As a recruiter, you have an undoubtedly delicate task on your hands when it comes to handling interviews. Your job is to ask the right mix of questions to illuminate a candidate’s personality, mindset, work ethic, and other similar qualities. The questions you choose play a major role in determining whether an individual’s values align with the organization’s ethos.
You may be wondering what’s wrong with the common job interview questions. The issue is that these run-of-the-mill inquiries have already heavily saturated the recruiting industry. If you’re a recruiter looking for authentic responses in your candidate evaluation, it might be time to ask outside the box.
Creative job interview questions are precisely the tools you need to draw out insightful answers from your candidates. By venturing into the unconventional via funny or unexpected queries, you can transform the tenor of an interview. Rather than a monotonous interrogation, set the stage for a wholesome conversation where you make the most of your interview time.
Read on to uncover ten creative job interview questions to ask candidates as a recruiter. Some of these also include ideal and potential responses candidates may give.
Table of Contents:
1. What Was The Last Gift You Gave Someone?
Job interviews often make for tense, formal environments. Candidates can get very nervous, but a question like this is a great way to inject some warmth into your interview. It will come in handy, particularly if you’re interacting with an especially formal interviewee. This way, you can get them to ease up and give you a clearer glimpse into their character.
Based on their response you can find out if they have a propensity to form meaningful bonds with others. You should also be able to gain some insight into their thoughtfulness or creative skills. Here is what a sample response may look like;
Sample response: “Oh, it was my sister’s birthday two weeks ago, and I got her a cooking class voucher. She loves to try new things – especially with her husband, and they both love food so I thought, why not? They took a sushi-making class together! She told me they had a fantastic time!”
2. What Is Your Idea Of A Really Good Day?
This might initially catch a candidate off-guard. However, as they share what qualifies a great day in their book, you’ll get to understand just what makes them tick. Their answers should reveal their interests and values and generally what keeps them motivated.
With this, you should be able to ascertain whether or not they are a good fit for your organization. Your company culture may be more suitable for individuals with certain lifestyles. This question is your chance to find out if the shoe fits. And should it, their response should also help you map out possible bonding opportunities.
3. If You Could Be Any Animal, What Animal Would You Be?
On the surface, this seems like a fun, playful icebreaker. However, ideally, this question should prompt your candidate to showcase their creativity by linking their choice of creatures to useful traits within their person. Think of it as a two-for-one deal because you also get to learn what they perceive as a strength of theirs. There’s no one animal to look out for; of course, your goal is to understand how they see themselves. Here are some sample responses to illustrate;
Sample Response: I think I would be a dolphin. I hear they’re highly social and intelligent animals. That’s me to a T, I excel at communication and enjoy collaborating with others and basically being part of a team.
4. If You Were Stranded On A Deserted Island, And All Your Basic Needs Like Food And Water Were Already Met, What Two Items Would You Choose To Have With You?
The value of this question is that it gives candidates a chance to present their priorities. Based on their choices, you can work out how they make decisions. For some people, comfort may be a top priority, while others may place greater value on practical items.
Furthermore, through this question, you’ve placed a candidate in a challenging scenario. Their response will reveal how they adapt to such situations depending on their personality. For instance, an interviewee could give this answer;
Sample Response: My top priority would be to get rescued but I would also have to stay safe in the meantime. In that case, I would choose a waterproof tent and a -powered satellite phone. This way I could call for help and have protection from the elements.
This is a well-thought-out response that shows a high level of pragmatism.
5. Which One Of Our Products Is Your Favorite
This is a pretty direct and sometimes unexpected question to ask a candidate, but you learn something valuable from it. A question like this speaks to how much research they’ve conducted regarding your organization. Of course, it doesn’t fit into every context, but you can adapt it to suit your structure; if not, what product, then perhaps what campaign? An ideal response would highlight a certain product, team or some aspect of your company the candidate finds they resonate with.
6. If You Could Only Read One Book For The Rest Of Your Life, Which Would It Be?
To Kill A Mockingbird, Little Women, 1984, The Devil Wears Prada… and the list goes on and on. A candidate could respond with any one of the hundreds of millions of books in existence. With that in mind, it’s fair to wonder, what exactly is the point of this question?
A person’s choice of books can shed light on their character, preferences, and perception of the world. Also, books are just a great way to get a person to open up. If you’re dealing with a particularly enigmatic interviewee, try tossing them this question to crack open that shell. Their answer might look a little like this one;
Sample response: I would choose Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. It helped me through a time when I felt uncertain about my path in life. Reading it taught me some important lessons about listening to my heart.
7. If You Won $10 Million, What Would You Do With It?
Most people need and would like money; however, as an organization, you want an employee who’s motivated by more than a paycheck. People who derive genuine fulfillment from their work generally tend to perform better. This question can help you determine, to some extent, how invested a person is in their work.
Sample Response: The top 2 things on my list are taking care of my family and investing. And then I would probably buy these amazing shoes I’ve had my eye on for years. I would also like to travel and, of course, support a few causes I really care about. However, I still would like to work as I do enjoy being in this field.
8. If You Could Choose Between Flying And Invisibility, Which Would It Be?
This question may bring out your interviewee’s inner geek, but it can also aid your candidate evaluation. According to Forbes, it’s an effective pointer towards an individual’s leadership skills or lack thereof. Over 70% percent of surveyed leaders went for the skies.
Another angle from which you can view this question is as an indicator of where a person is most comfortable. Flyers may tilt towards spearheading movements and being the voice of a group. On the other hand, those who choose invisibility may prefer to direct things from the background.
9. What Advice Would You Give Your Former Boss?
This is an interesting question that gives you a peek into your candidate’s previous working environment. They could share admirable qualities about their former employer or constructive feedback about their performance. Recruiters can use this to gain insight into what prospective employees expect from new employers.
Sample Response: My former boss was a bit of a micro-manager. He was very understanding and gave thorough feedback, but I would have liked a little more trust in my projects.
10. You’ve Been Given An Elephant. You Can’t Give It Away Or Sell It. What Would You Do With The Elephant?
This is one of the more unusual questions, and without an answer, no less. Rather than a specific response, this query probes your candidate’s sense of logic. It illustrates their thinking patterns and ability to prioritize and come up with solutions to unique problems. The elephant question can also help your interviewee loosen up and show a side of their personality they may have kept hidden.
Sample Response: I wouldn’t mind having an elephant around the house ha ha. I hear they have great memories and see humans much like we see dogs.
Conclusion
Conventional job interview questions are indispensable because they help you assess a candidate’s skills and job experience. At Signal Hire, we’ve put together relevant interview questions to help with that. These questions are tailored for various positions, so check them out here to learn what to ask as you interview candidates for all sorts of roles. By tossing in the aforementioned creative questions into the mix, you can fill in the blanks about their character and personality.
Take things a step forward by incorporating SignalHire’s recruiting pipeline to streamline the talent acquisition process. Check out one of our previous posts, about the concept of a talent pipeline. It also explains how you can create one for a more efficient hiring process.
