Weird and wonderful interview questions to ask your candidate

Do you want to mix it up when interviewing a potential new team member? Fed up of the boring interview routine? Want to see what makes your candidates tick?

Interviews are not the easiest process to navigate, especially when each person you meet with be different in experience, knowledge, skill set and personality. The same set of questions will not fit all and questioning a digital marketing professional as if they are going to be in sales will not help you find the answers you need.

There are some companies and brands out there taking this stage to a whole new level. If you really want to get to know a candidate during an interview then throw them a curve ball and this can often lead to a free-flowing, honest, open interview. Let’s be honest, you have on average three meetings to decide if you want to hire a professional, which is not a lot of time in comparison to the investment you are making in bringing them on board.

If you want to see the real individual, then catch them off guard, not to damage or hinder their chances of working with you but so you and start to build that working relationship before day one.

Hint number one – forget their CV. You have already seen the CV as that is what first enticed you to meet them but leave it behind when you are interviewing face to face. Make some notes and let the candidate do the talking. This will give you a brilliant opportunity to really get to know them without being tempted to ask the usual questions. They would not be in the room if they didn’t have the necessary qualifications and initial skill set.

Here is a list of questions you may not off considered:

• If the day was 25 hours long, what would you do with the extra hour?
• If I gave you £10,000 right now, what would you do with it?
• Why did you choose to wear what you are today?
• In your view, what is wrong with the industry? What is good about it?
• Why would you say your best friend is your best friend?
• What did you have for breakfast today?
• If you could be any fictional character for the day whom would you be and why?
• What would you make the title of your autobiography?
• If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you be?
• Who do you admire the most and why?

The above questions may not seem to weird, and they are in fact excellent for encouraging your candidate to relax and speak more freely, but how weird and wonderful can they get?

Most of the questions we choose to ask are standard and evoke similar responses to the candidate before them. In fact, did you know 60% of candidates do not bother preparing for interviews anymore, as they have done so many they know what questions will be asked.

Unexpected and funny questions are even being used by companies such as Apple and Google. This may not seem as such a shock to you, but is that why such brands are on the cutting-edge side of the industry?

• What do you think of garden gnomes?

There is no right answer to this question, it is intended to get a giggle out of the candidate and help them loosen up.

• How would you solve a problem if you were from Mars?

Amazon use this question a lot in their interview to see if candidates can think outside of what traditional and normal. Seeing how a candidate responds under bizarre circumstances can show how well they will react under pressure.

For instance, an ideal candidate might say, "If I were on Mars, they'd likely have their own problems separate from those on Earth. First, I'd conduct research to determine cause and effect, and then I'd offer potential solutions."

With this answer, your candidate has shown an ability to be thoughtful and analytical when making decisions.

Some other questions include:

• You have been given a lion, you cannot sell it or give it away – what would you do with it?
• If you were a flower, what kind of flower would you be and why?
• The interview finishes, you step outside and find a winning lottery ticket of £20 million, what would you do?
• How many pennies would fit in this room?
• If you had a choice between being invisible or flying, which would you choose and why?

Bringing a new person into your team is more than just their skill set - never forget that!