What was the worst job interview question you were ever asked? Good interview questions can help employers judge the technical qualifications, people skills, problem solving approach, and team fit of prospective employees. Bad interview questions do none of those. Instead, they confuse, irk, or offend the applicant (often in combination). Our ten worst job interview questions exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:
 Illegal - Ask about certain topics and it’s “Do not pass Go; do not collect your next paycheck.” Your employer has been advised to reduce its liabilities, and that means you.
|
 Useless - questions test trivial knowledge that has no bearing on aptitude or generate pseudopsychological responses that Dr. Phil could bloviate on for an entire episode. |
 Hackneyed - There’s an old saying: “If you’re one in a million, you have 1,000 clones in the People’s Republic of China.” These questions were once original, but they’ve been asked so many times that everyone has memorized ‘pat’ answers to them. |
Here are BusinessPundit’s ten worst job interview questions, along with the characteristics that got them on the list, and some possible rejoinders. Please note that being asked any of these questions should make you seriously consider whether you want to entrust your livelihood and sanity to this organization.
#10 - What interests you about our company?
“Um, I heard you were hiring?”
#9 - Have you ever brought a lawsuit against an employer?
You can’t ask about this or age, race, health/marital/personal/family issues, and arrests, among other things. You have a choice of responses to this one. You can use the old, boring “I don’t think that’s an appropriate question” line, or you can allow the interviewer to save face with something like “No, but I’m always open to new experiences”.
#8 - Why did you take the pen from me?
In this one, the interviewer picks up a pen and holds it out halfway between herself and the applicant, and then silently waits for a response. Eventually the person will ask “what are you doing”, or, more often, take the pen. I would recommend: “When I saw you holding out the pen, I knew what you were doing. Taking it was the fastest way to get the heck out of here. Good day!” If you want to stick around, you can always grab the pen with your thumb and forefinger just above the interviewer’s (ala the old sandlot baseball method for deciding who gets to bat first) and wait for her next move.
#7 - Can you work under pressure?
Who is going to say no? You could answer “I’ve been tested to 12 ft-lbs per square inch”, or if you can completely change the tenor of the conversation with “If I don’t get this job I’ll lose my house, my wife, and the eight third-world children I’ve been supporting will be doomed to starvation. How’m I doing so far?”
#6 - If you were a ‘Lost’ character, which one would you be?
Applicant: “Jack” Interviewer: (Raises eyebrow) “Jack?” Applicant: (Pauses and gazes upward as if in deep thought, and then looks interviewer directly in the eye) “Definitely. Jack. But what does that have to do with being an Accounts Payable Clerk 1?” This is a variant of the old “If you were an animal, which one would you be?” question. If asked that question, you might want to go with Sasquatch, noting that “I read that they are telepathic, and that would make this interview go a lot easier!”
#5 - How do you define sexual harrassment?
“You nailed it! Nice one.” Or if you’re ready to leave “Come closer and I’ll show you.”
#4 - What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?
Upon further consideration, this could be a valid “team fit” question in certain technical disciplines.
#3 - Do you ever abuse alcohol or drugs?
“I didn’t realize I had to choose”, or the more tactful “You do realize that the people who test body fluid samples are part of the Teamster’s union? They don’t like people cutting in on their territory.”
#2 - What is your biggest weakness?
This question got serious consideration for the top spot, but it’s only the second most likely question to pop up in an interview. All the interviewing tactics books tell you to develop a response that actually demonstrates a strength. Don’t dignify an awful question with a thoughtful response. First, startle the interviewer by saying “I have two”, and then continue with “one, I have an aversion to kryptonite but it doesn’t normally affect my work, and two, you really don’t want me to work overtime during a full moon. Seriously.” You’ll be doing the parting handshake in no time.
#1 - Where do you see yourself in five years?
Possibly a Trifecta if family issues will effect your career planning! Undoubtedly you have either already heard it or you will in an upcoming interview. Depending upon how fast you want to get out of there you can go with: “In mirrors and on YouTube. Unless I’m undead; then only on YouTube.” Or the ever-popular: “Asking you this question as you ‘reinterview for your position’ “ (don’t forget the menacing air quotes). Rubbing your hands together and cackling works nicely, too.
Do you have a worse interview question? A better answer to one of these? Come on! Everyone has a job interview horror story. Let us hear it in the comments section!
Check it out: A list of the best business credit cards.
ROTFLMAO. Holy crap. This post made my week.
I’ve actually been asked about drug use - who knew NO was the wrong answer? But my favorite interview questions are: (and you have to imagine a thick Texas drawl)
- We don’t look to kindly on porn here. You look at porn?
- You’re not going to let a bunch of work just pile up in your office are you?
At least that guy cut to the chase.
The ever-popular:
“Describe yourself in three words” or “What was the greatest challenge you have overcome and how did you grow as a person from it”
Utterly. Useless.
Worst part is, I’ve been asked almost all of these questions regularly.
Ryan,
That was the reaction I was hoping for. Thanks!
Mike
Lela,
“- You’re not going to let a bunch of work just pile up in your office are you?”
I’d be doomed at that place. I’ve spent many hours with Texas good ol’ boys, so I laughed imagining that first question!
