February 7, 2014 at 5:53 am
A guy I've worked with for about 12 years was asked on an interview, "What is your biggest fear?"
He answered, "Kryptonite."
He got the job.
Mike Hinds Lead Database Administrator1st Source BankMCP, MCTS
February 7, 2014 at 6:22 am
akthar hussain (2/7/2014)
A question i received on a pre-interview test:How do you eat an elephant?
I believe the best answer to this is the classic
One bite at a time'
Jason Carter
Tampa, Florida
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young" - Henry Ford
February 7, 2014 at 6:36 am
The goal of these questions seems to pull you out of your comfort zone, place you in some kind of an unforeseen situation.
I do not remember who said it, that the best way to know someone is a game. In my view, this is a game.
February 7, 2014 at 6:46 am
I'm of the very strong opinion that these novelty questions are basically ego stroking on the part of interviewers. There is absolutely NO scientific or statistical reason to expect they measure any real world performance attributes, of have any predictive behavior whatsoever.
My concern, if asked a bunch of these, would be that this is an organization governed too much by woo and flimflam.
Over the years various aptitude tests, honesty tests, character tests have come into fashion and eventually faded. They tended to work on the theory that 'clever' questions, or looking at what colors they liked could elicit real information about the applicant. Typically the only 'scientific' testing of these was alleged evaluations clothed in proprietary secrecy by the vendors of the tests. Typically when and if they were exposed to REAL scientific testing the spectacular results somehow disappeared.
...
-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
February 7, 2014 at 7:02 am
jay-h (2/7/2014)
I'm of the very strong opinion that these novelty questions are basically ego stroking on the part of interviewers. There is absolutely NO scientific or statistical reason to expect they measure any real world performance attributes, of have any predictive behavior whatsoever.
If an interview was made up of nothing but these questions then I tend to agree, but one or two of these questions can provide valuable information as to how a candidate thinks. While the question may be silly and the answer inconsequential, how the candidate tackles the problem can speak volumes about how they will solve problems at your company when they don't immediately know the answer.
The answer doesn't matter as much as the method in which they get to that answer.
Jason Carter
Tampa, Florida
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young" - Henry Ford
February 7, 2014 at 7:04 am
I've asked all of these:
What's your favorite video game (movie, book, etc), and why?
What would your mutant superhero power be?
What's your zombie plan?
The answers to these questions never really mattered. The reason I asked it was to help elicit more 'real' answers from the rest of my questions. Many people are clearly nervous when being interviewed... setting the tone with a 'silly' question helps them relax, and feel more comfortable giving detailed answers to the real questions. Other people are just too perfect in their responses (or too canned); they need a non-sequitor to take them out of their script and, again, provide real answers.
February 7, 2014 at 7:14 am
I was once asked "If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?" I was 25 years old, and the person that asked me was a couple years younger than me. I was caught way off guard and finally, after a wide I look and a lot of stuttering, I told him that I would be a rabbit, because I had a pet rabbit at the time and it was all I could think of.
I got the job, and then I had to sit next to him for the next couple years. If I got an interview question like that now, I might recognize the interviewer as an arrogant jerk and not accept the job. As I have gotten older, I realize that I am interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing me, and I have become more choosy as to where I work.
After I got the job, I asked the other interviewer what was up with that. She said he read that someplace and wanted to give it a try. Apparently, the "right" answer was a chameleon, because you can change as the situation requires. And she said they did get a lot of scary answers to that question, too, that made them wonder about the other candidates. It worked out, though.
February 7, 2014 at 7:18 am
Kryptonite! That's great!
February 7, 2014 at 7:36 am
I have been asked some odd interview questions. I have told interviewers the questions were stupid and I would not work for a firm that had them for an employee. I usually just walk out. One of those offered me a position and I declined.
Interview questions should be fairly straightforward without too many wrinkles. If someone wants to know how I react in unexpected situations, they should give me a real life example and ask me to show them. Or, ask me to give them an example from my experience.
One thing about goofy questions is that they only go one way. No interviewer I know would appreciate being asked what kind of cereal they would be.
BTW, the cereal question would be fine if I were a food scientist interviewing at Kellogg.
Now, if they want me to describe how I would set up a system to track cereal manufacture and sales; that would be fine. 🙂
Tom
February 7, 2014 at 7:38 am
I like the oddball questions. I think well outside the box. (My current boss once said, "You're so good at thinking outside the box, you don't even know there's a box.") Questions like these demonstrate that for a perspective employer.
These questions are like the Zen Koans. (e.g. What is the sound of one hand clapping?) They reveal how your mind works. The actual answer you give is not as important as what your answer says about how you solve problems, how you handle the unexpected, and even how well you might get along with people with different ideas.
I prefer to hire (and be hired) for the way one's mind works, not the particular facts in it at the time. Knowledge can be acquired easily, wisdom not so easily.
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February 7, 2014 at 7:44 am
I always liked to ask someone interviewing me what they felt was the worst part about where they were currently working. This always seemed to throw them off a bit, but I did get some interesting and what seemed honest answers.
This is the thing, the interview goes both ways. You can't just sit there and answer their questions without a few of your own. So if *they* can throw out weirdo stuff, so can you, and while it might be a risk, you do stand a chance of being remembered afterward.
February 7, 2014 at 7:49 am
Manic Star (2/7/2014)you do stand a chance of being remembered afterward.
Valuable point!
February 7, 2014 at 8:16 am
A long time ago, I interviewed for a job in statistics. The first several minutes of the interview, I was asked a series of statistics questions. Near the end, he asked about some principle and if I could give a brief description about it. I thought for a minute, thinking that the name sounded familiar, but I really had not heard of it and I told him so. He asked a few more questions and we were finished. Then, he went back to that question and told that I was one of the few to get it "right" because he made it up. He was testing to see if I would be willing to show ignorance, especially when it was true ignorance.
Christopher Reed, MCT, MCSD, MCPD, MSpec, MTA, MCTS
"The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient."
February 7, 2014 at 8:21 am
This book is an interesting read on these types of interview questions.
How Would You Move Mount Fuji by William Poundstone
http://www.amazon.com/How-Would-Move-Mount-Fuji/dp/0316778494
February 7, 2014 at 8:22 am
Manic Star (2/7/2014)you do stand a chance of being remembered afterward.
you may just annoy them..potentially your time wasted by taking that risk
here's a good question for developers:
When do you fix a broken window?
I found it really interesting to research this one.
(“Broken Window” is a concept discussed by the authors of the “Pragmatic Programmers” and originates from a theory/research on urban decay.).
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