You will be asked common interview questions while job hunting. You will be asked competency-based interview questions while job hunting. You may be asked behavior-based questions. And yes, you may even be asked weird interview questions,as well.
What’s the point of asking weird interview questions? They’re meant to keep you on your toes, to see how well you can think on your feet, and to see how you can handle out-of-the-norm situations.
As weird interview questions can essentially be anything and everything unrelated to the job itself, here are 10 really weird interview questions and answers to help you get a sense of it. All answers below are real answers said by those interviewing for these jobs, courtesy of Glassdoor.
- How lucky are you and why?
In this scenario, respondents tied luck to their work ethic by saying things like “The harder I work, the luckier I get” and “I don’t believe in luck – I believe in effort.” My favorite response however was “I am so lucky, I’m like Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut when he almost had relations with a prostitute, but didn’t because his wife called, and later he found out that she had HIV.” Please don’t say this answer on a real interview, but I hope you also got a chuckle out of it.
- Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?
This is a weird way of seeing how you attack a situation. Answers to this question include “I’m a gatherer of new ideas and a hunter of old ones” and “trick question, I hunt from the gatherers, and steal from the hunters.”
- Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?
You may have heard of this question before, as it’s the most common of the weirdest questions. Answers include “One horse-sized duck. Although it’s huge, one has more control over one opponent than over 100” and “Rather not fight at all but I would take my chances with a horse-sized duck. It would be one on one.”
- If you were a brand, what would be your motto?
This question gives you a chance to sell yourself and your skills, while showing how witty you are. Interviewees chose “Plain and simple, it’s how we roll” and “exceeding your expectations” as their mottos.
- How many square feet of pizza is eaten in the US each year?
Here an exact answer is not being asked for; instead the hiring manager wants to see your problem-solving logic and how you come to your conclusion. For instance, one interviewee said “a pizza is roughly one square foot. If the average American eats one-third of a pizza and eats pizza three times a month, that would mean 12 square feet a year. Times 200M Americans and that gives you 2.4 billion square feet.”
- What would the name of your debut album be?
Again, this is a way for the hiring manager to see your personality and how you think of yourself. Keep these things in mind while thinking to an answer to this question. Others have gone with “My Life So Far” and “It’s Only the Beginning.”
- If you were a box of cereal, what would you be and why?
Yet another way for you to show off your personality! Show that you’re fun but logical as well. Other respondents have said “Life and Kix. Because my life is like a box of kix.” And “I would be honey because I’m sweet and I seem to hold all the flakes, fruits, and nuts in this box together.”
- If you’re the CEO, what are the first three things you check about the business when you wake up?
This is the hiring manager’s way of seeing how you prioritize everything. Answers to this question have included “I would check the sales, the IT infrastructure to be sure it’s running, and my mail” as well as “that our employees are safe and sound, are there any major customer issues or services problems, and what is new happening in the world and our industry today.”
- What was the last gift you gave to someone?
Unless the gift was entirely inappropriate, be truthful. However, if you once gave someone an amazing gift, feel free to tell that story instead. Interviewees have answered this question by saying “flowers to my sister who just delivered a baby” and “time. I spent an afternoon in an assisted-living home and helped with the Bingo tournament.”
- If I gave you $40,000 to start a business, what would you start?
If you have a dream business you’ve always wanted to start, here’s your chance to talk about it and let that shine through. Additionally, if you think that money should go to charity instead, say that, or that you would start a nonprofit, which is what some respondents said. Others however said “I advised I would start a sales consultancy, focused on parachuting into start up companies and getting them up to speed asap” and “start a business where the customer always comes first.