"If you were an animal, what would you be?" This question sounds like it belongs in a kindergarten classroom, but it just might come up in your next job interview. While many interviewers stick to relevant interview topics, others slip in a few wacky interview questions that can leave even the most well-prepared job seeker scrambling for the right answer.
An Accountemps survey tallying the favorite interview questions of CFOs reveals a high number of wacky, unexpected questions alongside standard interview fare. The following are just a few examples: "What games did you play as a teenager," "Tell me something funny that happened to you in the last six months," and "What's your favorite baseball team?" These types of interview questions are arguably irrelevant for a position in an accounting firm, and they are unquestionably awkward for the interviewee.
Why do these types of wacky questions keep coming up? Many interviewers defend them by claiming they help gauge creativity or judge the job seeker's initial responses. However, these reasons can't make up for one major downfall. These types of questions are too subjective and open to interpretation. What may be the perfect answer to one interviewer may be a red flag to another.
Fortunately, there are other ways hiring managers can get a feel for more subjective traits, such as personality, without submitting to the use of crazy interview questions. For instance, they can require job seekers to take reliable personality tests as well as pay close attention to body language and other nonverbal cues during a job interview. Checking out candidates' social media profiles is another method that is gaining traction with the rise of digital media.
Whatever interviewers choose, job seekers everywhere would greatly appreciate if hiring managers stuck to questions that measure relevant factors such as desire for the position and qualifications. To measure the former, interviewers can ask about why the job seeker is applying for the position as well as what aspect of working for the company is most exciting. This helps interviewers gauge whether or not the candidate is just in it for the money.
To learn more about qualifications, the interviewer can ask for specific details about a previous role. For soft skills such as teamwork and leadership, the candidate can be asked to explain how he solved a problem with a coworker or boss. Interviewers can still ask some unexpected questions to test the candidate's ability to think on his feet, but job seekers would appreciate it if these interview questions were related to the position, the industry or other professional topics.
Wacky interview questions aren't clever or fun. They are unfair for job seekers and offer little helpful insight for interviewers. If hiring managers can forgo these questions for more appropriate ones, the professional world would be much better off.
Photo courtesy of Master Isolated Images at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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