HR’s funny side: 5 dumb interview questions
May 15, 2008 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Behavior, Communication, Hiring, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Candidates reveal some of the silliest questions they’ve heard in interviews. We’ll have to guess at their times for the 40-yard dash when leaving the interview room.
The questions, from a Monster.com survey of 3,000 job candidates, are followed by our even sillier suggested responses:
“Why aren’t you married yet.”
(Because everyone I’ve met so far ends up being like you.)
“What church do you attend?”
(The one with the pews in it.)
“What would you do if I gave you an elephant?”
(I’d ask, “What, no pooper-scooper, too?”)
“If you could be a dog, what kind of dog would you be?”
(The kind that bites you.)
“Is that your natural hair color?”
(No, actually, I’m bald.)
Tags: HR, interviews, monster.com
May 19th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
My sister was asked this question on a Federal interview:
If you could be any kind of fruit, what kind of fruit would you be? She thought they were joking and
she started laughing…..She didn’t get the job….. thank God.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I was actually asked in an interview, “If you were a tomato, what kind would you be?” – now that took me for a loop!
June 9th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I actually like the question about what type of dog would you be, you can tell alot about a person’s personality by what kind of dog they would be. Every one knows the difference between a small poodle and a bassett hound, or a terrier and a great dane. What kind fits better on your team, a pit bull or a beagle?
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 am
I was once asked:
“How would you describe the color yellow to a blind person?”
July 16th, 2008 at 10:56 am
One person on our staff always insists on asking applicants, “If you were an animal, what would you be?” I’ve repeatedly told her I didn’t see the value in asking that question. She reminded me that one applicant answered it by saying she’d like to be a cat who can nap in the sun all day. We ended up hiring her and, not surprisingly, she turned out to be lazy and we eventually had to let her go.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
we often ask “what cartoon or comic book character best reflects who you are and why?” This is a great way to get a sense of the individual, how creative and fast thinking theyare, their sense of humour and their self knowledge. The character itself is not important, the candidates reasons for”why” are very revealing.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I once had a prospective employer as me if I planned to have any more children (a big no-no!).
I said, “why, are you volunteering for the job?”
I didn’t get hired, thank goodness, or I might have a dozen kids by now!
October 30th, 2008 at 10:24 am
i was once asked why i had no head.
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I asked an applicant to give me one good reason why I should hire him. His response”you would be a damn fool if you didn’t”. He worked for me for 20 years!
January 4th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Under UK law, three of those questions would be illegal because they would be considered discriminatory – leaving just the elephant and the dog question!
I was always advised and trained to ask questions which we relevant to the job being interviewed for. Some of these way-out psych questions seem to now be being picked up by the amateurs with little though for the scienece behind them.
I have used the dog question on a few occasions, and as Dan points out its useful as a from the outside personality test at the next level, when you aks them to expand on why
February 9th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Bob: I LOVE your response!
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Jacob, Why? Did you forget to put your head on that day? lol
April 20th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Ive never had a “dumb question” in an interview but did have an interviewer start giving me a pop quiz when she found out I was preparing to take the SPHR exam. I found it rather rude and asked her if that was the new SPHR testing site. Needless to say Im not working for that company.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I was once asked if I liked what the interviewer was wearing? I had the feeling she was maybe hitting on me.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I was once asked if I drank. I found out after I was hired that it was actually a pre-requisite for the job. After a big sale day, everyone got together in the main office and had drinks. It was a very long standing and time honored tradition at this cattle auction company.!
August 11th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Right out of college, a well known bank representative asked me to make my way through a maze he had just drawn. This “Maze” was basically a slightly curved snake. To this day, I have no idea the meaning behind it. Later, in that same interview, the rep asked “if you were an animal in the jungle, what would you be and what would you do at night?” My answer: A hippo and I’d do things like eat and stay in the water to keep cool until I had to quickly move my 300 lb body in order to get the food/protect myself.
I didn’t get the job.
August 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
An interviewer once asked me if I dreamt in color or in black and white. When I told him I dreamt in color, he nodded his head knowingly, reflected on it a moment, then moved onto the next question. I quickly chalked him up to being a weirdo, and was glad to receive my rejection letter!
August 12th, 2009 at 7:06 am
As a military wife I was asked several tims if we were getting transferred soon. I was asked in one interview if I had kids and who would be watching them if I got the job.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Well Thats an illegal question!
Anyway I was given a “pop quiz” on some HR laws and things that I was studying for to take my PHR exam. I was a bit put off by the quiz and asked if this was the new testing method. I told her I did not feel the need to answer sample test questions but rather explain my experience. Hmmm-I didn’t get the job but that’s ok b/c I did not want it.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Great topic, and some terrific posts. But some of you guys are pretty anal and, I’m assuming you are Americans, yiou tend to state the obvious. If we stuck with ‘legal’ and only hired people against ‘objective’ criteria and ignored our natural instincts, the commercial world would collapse. The most interesting comment I got from an interviewer, a very successful Sales Director, for a job as a pharmaceutical rep was: “I have the feeling you and your father do not get on. Why am I getting that feeling?” Total ‘out there, and bordering on offensive, but he hired me and saisd later he liked people put on the spot to see how they handled unexpected difficult situations. I like the theory, but didn’t enjoy the experience.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
have you ever been constipated?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 pm
have you ever been constapatedededed?
have you ever kissed a monkey?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
do you like bob marley?
have you ever wanted to eat a person?
have you ever kissed anyone?