Interview Questions That Will Make You Cringe

  • Thread starter Thread starter AlephZero
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Interview
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

This discussion highlights a series of unconventional and inappropriate interview questions that have been reported, particularly from a 2011 UK Financial Times recruitment supplement. Questions such as "Do you sparkle?" and "Where would you hide an elephant?" exemplify the absurdity faced by candidates. Participants share personal experiences of bizarre interview scenarios, including being asked to sell a pencil and being judged on attire. The consensus is that such interviews reflect poorly on the companies and indicate a lack of professionalism.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of common interview practices and etiquette
  • Familiarity with behavioral interview techniques
  • Knowledge of workplace culture and corporate values
  • Awareness of legal considerations in hiring practices
NEXT STEPS
  • Research effective interview questions that assess candidate fit
  • Learn about behavioral interview techniques and their applications
  • Explore the impact of corporate culture on recruitment processes
  • Investigate legal guidelines for interview questions to avoid discrimination
USEFUL FOR

Human resources professionals, hiring managers, job seekers preparing for interviews, and anyone interested in improving recruitment practices.

AlephZero
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Messages
6,998
Reaction score
299
A selection published in the UK Financial Times recruitment supplement, 12 April 2011:

1 Do you sparkle?

2 (Asked by "mature" maile interviewer) So, Miss Williams, tell me what excites you?

3. We have a lot of young girls on the staff. Will this be a problem for you?

4. What's your Facebook status?

5. Your'e not a vegetarian or anything, are you?

6. Where would you hide an elephant?

7. Are you decisive?

8. I see you ride a motorcycle. That's unusual for a woman. Are you going to grow out of it?

9. Do you have any children? Follow-up question: Does your husband have any children?

10 What would you like inscribed on your gravestone?

Feel free to add answers (or more questions...)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I was called in for an interview with a department head that I had not sent a resume to. (I found out later that she had a friend in HR and they had forwarded my resume to her instead of the department it was intended for.) I went anyway to see what she had to offer. We were sitting at a conference room table and she throws a pencil in front of me and tells me to "sell it to her". :rolleyes:

I turned her job offer down and got my resume to the right person.
 
As I have no interest in working for any company that presents such moronic scenarios, I would simply reply as follows:

“The pencil you have just placed in my possession may be used as a weapon. If you purchase the pencil from me, I guarantee that I will surrender the pencil to you peacefully and then YOU will have the weapon. Now; are you inclined to purchase the pencil from me, or would you prefer to see where I jam it next?”
 
When I was interviewing for college, I was asked "If you were an inanimate object, what would you be?"
 
AlephZero said:
A selection published in the UK Financial Times recruitment supplement, 12 April 2011:

1 Do you sparkle?

2 (Asked by "mature" maile interviewer) So, Miss Williams, tell me what excites you?

3. We have a lot of young girls on the staff. Will this be a problem for you?

4. What's your Facebook status?

5. Your'e not a vegetarian or anything, are you?

6. Where would you hide an elephant?

7. Are you decisive?

8. I see you ride a motorcycle. That's unusual for a woman. Are you going to grow out of it?

9. Do you have any children? Follow-up question: Does your husband have any children?

10 What would you like inscribed on your gravestone?

Feel free to add answers (or more questions...)

Sorry, interview threads are no longer allowed on the PF. Thread closed.



Oh wait...:blushing:
 
I was informed in one of my very first 'software developer' interview that I was "obviously" not serious because of my tie. (It was narrow and magenta). People in this line of business take themselves more seriously than that.

I kept my tongue but spent the rest of the interview assuring him that he'd convinced me this was not the place I wanted to work, as there were places out there that welcome individuality and have some corporate culture.

A mere half hour of biting my tongue led to a life lesson wherein I learned that choosing where I don't want to work is as important as choosing where I do want to work.
 
Evo said:
We were sitting at a conference room table and she throws a pencil in front of me and tells me to "sell it to her". :rolleyes:

Hmm... we use that one as a put-down for job applicants with engineering degrees who say they want to move into sales and marketing.

Before anti-smoking legislation came in, sometimes we asked them to sell us the dregs of a cup of vending-machine coffee, with a couple of cigarette butts floating in it. Interviewers have their seccret siignals for "OK, we agree this one's a reject, so let's have some fun making hiim/her earn his/her travel expenses before we let him/her out of jail..."