Mike
Kevin,
Describe yourself in three words gets honorable mention. I might start with “What” and “the”. You can probably guess the third.
As for your second question, I think it’s useful to ask about challenges faced and met, but the “how did you grow as a person” part makes me want to wretch. How else am I supposed to grow? Sprout crystals like Space Godzilla?
Mike
Jonson,
If this post changes the bad interviewing behavior of even one hiring manager, it will all have been worth it. Increase the chances by spreading the word…and thanks for stopping by!
Mike
I think the best part of an interview is when your asked, “do you have any questions for us?” I always wanted to reply, “Yes if a car is travelling at the speed of light and you turn the head lights on, what will happen?”
When they reply, “I’ve no idea”, simply stand up and say, “Well I’m sorry this isn’t a place I can see myself working for then”..
LOL @ “ft-lbs per square inch”! That is not a unit of pressure. “lbs per square inch” is a unit of pressure.
Dean, actually there are a few answers to that (do you have any questions for us?):
You can ask how many employees left the company in the last year and why
(it’s a valid question, and you can see if they’re bullshitting you, if they become tense, or if they feel they have reasons to be proud (very seldom).
You can ask what of what they told you about the company is covered by a NDA.
You can ask … well lots of things actually.
Regarding the article: nice list
A friend was just interviewing for a job and they asked him whether or not he’d get into a transporter if they existed as they do in Star Trek. Good philosophical question, gauges team fit for geekiness. He ended up with the job eventually, and the fact that they’d even ask such a ridiculous question about a subject he’s spent many hours pondering made him really want to work there too.
Mitch Hedberg: I had a job interview with an insurance company, and the lady said, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I said, “Celebrating the fifth year anniversary of you asking me that question.”
I had one manager close his eyes, put his feet up on the desk, and barely speak to me, “it was just too early for this” he told me. Between 10 second power naps, he was able to inform me that if I was a big breasted blond, the interview would be over and I would have the job. I sure should have listened to the HR manager who told me that Jim was quite flippant.
I’ve had people ask me riddles, that “aren’t a part of the interview” then tell me how they disqualified people who got it wrong. I’ve gotten just about 80% of the questions on this list, 75% on a regular basis. I have never thought of just answering how I want and leaving, that might not be a bad idea.
Not to me, but to a friend:
After having told that a better work-life balance was the reason for a career switch, the interviewer retunred with:
“I see here that you are alone, why do you need a life?”
There is an entire subspecies of homo sapiens whose livelihood depends upon asking intelligent people stupid questions. The intelligent people then have to pretend to be something they’re not in order to get hired by a company that “puts a premium on honesty”.
On consideration, this seems to work pretty much like the court system.
What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?
The only correct answer to this one is: African or European swallow?
You missed the classic Mitch Hedburg response to the last question:
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A: Celebrating the 5-year anniversary of you asking me this question!
“Are you a team player ?”
Dean,
Good one! My first response would be “What propulsion system are you using?”, which would buy me some time. The actual answer depends on perspective, dispersion pattern of the light source, and the presence of any secondary light sources. If I’m in the car, I don’t see any change. Outside perspectives will vary based on the factors mentioned.
Mike
“Describe yourself in just three words” - I am AWESOME
“What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?”
42.
“What?”
42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. No one knew what the question is. But the question is “what is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?”
#1 - Where do you see yourself in five years?
Mitch Hedberg said it best,
“Celebrating the 5th anniversary of you asking me that question!”
Mike,
Is it bad that I copied down a few of these questions to use in my next interview?
Rob,
I would encourage all managers to keep a few of these on hand to use in case they encounter a particularly annoying candidate.
Mike
Good post, although I fail to see what’s illegal about questions 7, 2 & 1. Anyone able to explain why those are illegal?
Excellent, Dean. I think I may use that.
For your amusement the answer lays in the fact that your question is flawed. In order to make even a pound of mass go “the speed of light” you’d consume more energy than I bet you can imagine. Furthermore, a car going the speed of light would exist in an already time-dilated capsule, so the light would appear to an outside observer to be going very slowly (it is completely possible to slow light down).
My favorite interview question has always been the ones that test engineering skills relying on my ability to estimate. Ex: If you dropped a bowling ball in the Marianna Trench, how long would it take before it hit the bottom? Response: Isn’t a bowling ball made out of wood? Even if it’s a fairly dense wood, it would surely reach equilibrium with the surrounding water density before the bottom. So “never”.
I think that I will use the answers provided in my next interview. They seem to have an air about them that smells like methane.
Stupid questions are not always stupid. I used to share the common view that idiotic, HR type questions served no purpose only to show how equally idiotic the person asking them was.
Years ago, I was conducting interviews for software development roles, and was required to use a couple of these by management, and I’ve never looked back. The reason is, many interviewees are unable to hide their scorn when they hear these questions. Their lips turn into a smirk, and they look at you as if you’re a pathetic excuse for a human being.
We were hiring developers who would have to attend meetings with real, honest to God clients. Asking the ’silly’ questions proved an excellent way of trimming out the superior son’s of bitches who would only piss off our clients. There’s a place for arrogant developers, but it’s not of front of paying clients.
I think you have your “illegal” and “hackneyed” icons mixed up.
