Just because someone told candidates to expect certain questions doesn’t mean you should ask those questions

There are questions which are frequently asked during interviews that have no place in an interview.

Responses to some are simply impossible to interpret. Others produce well-rehearsed answers that may sound good, but lack substance. And then are those questions with the potential to lead to discussions that could violate protections established by human rights legislation.

There may be a time and place for some of these questions, but not as part of a hiring interview, when time is limited and the outcome critical to the future success of your organization. When interviewing, your focus should be  on gathering high-quality information that will guide your decision-making, not superficial responses suggested by books and seminars that prepare candidates to be interviewed.

Later, after you have hired the right person, it may be appropriate to ask questions that should be banished from those interviewers often ask.

Actually, there may never be a right time to ask ridiculous, impossible-to-interpret questions, such as, “If you were a tree (flower, animal), what type would you be?” and “Suppose you were stranded on a desert island, with whom would you want to share your island?” or others that some Briefly Noted readers have actually been asked. I have no idea why or when these questions should ever be asked.

While they don’t merit being one of your interview questions, some questions are useful to ask after a staff member comes on board, such as “What are your career goals?”

Candidates will arrive for their interviews with carefully scripted answers to this question intended to sway you in their favour, but the answers may not be realistic or honest.

How they answer this question may be quite different after they join your team. At that time, knowing where they see themselves in five to 10 years may provide insights into how you could acknowledge them for what they do.

You could recognize a job well done by providing an opportunity to develop new skills or to job shadow a colleague in another department. When linked to career goals, training becomes an effective staff recognition tool.

Questions about candidates’ interests, hobbies and non-work activities may seem innocuous enough, until they lead to discussion of activities related to religion, membership in cultural groups, and gender—all human rights-protected areas during hiring.

On the other hand, asked in the context of a later workplace conversation, answers to these questions could provide clues about how to best recognize the individual’s work.

Related Article: 7 Questions to Ask to Recognize Staff Appropriately

Thanks! GREAT Job! includes a chapter entitled, “Hire Recognizers and Those Who Have Been Recognized,” in which I suggest including a question about having been recognized by another, such as, “Describe a time when you were recognized for doing a task well. What made this recognition most memorable?”

“The purpose of asking recognition-related questions is not to hire people whose recognition preferences match your recognition practices. Rather, think of it as early reconnaissance that will be useful if the candidate is hired. Answers to these question could provide insight into how to best use recognition to motivate a new staff member and sow the seeds of retention.” (Thanks! Great  Job! page 249).

Even if you don’t ask about staff recognition during the interview—time limitations may not permit—it is a question to ask on the newcomer’s first day on the job, or soon afterwards.

Some questions you wouldn’t ask during interviews could be useful ones to ask soon after a candidate becomes a staff member. It’s part of learning more about new staff members in order to recognize them in Appropriate ways and retain the right people.

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What is the most ridiculous interview question ever asked?

When I hear about some questions that interviewers ask, I scratch my head. What are they thinking? What can they possibility learn and how do they use what they heard when making their hiring decisions?

I’m not thinking about poorly worded questions that require the candidates to supply information already available on their resumes, or inquiries that violate human rights laws. No, what I am referring to are those ridiculous questions that some managers ask:

“If you were a tree, what type of tree would you be?” (Feel free to substitute animal, flower or superhero for tree.)

“Suppose you were stranded on a desert island, with whom would you want to share your island?”

“Here’s a paper clip. In two minutes, how many different uses can you come up with to use this paper clip? I’ll time you.”

How do they interpret the responses? Have these interviewers been issued secret decoder rings? Where do I get one?

Now it’s your turn. I would like to hear about your experience. What was the most ridiculous question that you or someone you know was asked during an interview? Or it could be a question that you have read about having been asked.

Email your ridiculous questions to nmscott@telus.net and you could win a $10 Tim Hortons gift card. I will publish all the questions submitted by Monday, August 24 and ask Briefly Noted readers to pick the winner—the most ridiculous question ever asked.

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