JFF: Most Bizarre Job Interview Question

I'm 55 and started working back when they could ask you all kinds of rude questions. When I was 17 (in 1973, not so long ago, right?) I worked for Sears in the credit department. One question on the job application asked women if their menstrual periods were regular and to give the date when their last period began. Wish I had a copy now, just for laughs.

I was asked If you were out to a business dinner and you ordered a steak medium-rare and it came out well-done what would you do? That was for a county job doing dispatch.

Good luck tomorrow!
My weirdest question asked in an interview ...if you could be ANY animal what would if be...this was about 15 years ago and I still work for the same company. I ended up being friends with this person down the road so I asked her why she chose this question. She said if you answered a cat or dog it was because you were lazy and if you answers a eagle you were inspiring and dedicated...MY answer was an elephant...why, because they travel in packs, work as a team and never left anyone behind...now keep in mind I had JUST watched a show on elephants the night before and it was fresh in my mind LOL....thank God it wasn’t Toads 101 LMAO!!!!

I've never had any bizarre questions but I know that one of the questions on the Zappos.com app is "If there was a theme song for you everytime you entered the room, what would it be and why." I though that was hilarious!!

One of our directors seems to always ask why manhole covers are round (so they cannot possibly fall into the hole). He also asks how many gas stations there are in the USA, which is to see how you will deduce the answer. Something like: there are 2 gas station in my town and we have 10K inhabitants, and the USA has 300 million, so divide that out (300 milliion divided by 10K times 2) and you get about 60,000.
Mostly people ask questions to see how you will react, not so much to get the specific answer. Most companies I have worked for would rather hire a person that can handle all kinds of situations and has a pleasant personality and then teach them our specific products or processes. Unless you are hiring a tech support type of person then they should really know a fair amount about the topic in general (electrical engineering or software, for instance).
Make sure to ask questions in return to show you are interested and also to make sure it is a place you would want to work. I often ask how they would describe the culture of the workplace (where I work now is a male dominated old-boy structure that is trying very hard to integrate with lots of sensitivity training, I have worked for a dictatorship as well where the owner ran a small place and frequently cursed at his managers - I did not work there long and that is where I learned to ask this question). I also ask what they dislike about working there (there is always something). And I always ask why the position is open. Be prepared to answer where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years (they are looking for ambition, or sometimes they want someone who will be happy in the position for a long time), what your biggest weakness is (find something minor, like I spell poorly, or wish I could learn to be a better public speaker, but be honest), why you left your last position. Since I stayed home I found this description to use on my resume during my 10 years at home:
"Volunteer position requiring intense training in child development, early childhood behavior, interpersonal group dynamics,dispute resolution, educational planning, meetings with medical and other professionals and excellent communication skills. There is a strong emphasis on time management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, tracking inventory, procurement, cost reduction, team building as well as arranging and hosting special events."
Just be yourself, be honest, and good luck!

Umm, we had to ask weird questions because of the type of business we ran. When working in a on-line retail website that specialized in bondage gear you're GONNA have to ask weird questions.

Being able to have a conversation about vibes and dildos without giggling every time helps. Some people just can't deal with that stuff.

After a while, I could just TELL the ones that think they could be professional and ones that couldn't. Oddly, the YOUNGER the person the better they were...

1) For an exec assistant position:" What's the dish you cook the best?" Uh?

I don't think I've had any weird questions thrown my way, but reading these got me thinking back to what a teacher once told us. He said that Walt Disney used to take perspective employees out for breakfast or dinner and would see if the person salted their food before tasting it. He only hired the ones that tasted their food first. (or so I understand)

It makes me think about it everytime I go to salt my food that I didn't make!

Oh- and good luck tomorrow!

I don't really have a weird quesiton but I can tell you a weird story. I used to sit on a panel interview...

This lady comes in ACES the interview, as the lead in the room and knowing the group I worked with I could tell we all wanted to hire her right there on the spot...until our last questions.

What is something that is not on your resume that you want us to know about you?

Somehow, I don't know how she thought this would be appropriate but she ended up telling us the story of her drive into the interview. Guy cuts her off on the highway and "it pissed me off" (quoting her exactly) "so much so that I did this..." she raises her two arms and flips both birds.

So I would say don't talk about road rage! She was not hired based soley on her birds!

Good luck to you, nervous is good, just be yourself.

I remember my aunt telling me several times through the years that she was asked on an interview "let's say we're having an office potluck, what dish would you bring?". She laughed and then responded. They laughed as well and said they were trying to throw her off, break the ice, etc. It became a running joke for years. They would always say to her so you said during your interview you were going to bring such-and-such so that's what we expect you to bring. Of course, it was joke and they didn't expect anything. I wish I could remember what she said she was going to take to the potluck. She ended up getting the job and working there 25+ years.