I was asked the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” question in an interview. I think it’s a decent question, in that it gives the employer an opportunity to better understand the long-term direction and growth the applicant envisions.
The major concern I have, however, with that question is that unless the employer is prepared to offer a 5-year contract, what’s the point? If it’s an at-will job, why would the applicant commit to the company for 5 years?
Also, I’ll note that when asked that question, I consider it fair game to return the question. I answered honestly; then I asked the interviewer: “Where do you see your company in 5 years?”. It was a thoughtful response.
I heard of a question (used by Great Plains when it was not owned by MS) that is similar yet unsimilar to the top question “Where do you see yourself in five years?” - but way, way weirder. The question was “What would you like to see on your tombstone when you die?” This one gains both creepy and throwing you way off track points.
There’s only a couple ways to answer that one - none of which relate to work. But kudos to HR imagination here. At least it is inventive - now watch the candidate squirm.
Will I be disqualified if I don’t watch Lost? Oh Oh can I be “The Doctor”?!?!
for the #4 the answer is obviously different depending if you are talking of an African swallow or an European one.
Someone for a sale position asked me, “Do you like selling?”
I immediately answered, “oh, no! I hate having to sell things. i can only sells things that i love, And you store is fortunately full of those.”
Also, in the questionnaire, “would you tell the boss of your brother or sister that he or she is stealing in their job.” Answer, no. They look for honesty. saying that you would snitch a family member is a complete lie and “they” know it.
In short, stay truthful to yourself: answer without fear but without much wit either.
I got that job…. with 5 bucks more per hours than what a salesman commonly starts in that company.
My favorite was: “Based on what you know about us, (from the 30 minute interview) what would you suggest we change in order to improve our mission?”
I should have run screaming, right then and there.
TC,
Busted! Physics loses out to alliteration.
Mike
Dan,
You have wide latitude in what you can ask. I think Rob should add a few of your questions to his list…
Mike
Zack,
Good ‘team fit’ questions can be way out of the ordinary, because depicting team psyche can take you strange places.
Mike
Jorge,
Mitch’s answer is the nicest, most face-saving answer possible.
Mike
Mr. Jones,
Flippant is putting it nicely. Refer to question #5.
Mike
Prof kienstra,
“Thanks for the reminder.”
Mike
Dick,
Now you’re scaring me!
Mike
David,
Yes! Now tell me about your unix kernel hacking sk1llz.
Mike
Heather, I would probably be one of the few candidates to not be thrown by the question,” what would you like to see on your tombstone when you die?” You’d be suprized how many candidates would be able to calmly answer the question which, might also lead the employer to question their sanity and 5-year plan.
…My answer: At least I tried.
James,
Honorable mention! And “Yes, in the Philadelphia 76ers - Allen Iverson kind of way.”
Mike
Mike Noone,
All I can say is: You ARE awesome!
Mike
Brian,
Mitch is so nice.
Mike
Adam,
Icon snafu on #7 and #2. If I were a woman in her 20s or 30s, I could find an EEOC lawyer who would take my case.
Mike
David,
Nice observations! You’d have gotten me with that Marianas Trench one (but Rob and I will be using it in the future).
As for the speed of light one, if you’re directly behind the car, light never gets to you. If you’re directly in front (with no dispersion and assuming you’re not directly in the flight path [splat]), you also see nothing, because nothing can get in front of the vehicle.
Whoa, that’s geeky.
Mike
Mouseclone,
Greenhouse gases rule!
Mike
PS,
I’d rather ask real client-type questions than bad surrogates, but your point is well taken.
Mike
Other Dan,
Yes, icon malfunction! Still getting used to this customized Wordpress.
Mike
Steve,
“Where do you see your company so that I can put my answer in proper context?” is the straight answer to that question. I agree with you completely.
Mike
Heather,
“On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” If they don’t get it, go someplace else.
Mike
Cigar Jack,
“Jack” was the only character name I could remember. Feel free to be anyone you want. Just don’t try to justify your choice.
Mike
mister_fab,
“African or European” is the correct response!
Mike
Kung-food,
That works.
Mike
chicklet,
Definitely hit the ground running. “Either world peace or world domination, I’d need another 30 minutes to figure out which one” might also work.
Mike
sebastien,
That answer to the “Do you like to sell” question was brilliant!
Being true to yourself is always the best policy.
Mike
In regards to question #4 - What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?…
The proper response would be;
“I’ll get it on it right away. When would you like the information? Would you prefer a presentation or a simple report?”
“How many hours a week do you like to work?”
I answered with “How much would you like to pay for this car?”
I was offered the job.
Tom,
Touche!
Mike
What a great list to remind me of how lucky I am to not have a “real job.” That stuff drives me absolutely bananas.
What would I want on my tombstone? Nothing. I don’t intend to have a tombstone.
I ask:
“Describe your best friend, what he or she does for a living, and how you are alike, and how you are different from your best friend.”
Most people forget to tell me what their best friend does for a living, so it’s good when someone catches that. But with this question, I get them to talk about themselves in relation to another person. I really get to see people loosen up and smile for a moment.
I then follow up on that question with, “If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?”
I also ask what they liked least about their last boss.
