25 Weirdest Job Interview Questions of 2012

As if your nerves aren't rattled enough during a job interview, imagine being asked one of these questions!  If you find yourself being asked a weird interview question my advice is to stay calm and say what first comes to your mind (if it isn't already blown away)!  This article is by Suzanne Lucas and can be orignally found at cbs.com.  I would love to hear if any of you have been asked a weird question during a job interview, so post away :)

 

 

 

1. "If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?" - Asked at Forrester Research, research associate candidate.

 

2. "How many cows are in Canada?" - Asked at Google, local data quality evaluator candidate.

 

3. "How many quarters would you need to reach the height of the Empire State building?" - Asked at JetBlue, pricing/revenue management analyst candidate.

 

4. "A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?" - Asked at Clark Construction Group, office engineer candidate.

 

5. "What songs best describes your work ethic?" - Asked at Dell, consumer sales candidate.

6. "[Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos walks into your office and says you can have a million dollars to launch your best entrepreneurial idea. What is it?" - Asked at Amazon, product development candidate.

7. "What do you think about when you are alone in your car?" - Asked at Gallup, associate analyst candidate.

 

8. "How would you rate your memory?" - Asked at Marriott, front desk associate candidate.

9. "Name 3 previous Nobel Prize winners." - Asked at BenefitsCONNECT, office manager candidate.

10. "Can you say: 'Peter Pepper Picked a Pickled Pepper' and cross-sell a washing machine at the same time?" - Asked at MasterCard, call center candidate.

11. "If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?" - Asked at Trader Joe's, crew candidate.
12. "How would people communicate in a perfect world?" - Asked at Novell, software engineer candidate.

 

13. "How do you make a tuna sandwich?" - Asked at Astron Consulting, office manager candidate.

 

14. "My wife and I are going on vacation -- where would you recommend?" - Asked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, advisory associate candidate.

 

15. "You are a head chef at a restaurant and your team has been selected to be on [the TV show] 'Iron Chef'. How do you prepare your team for the competition, and how do you leverage the competition for your restaurant?" - Asked at Accenture, business analyst candidate.

 

16. "Estimate how many windows are in New York." - Asked at Bain & Co., associate consultant candidate.

17. "What's your favorite song? Perform it for us now." - Asked at LivingSocial, Adventures City manager candidate.

18. "Calculate the angle of two clock pointers when the time is 11:50." - Asked at Bank of America, software developer candidate.

19. "Have you ever stolen a pen from work?" - Asked at Jiffy Software, software architect candidate.

 

20. "Pick two celebrities to be your parents." - Asked at Urban Outfitters, sales associate candidate.

 

21. "What kitchen utensil would you be?" - Asked at Bandwidth.com, marketer candidate.

 

22. "If you had turned you cell phone to silent and it rang really loudly despite it being on silent, what would you tell me?" - Asked at Kimberly-Clark, biomedical engineer candidate.

 

23. "On a scale from 1 to 10, rate me as an interviewer." - Asked at Kraft Foods, general laborer candidate.

 

24. "If you could be anyone else, who would it be?" - Asked at Salesforce.com, sales representative candidate.

 

25. "How would you direct someone else on how to cook an omelet?" - Asked at PETCO, analyst candidate. 

4 Questions to Ask at Your Next Interview

You know that awkward moment when you’re sitting at a job interview and they ask you if you have any questions for them and you can’t think of anything?  It’s okay, it happens to nearly everyone.  It’s hard to come up with intelligent questions when you are anxious, nervous, and a little overwhelmed with everything.  Here is a list of EXCELLENT questions to ask the next time you hear, “Do you have any questions for me?”  These questions will surely impress your interviewer because they are thought provoking and the answers cannot be found online like the company’s annual revenue or employee turnover.

 

1.  What do you expect me to accomplish within my first 3 months?

You can tell the employer that you want to make a difference but it won’t mean a thing unless you show it and this question shows that you really want to make a positive impact on the company.

2.  Where do you see me in 5 years at (name of company)?

The employer is always asking this question to the interviewee, so reverse the pressure for a few minutes.  See if this position leads to advancements in ranking or an increase in responsibilities.

3.  What are the common characteristics amongst your top employees?

Find out exactly what it takes to be a top performer and implement these characteristics in your daily tasks.

4.  What activities do employees do when they aren’t working?

This question is important because you want to know if you are going to fit in with the other employees because it will affect your overall happiness.  Happy Employees = Great Employees