Call them silly, crazy or inane but here are the top ten inane interview questions recruiters and hiring managers ask candidates in job interviews. Some see value in them, but the way most recruiters or hiring managers phrase them and react to them seems like a time filler at best or a way to trick candidates at worst.
Irrespective, if you pay attention to the prospect of responding to these silly interview questions interviewers ask, you will not be flummoxed and face the situation with poise.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of crazy interview questions that people ask during job interviews, but this top ten inane interview questions list should give you the flavor and help you prepare.
Top Ten Inane Interview Questions
If you are an animal, what will you be?
We are sure that some psychologist somewhere has an answer to the value of this question. But most interviewers may not even know the purpose of the question, but sometimes throw it in any way. The best way to deal with it is preparation and answering it as though you are thinking on the spot.
Our suggestion is to pick an obscure animal that the interviewer may have never heard of and that way their preconceived notions won’t cloud their impression of your choice. For example, if someone is familiar with an animal they have preconceived notions – a rat spreads disease, a pig is dirty, a fox is cunning or whatever.
So pick a non-native species and then sound off your knowledge and see the interviewer’s blank looks. For example, pick a Dingo if you are interviewing in Europe or the United States. Pick an Armadillo if you are interviewing in Asia. And show off your Wikipedia acquired knowledge.
What is your biggest Weakness?
The joke is that most interviewees pick something like “Perfection” and “Working too Hard” or something that is typically a strength, but they express it as their weakness. The question serves no real purpose as most interviewees prepare for this question. (If you are not one of them, please do spend a few minutes to come up with something harmless and yet answers the question.)
For example, don’t say “tardiness” – as even though it may be true, it will ruin your chances of getting the job. Don’t say, “I yell when I am frustrated” which again is a sayonara to the job.
Instead, pick something and practice a line or two of explanation.
Tell me a Song that best describes You?
First of all, you may not like music. And even if you did, it could be a genre that is not mainstream. The rationale for asking this question may be to evoke spontaneous reactions and at the moment thinking, but you are prepared for such questions, it will be a song – no pun intended.
Every song choice may be colored by the perceptions and preferences of the interviewers. Unbeknownst to you if you picked an R. Kelly song that may not go well given the serious allegations against the singer. Or Michael Jackson for that matter. Another song may be perceived as too dark or too bubbly. If the answers to these questions were by a computer, it would be one thing. Oh, forget it – the AI bias is a real thing.
If you are stranded on a remote island, what are the three things you will pick?
This question is silly because as though you would have the choice of picking three items before marooning on a remote island. If such an option were available, you might as well stick to staying home.
Nonetheless, these type of questions, while not useful, do play a role. So, think about this ahead of time and pick items that showcase your personality. Perhaps if you said, NY Time Crossword Puzzle, it may show your intelligence. Or if you pick a desalinating machine, it may convey your foresight. Or you want to be silly, say a box full of Cheetos.
If someone makes a movie about you, who will play your role?
You are neither famous or notorious, and we don’t think most of our lives will attract a bidding war from Hollywood studios, and Matt Damon or Morgan Freeman is ready to showcase you on the silver screen.
The question is inane because we all have certain notions about an actor and what if you named someone who is low on the totem pole of the interviewers’ favorite actors?
Again, to play along think about this question ahead of time or if you never watch movies, then please say so and pick a thespian from the theater world.
Can you sell me this pen?
This inane question is typically in the realm of sales interviews. These days if you are an enterprise sales person, you are going to prepare well and facilitate a solution-driven consultative sale. You are not going to be a snake oil salesperson or the carnival barker selling something on the spot. But yet the perceived wisdom of this question is supposed to see you act at the moment.
There is a story about a person who took the pen, put in in his pocket and tried to walk out. When the interviewer said, “hey, you are taking my pen,” the interviewee said, “Well, you gave it to me. If you want it back, I can sell it to you for a dollar.”
How do you weigh an elephant without using a scale?
This is one of the genres of questions that are a part of real life interview questions. (Others are “Why are manholes round?” “How much water is in the Pacific ocean?” and “How many balloons fit in this room.”)
You can’t practice for these questions beyond a point. You can google some of the questions and see if there is a pattern and what can you come up with.
A potential answer to how do you weigh an elephant is here. {Put the elephant in a boat and mark how far down in the water the boat went. Then put a bunch of smaller objects (that weigh less than 50 pounds) in the boat until it is pushed under water the same amount. Add up the weight of all of the small objects, and that’s the weight of the elephant.}
And the answer to balloons in a room or water in Pacific ocean can be as simple as “It depends on the size of each balloon,” and “depends on the size of the bucket.” Of course, there are answers to these inane questions that are more scientific.
If you were shrunk to the size of a Pen and put in a blender, how would you get out?
This is a variation of a question the masters on Wall Street are supposed to ask candidates in interviews. And a person had perhaps the most scientific sound answer in one of the responses on Glassdoor – “Run around in the blender fast enough, so the centrifugal force pushes you out.”
Make google your friend and look at riddle sites, interview question sites, and then hope and pray that your silly question is something that you can address reasonably.
If you were offered a free full-page ad in the newspaper how would you describe yourself in six words or less?
If you are a smartass copywriter, you may come with something smart. Or an SNL (Saturday Night Live) writer. So, again the question can take many other forms like “Describe yourself in less than six words.”
You can try to come up with some answers that sound reasonable or look for an alternative job.
Or if you have the patience, here are a few funny phrases for the six words or less challenge.
Why should we hire you?
Another crazy question as the entire interview process is meant to answer that question. Each answer to this question can be perceived on a scale – “Boastful” to “Lacks Self-confidence.” All you can do is try to come up with an elevator pitch for such a question and hope it resonates.