Jobhop Jobhop's blog : The Stupid Interview And The Stupid Interview Questions

Admit it, have you ever asked a stupid interview question?

Glassdoor has a section on its site for the top 10 tough interview questions in the UK but some of the questions are just stupid.

“What cartoon character would you be and why?” asked by Asda. Is this type of interview question in line with their employer brand? I don’t think so! My answer to that would Mojo JoJo because I like spending my time inventing new weapons and new technology and then I'll give an evil laugh! If you don’t know who Mojo Jojo is then check out Powerpuff Girls. Now if somebody said that in their interview would the interviewer know who Mojo Jojo was, no I doubt it! Why ask a question when you can’t relate to the answer? Asda should have their own questions which relate to their brand, they shouldn’t try to be cool and hip with stupid interview questions.

Some other stupid interview questions that have been asked over time are:

“If you had to be a dog, what breed of dog would you be?”
“If you were an animal, what animal do you think you’d be?”
“How would you get a hippo out of a hole?”
“What would you do if the sun died?”
“Who would win in a fight, Superman or Batman?”
“What dinosaur would you like to be?”

The stupid interview questions go on, there’s many more! There was a candidate who was asked whether they liked to sing in the bath! Yes really, they got asked that, that’s a question you ask only when you want to make someone feel really uncomfortable!

The worse interview question asked has to be “where do you see yourself in 5 years time?” Considering the average life span of a job is 3 years your company will have to be super special to keep them. A good candidate will probably be head hunted and working for you competitor in five years time, why ask it?

It’s time to stop all the stupid questions... Don’t get me wrong if you were being interviewed for a zoo keeper job then the question “How do you get a hippo out of a hole?” would be relevant because that is quite handy to know. I bet you’re intrigued about how now! The only answer I could find on Google is to fill the hole with water, that sort of makes sense.

With social media, word soon gets round about your company and its stupid interview questions, your company then just becomes a laughing stock.

That’s the questions, what about the interview process?

Many interviews are intimidating, sometimes the interviewer can appear bored and some interviewers are downright rude!

Surely it’s time the whole interview process is more transparent and the candidate gets to have a good experience. Many companies fail to remember that their candidate is also a consumer who these days is well connected to other consumers. One little tweet about how awful their interview experience was could turn off any potential customers.

Candidates shouldn’t have to suffer feeling hot, flustered, clammy, sick or even faint at the hands of wannabe Claude Littner’s ( You'll know who he is if you've ever watched The Apprentice )These interviewers usually suffer from Napoleon complex not all of them are short though!

So how do we make the interview process a much better experience?

Display “typical interview questions” on your careers site
Have a video on your careers site of the interviewer chatting about his/her likes, hobbies or anything that emotionally connects the candidate to them.
Have a periscope where spectators can ask questions
Have a tweet chat with potential candidates
Hold a Google+ hangout where candidates can ask the interviewer anything
Skype candidates first for a virtual coffee where they get to meet the interviewer before the actual interview
Make sure each interviewee has full details on where to park, what building to come to, who to ask for etc..
Make sure the reception area is candidate friendly with good coffee
Get rid of the intimidating interview table
Take your candidate on a walk around the company whilst conducting the interview

Remember to make the candidate experience a good one so even if they don’t get the job they can only say great things about your company, which can then get amplified on social media.

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