HappyLifestyleJournal
Job interviews can be pretty stressful, but they are an essential step towards getting a job. Most questions are standard, but what sometimes can happen is your interviewer asking you questions you couldn’t have prepared for in any way, as you couldn’t have expected such a situation.
Things get really weird when they ask you questions that are seemingly irrelevant or utterly complicated. In those cases, even the best prepared interviewees can get confused and lose self-confidence.
Here are the 10 weirdest questions asked at real job interviews:
1. “If you were asked to unload a 747 full of jellybeans, what would you do?”
This silly question was thought of at Bose, when people were applying for an IT support manager job. Realistically, it seems that this question has nothing to do with the position people were applying for, but the idea behind the question might have been to test the appliers’ problem solving skills and their ability to think of an answer to a question they have never hoped for. Managers usually have to deal with lots of unexpected problems, and their skills to calmly assess the issue and come up with a solution are essential.
2. “Are you more of a hunter or gatherer?”
Interviewers from Dell asked this very same question, and the position they were interviewing for was – account manager. You may be wondering what this question has to do with the job people were applying for. Well, if you are a hunter, then you are probably motivated to finish the job and then quickly move on to the next project, while gatherers show ability to gather more clients and develop long term business relationship which will also be good for the company. What employers are actually (almost always) looking for is the combination of the two.
3. “What is your least favorite thing about humanity?”
When people went to an interview for an operations associate at ZocDoc, they were asked this question. It can strike you as odd, but employers really take the answers seriously. This is actually their way to see if you’re a person who likes to work in a team towards achieving company goals or not. Companies that ask such questions probably work hand in hand with psychologists so you could be tested without even realizing it.
4. “If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer?”
This is a question Dropbox asked its potential candidates. It was actually a good way for them to see whether you know how to prioritize and how good your organization skills are, as well as whether you know how to find your way through the mess.
5. “Who’s your favorite Disney Princess?”
An interviewer from a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream shop asked potential workers this question which is actually well thought in order to discover the personality of the candidates. Your preferences when it comes to movie and cartoon characters can say a lot about your personality. And then, employers are more likely to hire someone who prefers the hardworking and smart Cinderella, than the naïve Snow White.
6. “What did you have for breakfast?”
Banana Republic asked interviewees this question that sounds more like something a friend would ask than something job-related. But the answer to this question is actually supposed to show whether an applicant is friendly and has good social skills or is only focused on the job.
7. “How lucky are you and why?”
Luck is actually what happens when you are well prepared and are given an opportunity to show that preparedness. When asking this question in an interview for a content manager position at Airbnb, the interviewer probably wanted to see if you’re mentally and emotionally equipped for the job, and if you are able to benefit the company.
8. “How honest are you?”
At Allied Telesis, the interviewers probably just truly wanted to know whether the candidate is honest. The trick is in responding truthfully. If you say you’re always honest, you’d probably be lying.
9. “Describe to me the process and benefits of wearing a seatbelt.”
The interviewer at Active Network probably asked this question to check the candidates’ viewpoint on the importance of safety. Even though this question has nothing to do with the job interviewees were applying for, it shows the personality of the candidate and the way he/she thinks.
10. “Who would win in a fight between Spider-Man and Batman?”
Potential employees at Stanford University were asked this question, probably so that the interviewer would see how the candidate is thinking and whether he/she is able to critically decide upon the answer based on the given information.