Don't stress about it too much. Hope the interview goes well :0)

Back in 2000, I went on a lunch interview shortly after getting married. Didn't interview with the owner of the company, I interviewed with his WIFE, who did not work for him, but figured after the interview, she calls ALL the shots.

She started asking me all kinds of personal questions like, when did you get married, were you married in a church, where do you go to church, what does your husband do, how much money does he make, do you want to have kids and if yes, why?????

I was stumbling over the answers because I was young and totally taken aback when the guy at the table next to us leaned over and interrupted and said, "Lady - do you know if this is an interview for a job you're breaking the law by asking all those questions?"

Needless to say, there wasn't much left of the interview. I left feeling weird and wasn't even interested in the job at that point, and about 2 days later she called me and offered it to me anyway. DECLINED! Can you imagine working for that? ha ha ha

Are you engaged?

Huh? I thought the program director was going to leap across the table at the guy who broke script and asked it. So illegal, inappropriate and irrelevant! She apologized and I worked there through grad school- it was actually a great job that opened a lot of doors for me!

The oddest question I had was "what is your biggest failure in life". Not in the workplace, or something work related, it was specifically a "life" question. I thought it really odd and inappropriate. I told her "I had some failed relationships I could talk about, but thought that was probably not something she needed to know".

Okay, I have two. I used to work in the Jamba Juice corporate office, and they said, "Tell us your favorite joke." Uhhhh... (think fast!)

Once, when I interviewed at a small company where the owner was 80+ years old, very old-school. He asked me, "Are you done having kids?" How do you even respond to a question like that?!

I was asked to draw a diagram of the business and then talk about the weakest part of the business...

Way back when...though....Why are you interviewing for this position when you look like you should be working behind a make-up counter??? I politely told the interviewer that since I was interviewing I thought my business attire was professional and appropriate.

Good luck on your interview!
Remain confident, but not cocky.
I think the weird questions are more for your reaction or how quickly you think on your feet than there being an actual right or wrong answer.
We hire care givers to take care of elderly folks in their homes. Some suffer from alzheimer's and dementia. Some are actually young, but need care due to traumatic head injury or other disabilities.
It sounds rude, but we often purposely make people wait about 15 to 20 minutes after turning in their application before meeting with the HR Manager.
We document if the applicants seem nervous, pushy, fidgety or if they happily wait and read our brochures about our agency and our mission statement. We offer coffee and water, we make them comfortable. You'd be surprised how many people get huffy. We've even had people walk out.
When you are hiring someone who needs to have a caring heart and the patience of a saint, you can tell the demeanor by making someone wait. We had 20 people scheduled for initial interviews on Tuesday. We currently have more than 130 employees. Sometimes, you have to wait your turn.
We can't risk someone with zero patience or someone who is pushy, snippy and uppity with our patients. That's our biggest test. We don't ask weird questions. We do background check everyone and when some people hear that, they decline and they are weeded out.
I always hated "What is your biggest fault as a person?"
On one hand, you can't say you have NO faults, but you don't want to sell yourself short either.
Also hate "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
Don't stress out too much about it. Like I said, working in HR so much, I know that most of the time there really is no right or wrong answer unless a person REALLY blows it by saying something completely inappropriate.

You'll do fine. Let us know how it goes and what, if any, weird questions they ask you.

Best wishes.

My weirdest: Why weren't you hired at your last interview? (I said they went with a candidate that matched their postion better.)

I was participating in a group interview, the candidate was sealing the deal, and explain that she would need to give her current employer two weeks notice and then she was going on her week long honeymoon. The director asked her to skip her honeymoon! Before she could reply, we all shouted "No way!"

Best of luck!

I sat on a committee to hire an assistant principal. When asked their educational philosophy the standard answer was always "All children can learn." Every time a candidate said that we "gonged" them with this little gong from our music teacher. Then we asked them what their real philosophy was. We felt like our campus was the kind of atmosphere where if you can't handle our silliness, then you wouldn't be a good fit as an administrator.

I haven't personally been asked this, however one of our managers here at work admitted to asking every candidate this question. If you could have any one superpower, what superpower would that be?

He doesn't ask it looking for a specific answer, but more just to see how you handle it. I am a Manager here as well and would never ask that kind of a question in an interview, but to each his own!!

Good luck tomorrow!

I can't think of any really bizarre questions, but I do know the most bizarre reason I ever got a job............I have pretty blue eyes!

Actually, I got TWO jobs because of that, AND the manager from each place TOLD me that's why he was hiring me!!

Not sure why they thought having blue eyes made me qualified for the positions, but what the heck......I needed the jobs and was taking them regardless of how I got them!