Your clever interview questions (Page 2)

"How many gas stations are there in the greater Detroit area?"

Shows me to things: 

  1) How they handle getting thrown for a loop

  2) How they break down problems

I want to see them stay calm and have some sane answer for figuring out the problem.  Best answer I got was an instant response of 1282 (the candidate oozed confidence--wish we could have me the salary demands).  

See, this is the kind of "interview question" that frustrates me.  How on earth would any response to that question be used in making an employment decision.  In fact, I think as an interviewer the most appropriate answer to that question would be "That's an interesting question, but I'm wondering what bearing my answer would have on your decision about whether to hire me for this position?"  At least if someone answered that way I'd know that they have a BS detector.

x2, along with the totally obscure like "if you could be any animal, what would you be?"

I mean, if you're hiring a media spokesperson or PR director - maaaaaybe a question like that just to see how quickly they think on their toes and "bridge" to an answer that gets back to the task at hand. 

But otherwise, those questions seem like a cop-out on the interviewer's part, like they don't have enough serious or pertinent questions to ask. Seems like a big waste of everyone's time. 
  

I agree 100% with both of you. The job was for a regional sales manager position and had zero bearing on what the job duties were.  I always prefer keeping questions relevant to job duties and throw in a few situational questions to get a feel for the applicants thought process.

When I had just started working for my current employer back in 1997 they allowed me to interview for a higher position in the department.  I had only been with the company for 4 months and was quite happy with what I was doing, so there was no stress going into the interview.  One of the question was:

HR Person:  So how long do you see yourself working here?

My quick direct answer:  7 years

Everyone in the room is looking at each other, probably thinking "why 7 years?".

HR Person:  Why do you say 7 years?

Me:  Isn't that when you're fully vested?

The hiring manager for the new position was practically on the floor laughing.

Got the job!

I would like to be on a 4 year affair with your wife, also working for your major competitor after got your trust and stolen all your secrets before gettin a better job...

got this from a magazine,

I was once asked "Please tell me the steps you would take in making dinner if I were coming to your house next weekend?"  This was for a job as a nutritionist at a zoo. What they were looking for is planning, safe food handling practices, etc.  I think your answer could tell a lot about a person, if they are orginized, clean, also if they were the type of person who likes to take charge and do things themselves or just have someone else do it. 

I've been interviewing folks for many years and have found that most can BS the standard questions.  I always start off with

"So tell me about yourself"  Once they go to the resume I say for them to stay off the resume.  I can read what's written.  Once they are finished talking about themselves - I then change the interview to a case study.

I'm in Supply Chain management, so I create a case study on a white board and have them solve the problem.  As they solve the puzzle, I'm asking various technical questions.

If the candidate gets the technical stuff right and their story is engaging - it's now a matter of can I relate with them and do they "fit" with the cast of characters I already have. 

Some say I might get a group of the "same" types of people, but we gel well and are highly productive.  So it's a win.

I don't interview people for jobs, but I have sat on some Eagle Scout Board of Reviews.  Here are two that I ask them. 

If you could repeat one merit badge, which one would it be and why? 

A Cub Scout knocks on your door 10 years from now selling popcorn, describe the person who answers the door. 

Only one question is needed during an interview.

"Are you an @sshole?"

I don't care about your degrees, certifications, or years of experience.  I just want to know if you can show up to work on time, do what I ask you to do the first time I ask it, and aren't an @sshole.  Is that so much to ask?

I usually ask a couple of questions when I am interviewing somebody.  I work for a small software\consulting company, about 75 people.  We don't have a training group or anything like that.  I usually ask something along the following:

"Tell me how you are going to get yourself up to speed on the software package, how do you go about learning a new technology?"  

I'm always interested in seeing how people go about learning new things and what their approach is.  Then if I like them, I tell them we do have an onboarding process and not to freak out that I'm going to stick you in a corner by yourself.  

Another question I ask is:

"If I gave you $1 million right now to start a company what would it be?"  

You hear some interesting ones with my second question.  

Then I ask:

"What is your political preference?"

"What is your religion?"

"What is your sexual orientation?"

What if the car does not belong to the applicant?   

My car is spotless and devoid of any clutter, but my office is another story (I work in govt, share an office, and office supplies/equipment/furniture are often hard to come by).  Yet, I am an outstanding employee.  This rather arbitrary test you administer tells you nothing about how the applicant will perform as an employee. 

Some of the stuff I ask is:

What is your strongest attribute?  And I am usually impressed when it's something unusual. Everyone will tell you they are loyal, hardworking, honest and so forth.

What is your weakest area?  People that will never admit to a weakness are generally not being honest with me or themselves. Everyone can always improve in some area and should really be aware of it for themselves.

Why are you the best candidate for this position? Again, something unusual or outside the box at least tells me they've thought about it.

I'm a big fan of open ended questions no matter what the topic.

I also like to challenge them under stress to see how they think on their feet.  One of my favorite questions is "I looked at your resume and I don't really think your qualified for this position.  What do you think?"  (even if they're the most qualified I still like to throw this one at them)

Thank very much for your comment. It help me to think about for my ideals.

  We also find them more same at: Plant manager interview questions

Tks again.

One I always throw in is who has been your favourite manager to work for and the worse, then probe into what was good or bad about the relationship.  If you honestly understand what type of manager you are, you will be able to figure out if they will thrive or perish under you.

Comes back to the old addage "People join companies, but leave because of their manager"

Reading through these questions takes me back to one of my MBA classes.  It was an HR class that was mainly focused on hiring.  Pretty much all of the questions listed could cause an employer to get sued.  Not saying I agree with it, but many of them were not specifically related to job that would be completed and some are easily culturally bias.  Our professor, who had a firm that regularly defended applicants who did not believe they received a fair shake, said the most important thing to know about hiring is that every applicant is a potential law suit.  If you don't hire a minority or woman because you didn't like the top 5 movies they picked, you can bet they'll win in court.  You have to be able to present facts that show the person you hired was more qualified to do the job that you're hiring someone for.  I also saw one person mention, they wanted to know if the applicant would fit in with the current culture.   Imagine telling a judge the reason you didn't hire a minority is because you didn't think they'd "fit in".  Even if you or others on your team are a minority, you might as well starting writing 0's on a check and just ask the judge when to stop.

I think most of this stuff is BS, but if you care about your employer (which may be you), then you'll go talk to an HR Professional or better yet a lawyer who specializes in hiring.

"Why are manhole covers round?"

Definitely caught me off-guard interviewing for an electrical engineering position.

My answer "Because the holes they cover are round"

Heh.

My guess is you have missed out on a lot of great employees because of this silly act you do...

Thank very much for your comment. It help me to think about for my ideals.

Tks again and pls keep posting.

I always want to answer this one with "Swimming.  No matter how much I train, I just can't keep my body position correct."