We’ve all heard the stories from interviewees about the unconventional questions they’ve been asked by hiring managers – Google for one are famed for their oddball interview approach. But is there really any point in asking a potential employee what type of biscuit they’d be?
Well yes, there is actually. Curveball questions are designed to put a candidate under pressure and they can be a great way to test their creativity, their ability to think logically and their sense of humour. Mastering the art of delivering the perfect curveball question is tricky (even if you’ve plenty of hiring experience under your belt), but get it right and you’ll increase your chances of finding the best person for the job.
If you’re stumped for questions, here’s five types of curveball questions you might want to ask a candidate.
If you were an animal what would you be?
We’ve all heard this one before, so what’s the reason behind its enduring popularity? This is just one example of a question that tests a candidate’s creativity.
There’s no ‘right’ answer: what you’re looking for is the candidate’s ability to think on their feet and respond succinctly with a good sense of humour. Better yet, if the interviewee comes up with a creative way of lining up their answer to the skills required for the job, you know you’re onto a winner.
A couple of alternatives include:
If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
If you were a dog, which breed of dog would you be?
How many traffic lights are there in London?
This one’s all about logic. It’s a favourite of Silicon Valley. Asking candidates to tackle brainteasers like this one is a great way to determine how they might approach difficult tasks.
Once again you’re not looking for a correct answer, just seeking an insight into their thought process.
If the candidate breaks down the problem into logical steps and comes up with a well-reasoned answer, it’s a great sign. However, even those who calmly say they don’t know, but offer to find out, show some initiative.
Some others you might try are:
How many bananas can you fit in a bucket?
Why are manhole covers round?
Where did you last go on holiday?
This might seem a question more suited to the water cooler than the interview room – but that’s exactly the point.
It doesn’t matter whether they went to Malta, Moscow or Morecambe on their travels, this question is all about how well the candidate fares at small talk. Its purpose? To allow you to gain an insight into their personality and what they’re really like.
If you’re going to be working with this person for the foreseeable future, you need to know if you’ll be able to put up with them and how well they’ll fit in with the team.
Similar questions are:
Have you seen any good movies lately?
Tell me about something funny that happened to you at work.
What would you guess is the most searched-for phrase on YouTube?
Believe it or not, this question does a similar job to Tell me about yourself. It lifts the lid on the bubbling cauldron of the candidate’s mind, and allows you to see what floats to the surface.
By being mildly suggestive of not-safe-for-work themes, this question has an added layer of sneakiness. After all, if people are procrastinating on sites like this at work, viewing unsuitable content, they could find themselves in a sticky situation.
How will the candidate cope in the face of uncertainty? You’ll quickly find out if they’re the sort of person who’ll bring up taboo topics when they don’t have to. More sensible candidates will stick to an innocuous answer or offer to find out for you.
Other options :
Tell me a joke.
What do you think BMW stands for?
Sell me this pen.
Finally, we turn to the perennial ‘sales-pitch’ favourite. Questions like these – where you hand the candidate a piece of generic office equipment, and ask them to sell it back to you – are a great way to assess the candidate’s sales skills.
You aren’t just looking to see how the candidate copes under pressure (although that’s important too). What’s key to this task is the candidate’s knowledge of the fundamental principle of selling – it’s about uncovering the customer’s needs and responding to them, not just highlighting the features of the product.
Look out for candidates who demonstrate customer focus, by highlighting the problems the pen can solve. To make it extra difficult, be sure to always select particularly unattractive pens.
Or you might try asking:
Sell me this pencil/paper-clip/protractor… you get the idea.
Now let’s just hope they don’t turn the tables, and throw a curveball back at you. But it would be fair play and a good sign if they do.
And in case you were wondering, the most searched-for phrase on YouTube is “how to…”
Have any favourite curveball questions of your own? Share them with me in the comments or tweet them to me @James_A_Reed.