And, “What do you feel would be an acceptable attendance record, how many times late or absent in a month?”
That all being said, I work in a pretty chill environment, maybe for a super-professional interview, these questions are unheard of.
Dave, you insipid toadie…when can you start?
Zibby,
Thanks for rubbing it in! Good for you.
Mike
Brian,
I like it, but letś take it up a notch with something like
There can be only one - and itś me. I wont be needing a tombstone, thank you.
Mike
Vix,
Good ones. The acceptable attendance one is interesting. What kinds of answers do you get?
Mike
Here is how I would respond to the “airspeed of unladen swallow” question:
“I would have to ask for more information on the circumstances. Now the obvious first question is the geographic origin of the swallow but I doubt that that would actually be a large determining factor in coming to a meaningful conclusion. I can’t imagine that the differences in sub-species of swallows would account for more than a small fraction of a difference in airspeeds given that all other factors are the same.
More important aspects would be the density and makeup of the air the swallow is traveling in, whether the swallow is traveling in any sort of wind, whether the swallow is traveling under its own power, etc.
A scenario where our hapless bird is shot out of a cannon with a head wind in Denver will have a dramatically different answer than a swallow traveling under its own power at sea level in calm.
Additionally, even if I was given this information I would have to confess my ignorance being that I am neither an aeronautical engineer nor an ornithologist”
I mean, if they want nerd I am going to give them NERD!!
If you were a tree, what would be your greatest weakness?
Steve,
The part about the swallow traveling under its own power is a good one. You could just answer “574 knots when in the cargo hold of a 747″, which would be technically correct. Excellent work!
Mike
One of the few funny things I’ve seen on Digg in weeks*.
* Ever.
Mike,
That is an absolutely fabulous list, you made my day.
How do you feel about making the reverse list, “The Ten Best Job Interview Questions Ever”
Hopefully readers won’t take the title sarcastically or else we will be back at square one.
I also know it will be tough to generalize all the questions to be non job specific but you are a talented man and I am sure you can find a way to do it.
Thanks again,
Craig
Gork,
Separation anxiety when the acorns fall every year…you never get over it no matter how many rings you have!
Mike
Thank you Sheamus!
Mike
Vix, I really like your questions… Actually showing up is key to any business (well more to it, but it’s a great start). Excellent article! I have been asked a few of these, and cringe at my own stuttered responses. Being in my field for a bit, I’ve gone from front line to Manager, and I get to hire. Here’s a few I use:
Tell me a joke.
- Tells much about a person. The content, and the actual delivery. (FYI this is a mean question. I was asked this 10 years ago, and before all my interviews, I still read through a list of jokes, just in case.)
If I told you this interview was going poorly, what would you do?
- Again, a really mean question, but one I think far more effective than “Can you work under pressure?”
If you won 300 Million dollars, what would you do with it?
- I like using this as an icebreaker. Gets them to loosen up, and shows a few personal motivators.
Tell me about a time when you messed something up. What did you do to fix it?
- I like questions that you can’t really positively answer right off the bat, but can frame in your answer to be a positive one. After all, to err is human, to learn is divine (I so deserve hackneyed for that one come on!!)
Here’s my last one. If you could change one of our laws, what would it be, and why?
- Gives a little insight. A note however, you will be guaranteed some very interesting answers.
Craig,
I suppose it’s only fair, so I’ll take up the challenge. I’ve got to give the HR folks some hope! The biggest challenge is how to work in the snark factor…
Mike
Mike,
Very good sir, I can’t wait to see the results.
Craig
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
In the mirror.
“If you were a tree, what would be your greatest weakness?”
Lunberjacks.
Doh! Can’t type. But you get the idea.
Geek factor?
Who owns the Tardis? Usual response “Huh?”
Technical: Tell me why the OSI 7 layer model is like a baseball game. Responses vary. No correct answer. Determines powers of analogy, expression, thinking, and depth of technical networking knowledge.
Technical 2: Who invented the Internet. Answers vary, from Al Gore, AOL, Vint Cerf, CERN, BBN, MIT model rail road club. Gives a good depth of knowledge and historical understanding of the discipline.
Team natured: Which is more important customer service or teamwork and why? (Personal belief the customer is NOT always right).
Team natured: Given 2 hours a day to work on any project personal or business what do you choose? (Wide variety of answers and usually illuminating in their lack or grandeur)
Orienting question: The job is tedium with moments of panic. Do you manage the panic or the tedium? Usually gives some good ideas about leadership and thinking strategies.
Structured for failure: Given a network of 100 people, 25 servers, five heterogeneous operating system platforms, fractured by three noncontiguous subnets, and a hostile work force how would you prioritize delivery of services across the enterprise? Answer vary widely but usually start with “Can you repeat that?”, or “Carefully”. Of course the idea is to get them to break it down and there is not right answer.
I don’t really take interviews anymore. Either you need problems fixed and want the pain to go away or you don’t. If you’ve called me then you know who I am and an interview would be a waste of time for both of us. After the BS of 1999 and headhunters by 2002 I quit doing spoiler interviews.
Great post Mike.
