A recent contest for people to submit their favorite interview questions yielded the interesting, the odd, the useful, the insightful, and the obscene.
They included such questions as: “What is your favorite palindrome?” and “Why did America stop selling War Bonds?”
And, there are some I can’t publish without washing my own mouth out with soap.
A contest about questions
The contest, put on by VoiceGlance, ran in a 10-week period from May into July. Most of the answers came in via LinkedIn groups, and were sent in by HR managers, recruiters, and some job seekers in the U.S., India, China, Nepal, Malta, the UK, and Canada.
Here are the questions turned in, and at the end of this post, some of the questions the judge — me — selected as winners.
(I generally tried to pick questions that were related to actual success on the job. Suffice it say, I didn’t pick any questions about your favorite barnyard animal, and I didn’t pick the one about “what does family mean to you?”)
The questions submitted
Give an example of a situation where you had a conflict with a coworker, and how did you handle it?
How would you define servant leadership?
- In 50 words or fewer, describe what skills and knowledge you can bring to our team.
- If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you have and why?
- Humans do make mistakes. Please share with us a time where you have made a mistake which had a significant impact to the company/your team, what mistake was that, and what remedy action you took.
- Describe for me some safe work practices you’ve learned from previous employers and how you rate your overall safety record.
- How do you motivate others?
- In a team environment, what role do you usually take on?
- How do you handle criticism?
- What is your philosophy towards your work?
- If you had to compare how you take decisions, to which animal do you think you would be most similar and why?
- If you have a say in the decision taken by management and (say) if you are quite against theirs, will you stick on with your decision?
- How would your best friend describe you?
- What best a company can do for their employees so its turnover ratio can be maintained?
- What three things do you need to be successful in this job? What are deal killers for you?
- If I were to talk to one of your previous supervisors, what might they recommend as an area of improvement for you?
- What are your long-term motivations in a company or a position?
- Tell me about a time you did the right thing at work and no one saw you do it.
- Ideal for salespeople — present them with a brick and say “you have three minutes to sell me this brick.”
- What do you do when your client says “no” but doesn’t really mean “no”; he only means “tell me more and break down the issues?”
- What do you worry about, and why?
- How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition?
- What was a situation you handled poorly in the past and how would you handle it in the future?
- What do colleagues say is your best quality?
- If you were left in the woods with only the items in this room, what would you build?
- Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?
- What is your favorite palindrome?
- Why did our government stop selling War Bonds? It seemed like a great idea for many reasons.
- Which of the two animals would you say you are most like — a sheep or a wolf — and why?
- What does family mean to you?
- If you were an animated character, who would you be and why?
- What are the titles of the last three books you have read? Tell me how you related to one of the characters.
- Tell us about yourself, your company, job profile, etc.
- Why do you want to change your job and work with our company?
- What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- Tell us something about our company; how it is better than your present working company?
- Who has inspired you in your life and why?
- What qualities should a team leader have?
- What changes would you make if you are selected and you come on board?
- How do you feel about reporting to a boss younger than you or if she is a lady boss?
- How do you define success and how do you measure it?
- Can you work in critical situations with work pressure?
- First ask, “If I went to your last boss and ask them to tell me about you, what would they say?” Then follow it with “Now, if I went to your best friend and asked them to tell me about you — personally, not professionally — what would they say?”
- Would you rather be liked or respected?
- If your boss asked you to jump, would you ask how high? Or, would you ask, why do you want me to jump?
- Tell me something you have never told anyone else.
- Tell me about the biggest mistake you ever made at work and what did you do about it?
- If you could be any animal on a carousel, what would you be, and why?
- Typically you are asked to tell about an accomplishment you are most proud of during your career. I would like you to talk about an error/mistake you made and how you went about resolving it.
- Tell me something you have done that goes against all social conventions, yet you did it anyway because it was the right thing to do!
- How do you evaluate success?
- If you were I, would you hire a person like you, and why?
- What were some of the first impressions you got from walking into and waiting for a few minutes in our (organization/newsroom/business)?
- Describe for me your most ideal work environment.
Some of the winners
OK, now here are some of the winning questions. Remember that the judge — me — had to choose the best given any particular week. Some weeks there was a great question, and others I was picking the best of a bad bunch.
- Can you tell me about a situation that was difficult and you were able to overcome it?
- What’s the worst thing about your current job and what’s the best?
- What would you like to change (positively) in our organization, and how would you do that?
- Explain how you will add value to our company if hired.
- What one skill do you possess that will most impact our bottom line?
- What did you love best about your last full-time position?
- Why should we hire you?
- Communication is important within every organization. Thinking about your style of communication, how will you use it to ensure you are communicating effectively with your team, and what suggestions would you offer your teammates on communicating with you?
