Examples of Unexpected Interview Questions to Prepare For
When you are going to an interview there are some common things that you can prepare for and some obvious questions that you are likely to get asked. Sometimes though an interview question can throw you off guard, especially if you aren’t prepared for it. These questions aren’t designed to throw you off track so much as to learn more about you and your character by the answers you give. The team at Attic Recruitment took a look at some of the likely, and unlikely questions you could get asked and how you can best answer them.
What kind of interview questions should you prepare for?
There are a set of standard questions that you will normally get asked. These include the sorts of questions that you will have been asked at previous interviews and that you will no doubt have prepared to be asked.
- Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?
- What are your hobbies and interests?
- Why do you want this job?
- What do you know about the company?
- How did you find out about this job?
Then there are the not so standard questions. These ones are designed to find out a little bit more but unfortunately, they do put you on the spot a little. From the absolute bizarre to questions that encourage you to look at things from a different perspective, what sort of questions could you be asked in an interview for a Senior PA position, or any other position involving extensive contact with a specialized team?
Bizarre Or Quirky Interview Questions
“If you were on a desert island and could only bring three things which would they be?”
There are so many different responses to this question from different candidates and unfortunately you can’t second guess the reason for the question or what your response will mean to the interviewer, even with an interview recording. Another example is:
“If someone made a movie about your life who would play you and why?”
Again, what does your answer mean? If you choose someone vibrant, larger than life and a diva does this reflect on you as a person? Or, if you choose a quiet and unassuming character how does this reflect on you? It can be difficult to know what the best response is.
Corporate Interview Questions
It tends to be the larger corporations that will think outside of the box when it comes to these questions. They have large HR departments staffed with personnel from all sorts of backgrounds and their extensive experience means that they can have some quite forward- thinking attitudes to recruitment. Here are a few examples of corporate interview questions.
This was asked in an interview at DropBox:
“If you’re the CEO, what are the first three things you check about the business when you wake up?”
And this was asked at Hubspot:
“If I gave you $40,000 to start a business, what would you start?”
Why do these interview questions get asked?
It’s hard for an employer to know from a CV if you are the person for the job. While you may look like an excellent candidate on paper, there are things that they want to find out about you. Will you fit in with the rest of the team? Are you likely to be someone who goes the extra mile and are you going to be worth their investment or will you move on quickly? While nothing is fool-proof, by asking certain questions, the interviewer can get an idea of the character and mind-set of a candidate.
The best solution in every situation is to be yourself. Just as the interviewer wants you to be the right fit for them, you want the company to be the right fit for you. There is no good in pretending to be someone you are not for a role that you are going to have to work to live up to.