Toughest question: What is the most you have ever stolen from an employer before . . . (pause) $50,000? (Then wait for the interviewee to say, “Oh, not that much!” You now know that you’re interviewing a thief, just not a very good one, and he knows he’s been nailed.
Evan,
If you check the original text you will see:
“In mirrors and on YouTube. Unless I’m undead; then only on YouTube.”
I like the way you think!
Mike
OMG, I thought I was laughing at the article, then I hit some of the comments. Undead… classic!
an owner of a startup obviously had a problem & was looking for free consulting.
The questions were way too focused on the issues and had nothing to do with me.
after an hour and a half, I just said I don’t want to work here.
Q: Are you a team player ?
A: For the Horde!!! (world of warcraft)
Q: What would you like to see on your tombstone when you die?
A: Went for a walk. Be back soon.
Q: Based on what you know about us, (from the 30 minute interview) what would you suggest we change in order to improve our mission?
A: Improve?? There’s something wrong with it???
Q: What do you feel would be an acceptable attendance record, how many times late or absent in a month?
A: none if possible but if your sick your sick.
Q: If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?
A: why would I change my personality?? I’m perfect the way I am.
Q: What is your biggest weakness?
A: interviews, how am I doing so far?
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: building a time machine to go back 5 years to tell myself where I was in 5 years from now.
Q: when can you start?
A: right away if you want me to.
(I was asked the last question before and I started right after the interview was over.)
I had “if you were on our corporate softball team what position would you play and why?”
Way before then I knew I didn’t want the job so I replied “I don’t like to play baseball or any other team sports.”
At the same interview I was also asked the “What interests you about our company?” question.
“did you enjoy high school?” the worst part was i couldnt tell if it was a trick question or if the person doing the interview was a former cheerleader
Pete,
“If you were a tree, what would your greatest weakness be?”
Separation anxiety when the acorns fall. No matter how many rings you have, it always hurts!”
Mike
Not all bowling balls float, something you should know if you’re going to ask the question in an interview. Bowling balls are all the same size but not the same weight.
Worst question? All of them asked at Microsoft, they have the stupidest interview process around.
Sam,
Now that I’ve committed to doing a “ten best”, I’ll be appropriating from your list. In fact, I may copy the whole thing. The “tedium or panic” one may get a post of its own.
Thanks for all of those!
Mike
Kelly,
That’s devious. I love it!
Mike
Haid,
There IS a fine line between interviewing someone and pumping them for information. I’ve seen that when people interview employees of competitors. Not fun if you’re the pumpee. Good for you for walking out!
Mike
For the “How do you define sexual harrasment?” question…i got this once. I looked her(yes female interviewer) right dead in the eyes with a straight face and said “It’s not sexual harrasment if you like it.” Got up and left. Didn’t want a job where they ask that question to their employees.
I like the above answer to the swallow question…I completely agree with you Mike.
What would you want on your tombstone?
if (age_of_demise == (80+)) {
printf(”Well he was RIPe when he died! - (RIPe = Resting
In Peace.)”);
} else if (age_of_demise == (30-)) {
printf(”Killed by roadrage\n”);
} else {
printf(”Victim of office policy\n”);
}
I was asked a few weird questions on my first interview.
1. What is your biggest strength? A. Logic!!!
2. Well, if your strength is logic, do you believe in god?
A. Logic can get you answers for 90% of the questions, but for the remaining 10% you have to have belief. So, I have belief. I think this kinda drove home the point on the prev question.
I was actually asked the following question when being interviewed for Starbucks:
“So, what excites you MOST about working in the service industry?”
This question is wrong on at least two different levels. I’m sure they’re as obvious to you as they were to me.
LOL!
The best one is:
“What interests you about our company?”
Dumb Human Resources “techniques”.
Why do you want to work here?
Tell me why you think I should hire you.
Mike,
I’ve hired literally hundreds (thousands? nyah) of tech people for projects in the past. I’ve tried highly technical interviews, the lunch “order anything on the menu”, the psychological mumbo jumbo IDPN, or IDPJ(?), but the most effective thing I’ve found has been trying to find somebody who fits. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong (my average would make me a god as a baseball batter).
“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”
Red Adair
When I meet with HR about filling positions and I put a management team together I make them interview me like they will the candidates. They’ve likely already been interviewed a few times by me so they have a clue. We’re required usually to standardize questions and log all follow up questions so we stick with basics that identify a suitable candidate.
I usually scope projects to pay outrageously and hire fewer people looking for hero’s. Not a sound business practice to most MBA’s but highly effective in the realm of information technology security consulting.
Another favorite that I used to get asked by candidates was “How much does the job pay”, now I’m not hiring desktop repair guys, so I rephrase the question back to them like “What kind of compensation are you looking for?”, answers will vary. Those that consider the entirety of the benefits package from vacation to salary are always more interesting then those who spit out a singular dollar figure.
I can’t wait to read the top ten good questions.
Sam,
I don’t know a heck of a lot about information security, but I’d love to work with you sometime. I like your management style.
I’ve already got my good “airspeed” question. Now all I need is nine more…
Mike
well, the worst interview question i’ve ever had was ‘what’s your life motto?’. that one takes the cake in my experience
My least favourite question always has been and always will be the following:
“Why should we hire you over any other candidate?” or some variant there of.
