As if job interviews weren’t nerve-racking and already hard to prepare for, now companies are starting to add unusual questions to the mix. Glassdoor wrote an article regarding the “Top 10 Oddball Interview Questions for Interns” for this fall. Employers are starting to ask more difficult questions, leaving intern candidates feeling a little uneasy.
It is always important to prepare ahead of time, this includes doing research on the company and industry, what you’re going to wear and thinking about possible questions. If you’re looking for more information about these topics check out: Dress To Impress: Tips For Picking Clothes For An Interview and The 5 T’s Of Interviewing. But how can you prepare for these types of unusual questions?
Here are 10 examples of oddball interview questions:
1. “What was your first AOL screen name?” This was asked at Red Frog Events.
2. “How do you rob a bank?” This question was asked at Oliver Wyman.
3. “How many ping pong balls fit into Gampel Pavilion?” Aetna asked this question.
4. “How much do women in America spend on haircuts each year?” Asked at FindTheBest.com
5. “If you could have lunch with anybody, living or deceased, who would it be?” IMG asked this.
6. “How much would you bet for your answers to be correct?” This was asked at Jane Street Capital.
7. “Describe what happened to cause the financial crisis, in a couple minutes, as if you were telling it, to say, your grandmother.” Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group asks this question.
8. “Given 999 distinct numbers between 1 and 1000, find one/two that is/are missing.” This was asked at Salesforce.com
9. “Would you say you learn a lot about a little, or a little bit about a lot?” Asked at Stryker Communications.
10. “How many people in this city do you know?” This was asked at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
If you found this article to be intriguing and you’re interested in more tough questions, check out the article Tough Interview Questions: “Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?” It’s a must read for job seekers!
Have you recently been to an interview and been asked a tough question? What was it, and how did you answer it?
