[B]What is the strangest question you have been asked in a job interview??[/B]

Larianne

I know this is 'After Hours' and meant to be non-work related but someone just asked me the question. 'Has anyone asked you a strange question during a job interview'. The strangest question I have been asked was 'what are your bad points/traits'. I know it can be a pretty much standard interview question but like ya don't want to be putting yourself down in interviews, i never know how to answer that!! So yeah anything stranger than that???

Besprechen

i think youre supposed to say something like..

"my bad trait is.. i tend to spend most of my working day on boards.ie"

and then turn it into a positive...

"but in doing so this enables me to keep up with latest technology, competition to the business, etc so we retain a competitive advantage over our nearest rivals"

you'll walk the interview then

tman

deeply personal questions about my family and schooling. :mad:

"I'm sorry, but i don't see how this has any relevence to the job position you're offering" was my reply

i swear to god that job was in the bag up until the moment the chick from HR walked into the room.
i'd been interviewed seperately by 2 of the people i would've been working for and just knew that i had the job.
them Bitchy McCunticles waltzes in with her ****ty attitude.

i lost faith in ever finding a sound HR person after that. my current job has a seriously sound out one though

nlgbbbblth

tman wrote:

i lost faith in ever finding a sound HR person after that. my current job has a seriously sound out one though

To work in Human Resources/Personnel takes a certain type of individual.

Not a nice type. :eek:

FreaK_BrutheR

Strangest question ever in an interview was -

"You do realise you are wearing two different shoes?"
I got up at 6:30 to drive to Galway for an interview and arrived there with two odd shoes on... okay Id been out a bit the night before too!

Flookin did laugh though AND got the job too. Result.

mycroft

FreaK_BrutheR wrote:

Strangest question ever in an interview was -

"You do realise you are wearing two different shoes?"
I got up at 6:30 to drive to Galway for an interview and arrived there with two odd shoes on... okay Id been out a bit the night before too!

Flookin did laugh though AND got the job too. Result.

I used to try to get my old HR manager to ask weirder and weirder questions to potential employees.

She never would, my fav was,

"you come into a room, your manager and an important client are in their. Someone farts, loud and smelly, do you take responsibility for it, and explain your reasoning behind your answer. "

Civilian_Target

I'm a physics student and the strangest question I've been asked is:
"Why are manhole covers round?"

My answer, "Because manholes are round" led to "Well, OK then, why are manholes round?"

Strange thing was, it wasn't a physics job, it was a job in a DIY shop!

D-Generate

Because square manhole lids can easily fall through square manholes where as a circular manhole lid can't fall through the circular hole. I am so pathetic and sad for knowing that.

Keyzer

A friend was once asked -

"If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be and why"....

I think the guy interviewing him had just finished the bumper book of management and interview techniques...
Little did he know how close to a serious hiding he came for asking that question.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Got asked about my junior cert results when went for a job after finishing my masters degree! WTF relevance does that have to being an investments manager?! Just randomly made up some grades...but i think my disbelief at the question was a bit too obvious...

The classic 'how should i lie about this?' question is: "where do you want to be in 10 years?" : "why, i'd love to be making you coffee every morning in 10 years time, nothing would fulfil me more"

seamus

Moved from AH

nlgbbbblth

Roundtower2 wrote:

Got asked about my junior cert results when went for a job after finishing my masters degree! WTF relevance does that have to being an investments manager?! Just randomly made up some grades...but i think my disbelief at the question was a bit too obvious...

could you not remember them?
that seems to be all the rage nowadays

I sat my Inter Cert in 1987 and still remember my grades. Nothing anal about it, just have a good memory that's all.

I do agree that they have no relevance in the type of interview/job scenario you were in.

WhiteWashMan

tell us a joke.

seriously, i was asked to tell a joke.
im not sure why that was asked, because there are very few people who can tell a decent joke.

i told:

a skeleton walks into a bar, and orders a pint and mop....

nesf

Most personal question:
"Is there a history of mental illness, alcoholism or long term illness within your family?"

Toughest Question:
"If you were in my position, why would you not hire yourself?" (difficult to balance an answer to this between being too honest and being too egotistical, answering that there would be no reason is an easy way to fail an interview)

Best Trick Question I've heard:
"Do you think this tie goes with this shirt?"
(There is, in sales, certain methods of getting a person to look at your face, one of these is the wearing of ties which have a bright knot but are plain throughout. The idea being that first the flash of colour attracts the eye, then the viewer is naturally drawn up a few inches into looking at your eyes because of your facial expressions catching in the corner of their eye. Or so the theory goes, personally I just think the ties look good . Also in sales, appearance is everything, a salesman's presentation should be carefully crafted, and they should dress appropiately. For this particular job, the sales person would need to be able to dress well and dress as an equal to mid and top level managers in major firms. If you couldn't pick a tie to match your shirt and suit, then you are behind before you even begin.)

Another potentially dangerous Question:
"Did you think the secretary was cute?"
(a minefield of a question)

RicardoSmith

D-Generate wrote:

Because square manhole lids can easily fall through square manholes where as a circular manhole lid can't fall through the circular hole. I am so pathetic and sad for knowing that.

There ARE square manholes too...

sceptre

nesf wrote:

Most personal question:
"Is there a history of mental illness, alcoholism or long term illness within your family?"

Well, given that I haven't had any children yet I wouldn't classify it as a history...