It’s ridiculous.
OK, I’m a Sr. Linux Admin. I’m good at my job (no arrogance just record) However about 3 years ago while interviewing I ran into a fool you started off by asking my “How are your differential equations?” I had to answer, “Back in College where I left them.”
Sorry but the question was asked just so the interviewer could show off. Had nothing to do with the job, and about 6 months later the company lost it’s financing. Sei la gare.
The worst is getting asked these questions for a part-time high school/college job.
Where do I see myself in 5 years? NOT HERE!
For good interview fodder, find something without a ‘right’ answer that lets you see them think on their feet: ask for responses to a graph, a recent emailed request, whatever. I stumbled onto this when a coworker (an agronomist) was struggling to plan for interviews he was conducting. Behind his head on the wall was a beautiful technical poster diagramming a canola plant’s parts — with french calligraphy for the notations. The poster was from a colleague of his in France. I said “see how they think: ask them to step up to that poster and start talking about their thoughts; just to see where they go.” The goal wasn’t to give a bonus to someone with knowledge of french, it was to see them take something completely unexpected and start mumbling about similarities with the latin or english words for plant anatomy, noting if they recognized a clue to the language, talking about the poster itself (litho vs. offset, the image’s beauty compared to industrial art in the US, or whatever), or talking about the question itself “Well, I’m not sure what you’re asking me for, but if you’re looking for a technical view (blah blah), if you mean from a linguistic stand point (bla blah), and if you’re just trying to see me think on my feet (bla blah bla).
Oh, and ‘undead’ and ‘how much do you want to pay for this car’ are ROFLMAO gold.
Worst interview question ever… Are those real?
WOW!!!! First off, these are all questions that I have heard as recently as yesterday. Thank you for this list, I am glad that I am not the only person who feels that some of the questions in an interview are useless.
I do want to hear from others who have interviewing tips. I need all the help I can get so I can relocate to Boston and start my family. Thanks again!!
Last week I went to an interview where the guy asked me “What animal would you be if you could chose?”.. I should have said a camel, because they spit a lot.
“How does your creativity manifest itself?”
?!?!?!?!
My response, “In large red blotches on my neck and back, but since I started taking the drugs, the homicidal tendencies have been reduced drastically” got me the hairy eyeball from the department PHB while the two technical people were wetting themselves laughing.
Surprisingly, I actually got offered the job…
The worst question I had was also the interview. It was for a systems operations position. I was taken to this dark office and told to sit down. The ‘interviewer’ pushed a sheet of paper with a list of tasks towards me and said ‘This is what you’ll be doing. Any questions?’
I said ‘No’ and walked out.
For me, a topic more interesting than the interview questions is how to gracefully jettison one’s hiring mistakes from a team. In IT and Information Security, seems like every team I get involved with has a few of Sam’s rockstars and a larger proportion of people ill-suited for the tasks at hand.
I’m an attentive student of good managerial tactics, and so far I’ve never been in a situation to watch this aspect of personnel done well. And the lackluster hires are NOT akin to missed pitches in baseball — .300 may be good in baseball, but a good security geek brings light-years more to the table than a bad one, so refining the roster starts to seem worth in the high six or low seven figures per 10-15 member team. The problem I haven’t got a clue on is how to do this with grace and while preserving morale and dignity.
I’ve had a couple of these Job interview questions before when looking for work.
I think the worst job interview technique I ever saw was when I was asked to take a typing test (I dont know what it had to do with my particular position I was going for) and the actual test itself consisted of retyping a document you were given into word in 5 minutes, or as close as you could to doing it.
…There were no interviewers monitoring this test
Long story short, I found a copy of the document on the computer I was using, and opened it up in word… I cut out the last paragraph and a half and purposefully added 2 typing errors.
… I was offered the job, but turned it down.
The actual question is, “What is the airspeed VELOCITY of an unladen swallow?” The missing word bothered me enough that I had to correct it. Am I a geek? Apparently. Or, if you really want to throw them in interview, you could ask something to the effect of: “We are no longer the Knights Who Say, ‘Ni!’ We are the now the Knights Who Say…” what?
I was once asked to show the interviewer my hands which he then grabbed and said “try to get away from me”. My first thought was to kick him in the nuts but he was an old man so I just pulled away from him and walked out.
Our boss asks every interviewee this as his last question:
Q: If you were going to design a spice rack for the blind, how would you go about it?
Go figure…
Answer to Question 4:
around 11 meters per second
http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/
Worst interview question (1981): “Are you planning on getting married and having children?”
I said, “I’m not. But that isn’t your business, and this is an illegal question. THAT, you need to know.” (having instantly gotten clear that I would never want to work there)
Second worst interview question (1995, interviewing before a group:) “Tell us what you don’t like about your current job.”
I figured if they were going to ask me something that outre, I would tell them, and let the chips fall where they would. After all, a good critical mind was one of the qualifications for the job. In the second group interview a few hours later, I broke their software and blue-screened the system when invited to input a simple query. (It WAS simple–just not easy.) Having thus established nerd dominance I at least got a little satisfaction out of the deal, and was relieved to know I wouldn’t be working there. Even though most of them were nice folks, the corporate culture wasn’t up to my standards.
