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I have another one. "If you were an animal what kind of animal would you be?"
I ended up getting this job. It was a temporary job at university and the only reason I applied was that you got summer housing if you were hired and I needed a place to stay during the summer session. I ended up finding out that the people who hired me were a "fun" bunch that always put one stupid question at the end of everything involving asking questions (not just job interviews) that they did. The job was working on the housing staff of the dorms so likewise when we had check-in at the start of summer session the stupid question they picked was asking everyone's blood type (we of course didn't need it as we just needed to ask their name, for ID and what building they were supposed to be in then give them their keys and directions). Keep in mind this is asking dozens and dozens of people throughout the day and wasting time. I didn't ask that question though the other "fun" members of the staff did.
Also, as far as how I answered that first stupid question I said an ant because they are small, work hard and can carry much more than their load. I thought that was a fairly good answer for such a stupid question, but even if it was it's not like that can get me anywhere in life lol.
Worst question ever asked on an interview (yes, this actually happened, from a recruiter, of a national firm): "What do you do if your boss throws a stapler at you?"
Every interview question is ****ing stupid other than realistic questions regarding experience, skillset, and pay scale. Most HR departments use canned interview questions written by some dumb company that the employer hires to get the "best of the best" but everyone in HR knows its dumb and just goes through the motions like the corporate slaves that they are.
What ever happened to just walking in the damn place and talking with the manager one on one like a human being?
I was interviewing at a famous animation movie studio and the interviewer asked me "What's your favorite movie? Not including one of ours." And I just stared at her and laughed it off, saying the question makes really no sense. She laughed back, with me, rolled her head back as if it were the funniest thing, and said, "No, really, we won't judge you because you can't use one of our films. It's just to get to know what sort of person you are, if you like drama, fantasy..."
Then she asked me what color I'd be. I was pretty annoyed at that.
I gave some dumb answer(s) and she proceeded to ask me why that one, why that color, etc, and that she liked the film too and that I was clever for my answers. It ended up being an okay interview through-and-through, but that moment was so awkward. I ended up moving on in the interview process, only to decline as I found a job that was much better for where I wanted to be.
I was at an interview for a pretty traditional manufacturing company and was being asked very normal questions that were either skills-based or behavioral based so was somewhat thrown off-guard by one of her questions. The interviewer suddenly asked me, "If you were a room in a house, which room would you be?" I had to think for a couple of seconds on that one, but answered that I would be the den since I am approachable, informal and so on. She must have liked that answer in addition to the others I gave since I got the job.
I did have another interview where I was asked multiple strange questions with only a few that actually pertained to my skills/background. I was asked about the most unusual pet I have had (tarantula), what kind of tree I would be (maple) and other oddness. I guess it was a fun interview but I am not sure how they ever decided on who to hire if they interviewed everyone like this!
I haven't read through all ten pages of this thread yet, so hopefully I'm the first to mention this:
Look at it from the eyes of the recruiter... It's actually fun to ask candidates these types of questions.
Please understand that I've never done it maliciously, or because a company told me to. There were a couple times I was getting along well with a candidate and asked them if I could throw out a trick question. Of course they were skeptical, but it helped that this wasn't a "button up" job under a gigantic corporate umbrella. I promised to show them previous answers if they played along. Yeah, it was a little out of the ordinary, but the concept of trick questions absolutely fascinates me. I got to ask the odd questions and didn't feel dirty afterwards.
I can only imagine how a legitimate recruiter feels. What a brutal job. Sifting through all those resumes and pushing candidates through like cattle, asking the same questions each time. How else are you supposed to break the monotony?
Every interview question is ****ing stupid other than realistic questions regarding experience, skillset, and pay scale. Most HR departments use canned interview questions written by some dumb company that the employer hires to get the "best of the best" but everyone in HR knows its dumb and just goes through the motions like the corporate slaves that they are.
What ever happened to just walking in the damn place and talking with the manager one on one like a human being?
You left out one important one. It's questions about experience, skillset, payscale, and cultural fit that are important.
A couple people mentioned that most of these questions aren't stupid. And they're right. Most of the questions aren't stupid... they're mostly illegal, deceptive, difficult or simply annoying for the candidates.
I wrote a spec article a couple years ago on some of the creative ways hiring managers get information on candidates during interviews. Here's one way to break it down, with the boring category first:
Legitimate Job-Related Questions
--How long have you worked in the industry?
--If a customer were to get angry, how would you handle the situation?
--We recently upgraded to Office 2013. Are you familiar with this version?
--You might be expected to work overtime on short notice. Will that be a problem?
Blatantly Illegal Questions --Are you married?
--Do have have children?
--How old are you?
--Do you have any disabilities?
Skirting the Law
--Is this your maiden name?
--What is your experience with pre-teens?
--Do you plan on retiring soon?
Open-Ended/Sneaky Questions
Direct questions don't reveal much. These include "Are you going to quit after five months?" or "Are you a thief?" or "Are you a hard worker?" Instead...
--Where do you see yourself in five years?
--If you won the lottery, would you keep working here?
--What's your stance on borrowing printer paper from the office if you replace it in a day or two?
--Do you like your current job?
--What do you have to offer our company?
--What would you do if a coworker suggested you take an extended lunch hour?
Sneaky Tricks
Sometimes questions aren't even necessary.
--Some hiring managers put pictures of kids on their desks in hopes of getting a response.
--An easy one is checking for wedding rings.
--Some hiring managers leave candidates waiting near the receptionist. They might say something negative or do something telling, like playing a game on a cell phone with the volume up.
--One senior client manager had other people on the hiring team do the initial screening. He would then come in for round two and say something negative about the team, to see whether the candidate would blurt out an agreement.
Bizarre Behavior
--One hiring manager brought a disposable cup of water with him to the interview. Applicants were only considered for the job if, upon leaving the office, they picked up the cup and threw it away.
--Another hiring manager would leave his door open a crack. He wanted to hire assertive people would walk in without being asked.
--One recruiting manager would conduct interviews at restaurants. He would show up late, order booze and secretly ask the waitress to mess up the candidates' orders.
Riddles, Puzzles and Generally Stupid Questions
Unfortunately, these can still have merit, depending on the job title. They can gauge how fast candidates think on their feet. Google's love of this type of interviewing even led to the book "Are You Smart Enough To Work At Google."
--How many hamburgers were sold at McDonald's last year?
--How many dollar bills would it take to create a stack that goes from this floor to the ceiling?
--How would you weigh a desk without a scale?
--You woke up to find out you had turned into a turtle. What's the first thing you would do?
One Google executive actually said these types of questions are a "complete waste of time." But you know they'll keep showing up in interviews.
You left out one important one. It's questions about experience, skillset, payscale, and cultural fit that are important.
The problem is the "what is your favorite color;" "if your life was a film, what type of film would it be;" "if you were an animal, which one would you pick;" et all are these cultural fit questions even though there is no real value added from knowing the answers from these compared to asking about job related questions that you can see if they are truly a fit rather than a drinking buddy. The problem with the questions they ask now are they are dining buddy questions that don't add value to the team you'll work with.
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