What's the hardest or most obscure question you've been asked in an interview?

I have not had many interviews, but I always hated that “So why do you feel we should hire you/be a part of this company?”. It’s so vague and you don’t know what type of answer they are looking for exactly.

“Without leaving this room, without using a telephone or computer, without knowing how many stories tall this building is – how would you estimate its height in feet.”

“Do you have any visible tattoos” – while interviewing for a position as a flight attendant.

The only thing I could think to say was “Do you see any?”

I don’t have any tattoos, but that question kind of threw me.

I ended up being too short for the job. :^(

@jaytkay hard! what was the job?

@jaytkay By tying you up and interrogating you until you give me the info I need to answer that question, you unreasonable dolt!

@ninahenry Database and web site programming & support. They were testing problem-solving skills

@Seek_Kolinahr I thought they got rid of the hight requirement?

Would you call the FBI if you knew that a fellow employee was stealing from the company?

I answered, “No, I would inform my manager.”

I was wrong and didn’t get the job. The job was at Spencer’s Gifts in the mall… 0_o

@papayalily Sure, on paper. They can’t say you’re too short, but when was the last time you saw a 5’ 0” stewardess?

Last week someone asked me why I would be hard to work with. I was so thrown off by this and answered something like “I tend to take a leadership role and some people may find that hard to work with.” I don’t know if that was the right answer though.

@jaytkay

Wouldn’t you go to the window and look for the building’s shadow?

@Seek_Kolinahr I don’t know, I haven’t flown in over 5 years. Plus, I’m kinda oblivious to stuff like that.

“How did you come up with your email address?” what does that have to do with a job interview? I don’t know but that caught me off guard.

“What is your religion?” Most religion based company(or a company where all of their leader are religionist/religion-fanatic) just won’t accept your proposal if your an atheist.

And “How much you expect for your salary”. This one is hard to answer. They can take advantage from you if you ask too low and underestimate you if you as too high. So average salary(even for rookie) would be the best idea.

The toughest question for me to answer always is when the interviewer asks me why I’ve been through so many jobs in such a short time. I do switch jobs alot when I feel I am not making fair money for my skill level or for various other reasons.

The hardest one I’ve been asked (while interviewing for a hotel management position): “In this position, who is the most important? The owner, the employees, or the guests?”

The question I always ask while interviewing people: “If, for whatever reason, the job isn’t offered, what will you do next?”

@Pied_Pfeffer The guests?

What’s the correct answer to your question? Why do you ask that question?

That’s easy: “What would you bring to a colored lunch?”—that is, a potluck with a chromatic theme, a specified color—such as blue.

I always ask one technical-competence question (when interviewing writers and editors, that’s a grammar question), what they think they will need to learn in order to do this job, what scares them about it and what they expect to love about it, and, at the end, what they’d like me to remember about them.

(I really loathe the “tell me about a time when you…” questions and the “what is your worst/your best…” questions. I try to get at that sort of information in other more natural and more revealing ways.)

My advice is to pause a moment if you need to think before answering, to say you don’t know when you don’t know, and to show your enthusiasm for the position you’re applying for. Good luck.

@gravity Not only does it not have anything to do with the job, but it can often be very personal and not something you’d share with a friend you weren’t terribly close to, much less a potential employer and someone you’ve known for a whole 15 minutes.

I always hated “where do you see yourself in five years” It’s just tricky and manipulative. I’d prefer they just outright ask if this job would be a long or short term thing for me and how I plan on advancing in the next few years.

I hate this question “What doyou consider your faults are?” I always stumble with that because I really want the job… I said I didn;t have any once and the person looked at me funny. SO now I say I am too anal. LOL. I want things perfect.

@hug_of_war Definitely. Especially when it’s like, at a fro-yo stand, and if this is what, in your heart of hearts, you truly want to be doing in 5 years, you’ve probably got some other issues going on that will get in the way of you being a dream employee.

@Frenchfry I say that I worry that I’m not an effective communicator, so sometimes I’ll take more time than really necessary to make sure everyone’s on the same page.

@papayalily Hey that is a really good one. I have to remember that one.

“Why did you leave your last job?” always made me uncomfortable. Fortunately, I haven’t had to interview for a job in over fix years and sincerely hope I won’t ever have to again.

I am self employed in a design biz. in partnership with a friend. I have not had a ‘real’ interview in years.