Another potentially dangerous Question:
"Did you think the secretary was cute?"
(a minefield of a question)

You actually got asked this one?

D-Generate

RicardoSmith wrote:

There ARE square manholes too...

Off topic I know but Square Manholes are generally for the ESB or Eircom and not for the sewer network. Thats because those manhole covers won't fall that far should they fall in because the cables are close to the service making repairs easier.

PowerHouseDan

My Teacher in college teachs Communications aswell, and one of the girls she teachs came back to her after an interview. The Interviewer asked her: Do you Flirt with your Friends boyfriend. The interviewer was a guy obviously enough but there was also a female interviewer with him.

RicardoSmith

D-Generate wrote:

Off topic I know but Square Manholes are generally for the ESB or Eircom and not for the sewer network. Thats because those manhole covers won't fall that far should they fall in because the cables are close to the service making repairs easier.

I used to work in the building trade and I've seen both types used for sewers. Dunno if thats standard or not. Maybe it isn't these days. You see them used for junctions and that kinda thing. I'd assume that a round one is a lot stronger than a square one too. You see them in gardens too.

I remember one incident where someone put those temporary steel plates over some pit in the road (dunno what they were doing) for the weekend. Over the weekedn the traffic shifted the plates and they moved so far that eventually one unlucky car actually tipped up into the hole. :eek:

nesf

sceptre wrote:

You actually got asked this one?

Yes. It was an interview for a general salesman position, nothing overly professional or anything. He asked it with such a serious expression and tone.

Although to be honest, I think he was just pulling the piss out of me for whatever reason. I don't really know because I didn't get the job and didn't get to know the guy.

I answered "I didn't notice how she looked to be honest." if that sheds any more light on it.

damnyanks

Maybe it was a indirect way of finding out your sexuality . What were you meant to be selling ?

hawkmoon269

nlgbbbblth wrote:

To work in Human Resources/Personnel takes a certain type of individual.

Not a nice type. :eek:

Unfortunately, in my experience this is largely true. Never forget that in many companies, bosses use HR to do their dirty work for them.

hawkmoon269

nesf wrote:

Most personal question:
"Is there a history of mental illness, alcoholism or long term illness within your family?"
...
Another potentially dangerous Question:
"Did you think the secretary was cute?"
(a minefield of a question)

I'm not an expert on HR law, but both of these questions (along with a number of others in similar vein which people posted) are quite possibly illegal and highly risky from the point of view of the employer. If I was interviewed by a company whose HR reps asked these kind of questions, I'd tell them I had no interest in working for their company and walk out of the interview.

Keyzer

hawkmoon269 wrote:

I'm not an expert on HR law, but both of these questions (along with a number of others in similar vein which people posted) are quite possibly illegal and highly risky from the point of view of the employer. If I was interviewed by a company whose HR reps asked these kind of questions, I'd tell them I had no interest in working for their company and walk out of the interview.

It probably wasn't HR reps...
It was probably some retard who licked enough brown star to get into management. Someone who has no 3rd level qualifications in business or HR, not that this is essential, but it goes a long way when your numbskull and haven't a clue what your doing. Hell, the guy probably can't even spell.

Believe me, I'm surrounded by them....

damnyanks

hawkmoon269 wrote:

I'm not an expert on HR law, but both of these questions (along with a number of others in similar vein which people posted) are quite possibly illegal and highly risky from the point of view of the employer. If I was interviewed by a company whose HR reps asked these kind of questions, I'd tell them I had no interest in working for their company and walk out of the interview.

Curious on what sort of legalities could / would that breach?

hawkmoon269

damnyanks wrote:

Curious on what sort of legalities could / would that breach?

Well the one asking if the interviewee thought the secretary was cute could be interpreted as trying to find out the sexual orientation of the interviewee in an underhand way, and as such could potentially be construed as discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The one about family history of mental illness or alcoholism is intrusive and non-relevant.

Larianne

nesf wrote:

Yes. It was an interview for a general salesman position, nothing overly professional or anything. He asked it with such a serious expression and tone.

Although to be honest, I think he was just pulling the piss out of me for whatever reason. I don't really know because I didn't get the job and didn't get to know the guy.

I answered "I didn't notice how she looked to be honest." if that sheds any more light on it.

He probably wanted to see how you interact with people, do you make eye contact with every person you meet, how you greet them etc. This is needed if in a sales postition.

nesf

Larianne wrote:

He probably wanted to see how you interact with people, do you make eye contact with every person you meet, how you greet them etc. This is needed if in a sales postition.

I agree. It could hypothetically be a question to test my awareness of people and my confidence levels.However, no professional HR person would ever ask such a question, what if I'm gay? Then I've a discrimination case. There are questions to test awareness and confidence that do not invite court cases.


This guy was a salesman, not a HR person. It really shows in an interview whether someone is trained to give them or not.

scribs

I wasnt asked this but my friend was.

"If you were me why wouldnt you hire you"

His answer: Because you'd be afraid id take your job
- I sh*t you not.

I knew the guy who asked the question aswell - a right prick

nesf

scribs wrote:

I wasnt asked this but my friend was.

"If you were me why wouldnt you hire you"

His answer: Because you'd be afraid id take your job
- I sh*t you not.

I knew the guy who asked the question aswell - a right prick

It's not an uncommon question, and that answer (said in a serious or confrontational tone) will either a) ruin the interview, or b) ruin the interview.

imo.