What do you see yourself doing in five years?
…Not working here!
I was interviewing for a temporary sysadmin position in a new town for which I was overqualified. But I needed something quick due to a family situation.
I was asked an irrelevant and rather sexist arithmetic brainteaser question about the rates at which men can paint houses vs. women.
I followed the question with “Are the painters Gypsies?” I got the job.
Ever killed a man with your bare hands?
i love when they ask you what pay you think is fair
if you were a fruit which one would you be?
I personally think that the “What are your salary requirements is a horrible question.” My answer is always, “I expect compensation reasonable to the market position.” How should I know how to calculate all the benefits and base and bonus? If I go too high they will overlook me and if I go too low they will take advantage of me.
Nice. I think 7 questions are really asked by out HR!
In answer to where you see yourself in 5 years time, use what they would say: “That depends on what happens between now and then.”
Even better though, “Firing your ass for asking stupid questions during interviews for minion positions like this when the interviewee should be your boss, dumbass!”
Recently we have been adding positions like crazy, and I’m pleased to say that I’ve never asked any of these questions. While I can’t say I’ve interviewed thousands of people, I agree with Sam in the sentiment that you have to find someone who fits in with your team. You don’t need to ask a bunch of inane questions to figure that out. It doesn’t matter how smart, experienced, motivated someone is if they can’t mesh well with the company, their direct team, the clients they serve, etc.
worst question ever:
if you were in a performance review 5 years from now, what would your boss tell you needed improvement?
what the fuck?! i rephrased it back to him:
“do you mean, what am i going to fail at in 5 years? If I knew that now, I wouldn’t fail at it!” I turned down the job offer and the company went out of business not too much later.
Once i was asked “who would win in a battle between a ninja and a pirate?”
….
What ninjas and pirates have to do with the bedding department at macys, i haven’t the slightest idea.
In our company, we have similar questions, but people are always trying to bi serious in their answers. It is not bad to answer a couple of questions in funny way. It can bring you some points.
I actually have a friend (Female) that got the “Describe yourself in 3 words” question at a work interview for Outback Steakhouse. She basically snapped and with a serious face said ‘Young, Dumb and Full of Cum’
Interview over!
in 5 years.. with a beard. and for my tombstone, pepperoni and sausage.
in 5 years.. with a beard. and for my tombstone, pepperoni and sausage.
Oddest question I ever got was: “Why don’t you have any kids, are you gay?”
I have been asked most of the questions on your list (except for the swallow one, never been interviewed by a MonthyPython fan).
You have to remember that most HR people are idiots and that they are expected to fill out 30min with questions, of cause most of the questions will be silly.
Despite you seeming to mix up your icons there’s a few bits where I can’t tell whether you’re missing the point deliberately or for comic effect?
#10 - What interests you about our company?
Perhaps you could show genuine interest and knowledge about the ocmpany relating it to your goals and apsirations?
#7 - Can you work under pressure?
More likely “Give an example of when…”
#1 - Where do you see yourself in five years?
Again, knowledge of career path and insight into motivation of interviewee.
All ACTAULLY pretty useful questions for the interviewer.
At the physics/engineering questions above: The speed of light is constant, regardless of your reference frame. See special relativity. Conversely: If your car, traveling at the speed of light, pumps its brake lights, does the red light stay suspended, hanging out in free space with zero velocity when observed by the “stationary observer”? Definitely and resoundingly, no. Straight up addition doesn’t work in these situations
Oh, and the compressibility of water is just about nil, so its density isn’t appreciably greater at the bottom of the trench. The pressures are enormous, however, but that has no bearing on the fact that your bowling ball will sink like a stone (or bowling ball, as it were), all the way to the bottom. Whether or not it collapses along the way is another matter.
I don’t know about the worst, but the best interview question I was ever asked was “Do you like porn?” to which I said “Of course”. I got the job!
I was reading a lot of the responses to the above questions… As advice, I believe that its generally not good to make jokes or try to be cute when answering questions, seems to say that you don’t take the interviewer seriously. To me it would communicate: unprofessional. Although I’ve never given an interview.
Why are manhole covers round?*
I was asked this one, told that there was no real correct answer. It measures thought process probably more than intuition/trivia. Although there is a generally accepted best answer.
*Answer below, in reverse
“ni llaf tnod yeht taht os”
__
What are the names of the two Mars rovers?
Heard about this one, its a good industry specific interest level gauge. A different one could be made for many industries.
spirit and opportunity
A friend once was asked “What’s your least favorite color”, to which my friend answered promptly and quickly: “Black” while looking with a certain lunatic face.
The interviewer was african-american.
In the immortal words of Peter Griffin,
Where do you see yourself in five years?
“Doin’ your wife!”
oh loved the weakness! #2
the heading probably should have been
top 10 job interview answers i guess!
I’ve always hated that “what’s your weakness” question. When I give interviews, sometimes I turn it around - I ask people to talk about their greatest triumph. The interviewees seem to like it because it’s a clear chance for them to demonstrate success. However, I work in a technical field, so sometimes people betray themselves by being proud of something brain-dead simple. It’s a dead give-away that the person is incompetent. I agree the “weakness” version of the question is always useless, but in the right scenario/field, this opposite version can be quite demonstrative IMO.
