good indicator of your candidate’s intellect.

An ideal candidate will think the question through and provide a thoughtful answer like this:

“A round maintenance hole cover can’t fall through the round maintenance hole opening. A square cover, on the other hand, could fit diagonally through the opening and fall through.

Additionally, a circular cover fits easily and can be removed easily, without much precision or rotating.”

This answer demonstrates your candidate’s ability to see the necessity of specific solutions and ideally apply those same problem-solving skills to her role.

4. “You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?”

This ConnectWise question helps you better understand your candidate‘s reasoning skills. Of course, there’s no “right” answer to this funny question. Still, it lets you know how your candidate thinks, prioritizes, and problem-solves.

Additionally, it can loosen the candidate up …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron