3 Silly Job Interview Questions and Answers

Posted by in Career Advice •




I have several friends who are looking for jobs and sometimes we like to sit back and share our interview horror stories. Let me tell you, some of these people could tell you stories that would curl your hair, but what makes me laugh the most are the silly interview questions. Of course, I do realize that many of the questions that interviewers ask are standard and the company they work for requires them to ask certain questions, even if they personally think it's silly.



That being said, here are 3 of the silliest job interview questions and answers:

 

  • What's your greatest weakness? - I hate this one. Really, what do you say? Some people think that it's best to answer it by giving one of their strengths. For example, they could say "I'm a workaholic". Which isn't a great answer, even if it were true. In fact, if your strongest weakness is truly that you work to hard, you should make up a better answer because no one is going to believe yours. If you don't want to take that route, then you'll have to make up a weakness because if you answer the question honestly, you're not going to get the job. After all, who is going to say "I like to steal office supplies" or "I can't resist stealing my co-worker's lunch from the fridge." There is a time and place for honesty, and a job interview isn't always it.
  • Where do you see yourself in 5 years? - This question has always baffled me. The truth is that, frankly, I have no idea what I will be doing in 5 years. In fact, when I try to picture myself 5 years from now, I just hope that I'm still alive. So, I'm not sure what the interviewer is expecting my answer to be, but I know that "I'll be working somewhere else.", "Working somewhere" and "I'll probably be retired by then." are all not very good answers. The best way to answer this one is to just say that you plan to continue to expand your skills and grow in your career. It's just vague and non-committal enough to really impress and interviewer.
  • Why should I hire you? - It seems that this questions isn't being asked as often anymore, and I, for one, am eternally grateful. I realize that this is the question that every hiring manager has in their mind, but this question is usually asked in an almost hostile tone of voice. The interviewers used to practice being as condescending as possible in order to "see what the applicant was made of". Now, the questions is just a great way to tell if the boss is a jerk or not.

 

What other interview questions do you hate? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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  • JP M
    JP M •
    It sure would have been helpful to include good answers to these questions instead of saying "make something up"
  • Stacey S
    Stacey S •
    Obviously, interviewers/panelists have a "script" of questions that need to be asked.  I respect that.  I also tend to provide complete answers that often relate to subsequent question(s).  And yet they still ask me the questions to which I provide the same answers.  Following the script?  Not really listening to my answers?  Looking for consistency?  All of the above?
  • Rusty W
    Rusty W •
    Changes are evident some better than others!
  • Eileen D.
    Eileen D. •
    I believe that all three questions are silly because you may wonder why are they being asked of you considering this job market and the dynamics of the job. But, overall, I feel those "silly" questions are  needed in order for the interviewer to know how you handle such a question and what your answer would be.  I try to be honest and give a quick response in order to move on. I have had many interviews over this past year and still looking for full time employment.  By now, after dozens of interviews, I feel that I'm good at reading the interviewer and know ahead of time what kind of questions I will be asked.  There hasn't been one question during an interview that surprises me and also tells me a lot about the company.  If the questions are really way off base, then I know their HR dept isn't good or they really didn't read my resume well enough or the interviewer uses the same silly questions for everybody and every job announcement. I need work but I also need to be happy in order to stay on the job.  So now, I check out the company and their website in detail and want to know as much about them as they about me. Resumes and cover letters don't tell it all about a person.  I wish we could just skip the whole cover letter bit and just send a simple email or text along with the resume and then tell the person all about me during the interview.  
  • Ramond G
    Ramond G •
    The Question for me is",How often do you get sick?Sound like to me the interviewerWant to know how much time willI need off.
  • Charles M
    Charles M •
    "Tell me about a time when you set a goal for yourself and achieved it." - Well, yesterday I decided I wanted to get up and take a shower this morning, so at 11:30 am, I got up and went to get my shower....
  • Bernita C.
    Bernita C. •
    I had an "interesting" question in pre-interview telephone screen this week, "if you had to make a choice, which would you rather be without, electricity or water?"Gotta say I never had that question before.I choose electricity telling the screener there's a certain ambiance that comes from candle light.Earlier this summer, my sister was asked in an interview, "what would the headline be on your obituary?"BTW, I 've heard that the purpose of "silly" questions isn't so much to get your answer as to gauge your level of confidence in being able to formulate and think about a response.
  • Marsha L
    Marsha L •
    These questions will make you think.
  • oluwatayo o
    oluwatayo o •
    WHAT IS THE BEST ANSWER FOR WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU?
  • Anne J
    Anne J •
    It's a relief that someone else sees these questions as ridiculous as I do! Maybe if I could tell them my greatest strength first or if they could word it as '...where do you need to improve?' then these questions wouldn't sound so "silly".
  • Lynne O
    Lynne O •
    These are questions that alway make me nervous.  Thanks so much for the suggestions!
  • Valerie D
    Valerie D •
    I was recently asked why I should hire you! My response was that I was certain I was the best candidate for the job. My first thought was that I really wanted the job. It was three miles from my house and it was a job that I really wanted. Needless to say, it went to a more suitable candidate.
  • Kevin E
    Kevin E •
    I'm currently looking for my next employment opportunity, or "passion" as I've had that; and want it back.  So, I've had a fair share of interviews over the past few months.  I've not been asked the last of these three questions, but almost always the first two.  I've a standard across the board response, because when I've hired I avoided these questions.The first question I respond with, "at this point in my career I d\don't dwell on any weaknesses I have.  We all have them.  I find it much more beneficial to focus on my strengths, such as....."  Thus far, that gets the job done and has them back on the topic of what I have to offer the company.  The second I respond by saying, "I have no idea.  When I was asked that question five years ago, I would not have said "looking for a job' and I hope I won't be in five more years.  My goals are to work hard for "x" number of years and stay healthy and alive." I'll bet that's what most people would be focusing on. The interviewer almost always moves on, or makes a neutral response and acknowledges some level of agreement.
  • Jennifer P
    Jennifer P •
    I did an interview where the first question was "How would you improve our show"? I asked if that was part of the Graphic Designer's role? He said "no but if it were what would I change"?  So I asked if they wanted to open demographics and he said yes and told me their average viewer was 48 years old. So then I gave him some ideas that may enable them to get teenager viewership. He seemed impressed. I felt set up from the beginning of the interview.
  • Jeanettte G
    Jeanettte G •
    These are the questions most likely to be asked. The stenght/weakness question was recently reworded in an interview. as "What job or activity has given you the most difficulty?"
  • Deborah V
    Deborah V •
    My response to "Why should I hire you?" is:  "Why not?"
  • Mark O
    Mark O •
    These three questions can be bothersome... or they can be a chance to shine. I mean, you know that interviewers love to ask the questions because they periodically will catch an interviewee unprepared. So, think about each one ahead of time. The 5-year plan is a very good question because it lets the interviewer see if the subject thinks more than a month or two out. I interviewed a guy a couple years ago who told me that he had no clue what he'd be doing next year, but he'd probably have changed jobs three or four times by then. Given the training we were planning to give the guy, and the cost,... I don't want to hire anyone who is already thinking about where his next job will be after the position he's interviewing for...Yes, when I've been on the other side of the table, I've faced all three questions. Get the books, do the Google searches and be ready to answer a lot of these general questions ahead of time. They're not original ones...
  • Ruth B
    Ruth B •
    How about some real answers instead of what not to say?  How is this helping if we still don't have answers to these questions.  
  • Lynne R.
    Lynne R. •
    How about: 1) Tell us of a time you did not follow procedure/protocol and what was the outcome? 2) Why do you want this job?
  • Patrick E
    Patrick E •
    "Is there any question that I should have asked you and didn't?"Yes -- you should have asked me about that conviction for embezzlement and the charges I faced for murdering my last boss, but I was really glad that you didn't.
  • Linda S
    Linda S •
    How about the scenario questions. I am in social services and many times a team will ask "What would you do if?" I feel like saying "What are your policies in these situations?" Every organization handles things differently so many times it feels like failing if you don't correctly guess what they would do. Loaded question....blaahhh
  • Roxanne J
    Roxanne J •
    An interviewer actually asked "Have you ever had a supervisor you didn't like and why?"My response:  No.  I can't say that I have ever had a bad supervisor.  They were all different with different skills.  What I can tell you is the one that was the best was the one that rewarded you by complimenting on a job well done.
  • Zandra B
    Zandra B •
    "Three silly interview questions" is informative and from the research I've done; be prepared to answer these questions if you're job hunting.
  • Charles H
    Charles H •
    I read an article a few weeks back that said "just hire someone". The data this person used show there was very little difference in the outcome if you hired just off the resume or going through a long interviewing process. So why are they asking these questions?
  • Heather M
    Heather M •
    The greatest weakness for me is easy. I'm hearing impaired. I turn the tables in the interview. I say "I'm hearing impaired but I went through normal college and had a three summer jobs at a theme park." That gets interesting looks. I may be hearing impaired but I survive in a hearing world.

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