Unique Interview Questions
We all know job interviews can be pretty stressful. In order to reduce tension and help improve candidate performance, interviewers have to get creative and make sure their candidates have a pleasant interview experience.
➡️ Before we dig deeper into the Internal interview questions, don't forget to download our free Guide for Conducting Job Interviews & The Ultimate Candidate Interview & Employee Onboarding Checklist!
Why not have some fun?
Even though job interviews are supposed to be serious and professional, there’s no reason you and your candidates can’t have some fun. We can’t emphasize this enough - always try to have fun with your candidates, humor relieves stress. As long as you do your best to make your candidates feel relaxed and comfortable in an interview, you will be remembered as the one who gave them a chance to open up about their interests and goals.
Unique interview questions
You should always come prepared for an interview with your candidates. First of all, you need to define what kind of traits you are looking for in a candidate. When preparing for an interview, you have to decide which unique questions will best show you your candidate’s character.
If you’re asking these unexpected questions randomly or just for the sake of it, you’re risking making your candidates feel uncomfortable.
It is also important for you to set the tone of the interview and let the candidate know you’re about to ask them some unconventional interview questions. Make sure to let the candidates know you’re not looking for a specific answer. There are no right or wrong answers.
List of unique interview questions
We bring you a list of unique, funny and creative interview questions:
- If you could choose to have one superpower, what would it be and why?
- If you knew you were going to get stuck on a deserted island with all your life essentials (food, water and shelter) covered, what 3 personal items would you choose to bring with you?
- If you had a chance to visit any country in the world, where would you go and why?
- How would you describe this job position to a 6-year-old?
- If you could choose to have lunch with a movie character, who would you choose and why?
- Can you describe to us your idea of an amazing day?
- If you won a million dollars right now, what would you do?
- If you could choose to become any animal, what animal would you choose and why?
- Who is your favorite superhero and why?
- Can you describe to us a time when you laughed the hardest?
- What movie or series could you watch over and over again?
- Can you teach us something in 5 minutes?
- If you had a chance to start any kind of business tomorrow, what would it be?
- Can you tell us one misconception people have about you?
- If you had a chance to solve any problem in the world, what problem would you solve and why?
- How would your best friend describe you?
- If someone wrote a biography about your life, what would the title be?
No matter which of these unique interview questions you decide to use in your interview, you should always choose questions that are a reflection of your company culture and your core values.
And remember - be friendly and always treat your candidates with respect, that way they’ll be more likely to open up about their quirks and unusual qualities.
Benefits of asking unique interview questions
Unique interview questions don’t measure any job-relevant skills and abilities, however, some unusual and creative interview questions have proven to be quite useful during the interview process. As long as these questions are used correctly, you can learn a lot about the candidate's interests and personal preferences. Answers to these questions will give you an insight into your candidate’s way of thinking and help you estimate whether the candidate is a good cultural fit for your company.
The main idea behind asking unique interview questions is to get people to relax so that you might find out something they wouldn’t usually tell or show you during a stuck-up interview.
Also, many of the candidates have pre-rehearsed answers to general interview questions so this way you get a chance to hear more natural and interesting answers.
Brain teaser interview questions
We deliberately avoided examples of so-called brain teasers because the purpose of asking unconventional interview questions shouldn’t be to trick your candidates or to take them out of their comfort zone.
Questions like ‘’How many tennis balls can fit in this room?’’ or ‘’How many golf balls can you fit into a plane?’’ only make the candidates feel stressed and stressed candidates give poor interview performance.
Many companies who, at first, supported and promoted these thinking-on-your-feet questions, such as Google, actually decided to move away from that kind of strategy when they realized it’s a waste of time and that it makes for an unpleasant job interview.
Watch out for those inappropriate interview practices and avoid asking questions that don’t say anything meaningful about a candidate. Steer clear of pointless and awkward interview questions because ‘’funny and creative’’ can easily become ‘’strange and absurd’’.
Make sure the questions are relevant and professional so you get a chance to uncover some of your candidate’s qualities that can’t be determined during the usual line of interview questioning.
Looking for more questions to ask your candidates in an interview?
Find inspiration in our list of interview questions by type and make sure to check out our Complete guide for asking candidates the best interview questions.