Thank God! lol

I was hired this spring to run a local store in my tourist community on weekends.

As a regular in the hub the owners just approached me and said they really liked me and thought I would be perfect for the job. Working out perfectly and lots of fun and freedom. :-)

I have always flown by the seat of my pants, so to speak, so far, I’m still flying and managing to stay out of the rat race and live well doin’ my own thing, just the way I like it!

I was asked three riddles, my guess is to see my problem solving capabilities. However, I’m not sure why the boss chose these particular three. In any case I got 2 out 3 right. I didn’t know the answer for number 3. My guess was a mentally handicap person because they slur their words, it’s just dribble, but the correct answer was silence. I still got the job.

1. “If I say “Everything I tell you is a lie,” am I telling you the truth or a lie?”

2. “If you look you cannot see me. And if you see me you cannot see anything else. I can make anything you want happen, but later everything goes back to normal. What am I?”

3. “What is broken every time it’s spoken?”

In the days when I was looking for work, they were allowed to ask any kind of discriminatory or personal question. There were many that I found disconcerting, like “How do I know you won’t get pregnant and leave?” or “Do you object to working with a colored person?” or “What religion are you?” (no Jews or Mormons allowed).

Man! Some employers are such asses.
I used to ask: Do you have any Matlab experience? What electrical/electronics courses did you take? Tell me about your PhD thesis.
Got any questions for me?

No BS, no tricks, no riddles.

@jaytkay How would I estimate the height of the building?.
I’d throw him out the window and time how long it took to see his splat. Then use height = ½ at^2 .
Do I get the job?

@papayalily “Guests” (hotel customers)

Q: “If, for whatever reason, the job isn’t offered, what will you do next?” – There really isn’t a correct answer, as everyone’s situation is different. Occasionally, their response shed insight as to whether they were just trying to find a way out of their current existing working condition. There are people who may like their job, but want to quit their boss. (And there is nothing wrong with that either; I’ve been in that situation myself.)

@Jabe73 Ha! I’ve asked that!!! It was really more to see if they would “burn out” fast….so I think as long as the answers make sense, no biggie.

@Samantha_Rae It’s always good to frame a “need” as a strength. Like for instance Q: What do you feel is an “area for growth”? A: I have excessive expectations of my work team.

@ninahenry These examples are kinda good. Good Luck! …although I have no idea what Lush is…

@worriedguy

LOL…the terminal velocity of annoying interviewers.

I had an interview at Newark Airport. My interviewer took me to the bar and asked how much beer can you drink and still find your way home?

I’m not sure how many it was but I slept the entire flight to Pittsburgh and for the whole commuter flight back to my car.

I worked for the company for 14 years. Part of the Radiation Training course was a night out at a country bar. I got back to the hotel at 3:00 AM and took the final exam at 9:00 AM.

They said that if you got a passing grade with a hangover, you knew your stuff. I got 90%

“Who the hell did you blow to get your last job?”

“Are you dynamic” (i just didn’t know what to say here), and “what kind of animal would you be and why” (just weird IMO).

@NaturallyMe That second one is just to see if you can think on your feet. Another version is which tree would you be.

@papayalily Is that why those questions are asked? Thank you. We just ask “Give me an example of when you have had to make an immediate decision and what was the result.” “Give me an example of when you needed to take more time to come to a decision and why.”

Oh yes, and a really stupid one that was asked once was “can you work”? Sheesh…...

I got a work trial ^_^

i hate ” Have you ever been convicted of a Felony OR Misdemeanor.” I try to get away with “nope, no Felonies” but usually it goes ” Misdemeanors?” “A few” “What are they?” “UGHH seriously ALL OF THEM? isn’t this kinda redundant, what’s all this got to do with making French Fries? Screw This! I QUIT!

The single hardest question I get asked is “What are your salary expectations?” There is no good answer. If I aim high, they’ll think they should go for a “cheaper” applicant, if I aim low I won’t get properly rewarded for my work, and it’s hard to find that sweet spot. It’s all a stupid game, and the candidate always gets screwed.

annddddd, I got the job! YEAH BABY!

Congratulations! Please keep us posted to let us know how it is going.

@Pied_Pfeffer thank you lovely jelly friend! so far- best job I’ve ever had :D

Yay! Congrats