I think I’ve got a worse question.
These questions were asked of me while being interviewed, and it was kind of shocking to hear them:
“Have you ever told a lie before?”
“Have you ever stolen something?”
Don’t know if you consider them part of the worst, but I sure as hell do.
When the .com bust hit and I needed a job while I searched for a real job, I applied at target. Me being a 25 year old IT professional, I was completely devestated when I had to apply at Target. I got an interview with the security lead (Whom I might add was the most butch woman you have ever seen).During this interview I was asked, “What you would you do if you saw a friend of yours stealing from target?”. I replied, “If I saw on of my friends stealing from target, they wouldn’t be my friend”. She started to smrik, but held her composure. She marked out of 1 - 5, 5 being the best, 5 for my answer. It was so hard to not to laugh at her when she marked that down. Thank god I failed the drug test at the time. Screw checking recepits.
I was once asked, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” Without missing a beat, I replied, “A decision tree, of course.”
i told a interviewing viewing manager after he asked me where do i see myself in 5 years., i said well i hope not to be dead. he looked at me like wow are you kidding. i mean what the f, go screw yourself.
Asked “Where do you see yourself in five years?” in my last job interview I leaned forward, looked my boss-to-be in the eyes and told him “In your chair”.
where do you see yourself in 5 years?
[looks at a family picture of manager]
(don’t say doing your wife don’t say doing your wife don’t say doing your wife)……………doing your…. son?!
My worst question ever came just last week! I was applying for the job of internet marketer for a newspaper and the question was, “So do you know everything about the internet then?” When I answered, “Not everything. Who could? It is too big.” She replied that, “Perhaps I wasn’t right for this then.”
Thanks for playing…
How come #9 doesn’t score an “illegal” tag.
And my inner spelling nazi wants to change “family issues will AFFECT your career planning” in #1
Otherwise a good list and I’ve been asked lots of them at many interviews.
#4 So is that a European swallow or an African swallow?
And for #6 I would be “Lost” because I never watch the show, and for the shows I do watch - I rarely remember the characters’ names.
#7 - work under pressure - well I’ve recently taken up scuba diving and I’m fine at 30 metres under (4x surface pressure) - but I think the PC would die.
The more time in an interview we talk about stuff that’s completely unrelated to the job - the more I know I’ve got the job. One memorable interview - I think we spent a lot of time talking about Magpies - the birds not the football teams. And later they told me I got the job because they liked my legs.
This is great
Didnt microsoft have a question like “If you got the task of making a program that finds prime numbers. How would you do that?”
I think thats a pretty impossible task/question to answer
I was once asked what 25 * 86 is as the opening question from a PE firm. It took my a good 3 minutes just to figure out whether or not this guy was serious (he was). I guess in the highly complex world of global finance, multiplication problems seems to be a top priority. Needless to say I passed on the job.
Describe a time when you thought outside of the box.
>What is your biggest weakness?
“My intolerance of stupid questions”
Gerald,
“For the Horde!” - classic. In fact, all your answers are top notch. I’m guessing you’re partner at some top HR consulting firm and ‘Gerald’ isn’t your real name. Superb!
Mike
David,
That’s the spirit!
Mike
Molly,
In that case, the proper response is “Why do you ask?”. Hopefully they’re not quick enough to respond “To find out.”
Mike
Sam.
“I rephrase the question back to them like “What kind of compensation are you looking for?””
Sorry, that would have me out of the door. I would assume that you were an amateur fishing.
In addition, I only work for people who know how to use apostrophes.
Jack,
Now I know more about bowling balls than I ever thought I would.
Mike
Mark,
I bow to you, sir!
Mike
Josh,
As you pointed out, that’s wrong on so many levels…
Mike
Andres,
I admire your directness, sir!
Mike
I think you have your “I” and “H” icons switched. #2 is hackneyed, not illegal; #9 is illegal, not hackneyed.
I think the worst question is “why are you currently looking for a job”
kaulie,
“Illegitmati non carborundum. Good day.”
Mike
Matthew,
“Did you already ask me the weakness question? I’ll just stand pat on that answer.”
Mike
James,
You and your rapier wit! Nice.
Mike
Other Mike,
Yes, asking any of these for a high school / part time job is ridiculous. For those kinds of jobs, the appropriate questions are: “Do you have a pulse”, “Are you carrying any weapons”, “How many fingers am I holding up”.
Mike
sageword,
I also like to provide opportunities to let people think on their feet and explore problem spaces. That canola poster may be a potential side business if marketed right!
Mike
Margaret,
We may have a new top answer to question #5!
Mike
DavidM,
Yesterday? Ouch. There are lots of great resources on the net, and I guess I’d better get cracking on that “best interview questions” post, huh?
Best of luck on your job search!
Mike
Alex,
Don’t forget the camel’s innate ability to find the oasis!
Mike
absurdist,
As Drew Carey would say “1000 points for absurdist”. Virtuouso work!
Mike
Mike M,
I was really taken aback when you did that, but I learned from it. Thank you.
Mike
The dumbest question I have ever been asked was, “What is the greatest obstacle you have ever overcome to getting to work on time?”
“……R