“What Is The Weirdest Question You’ve Been Asked At A Job Interview, What Happened?” (30 Answers)
Interview
A job interview can be stressful, in some cases exciting, quite often confusing, too; especially if you get a question you didn’t see coming. Quite a few people have likely learned firsthand that no matter how much one prepares for such an occasion, there can always be a question that’s impossible to predict.
Redditors recently discussed such questions after the user ‘TinyTbird12’ asked them what was the weirdest one they’ve been asked at a job interview. The redditor also wanted to know what happened later, and the netizens were more than happy to share. Scroll down to find their answers on the list below, and see for yourself just how unexpectedly such interviews can be derailed.
Bored Panda was curious to learn more about why ‘TinyTbird12’ decided to start the thread, so we reached out to them and they were kind enough to answer a couple of our questions. You will find their thoughts in the text below.
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My GF was recently asked on an interview:
What weapon would you want to have in a zombie apocalypse?
She answered 'light saber"
They asked why.
She said because it doesn't run out of ammo or get dull.
They seemed to like that answer she said.
"What would you do if someone started shouting at you in a meeting?"
I responded that I'd just leave the meeting. I don't get paid to babysit. if someone wants to act like a child I'll leave them to it. The interviewer seemed taken aback while the other guys where chuckled.
Turns out the guy who asked the question had a habit of raising his voice to people who disagreed with him.
I ended up getting the job and found out the guy was just super invested in the product he was developing. Like he had patents on it, books written, etc. So when he's in a meeting and gives an input, and someone disagrees with him, he will not let it go until they are on board because in almost every case he IS right. He was a great guy and I miss working with him.
He never raised his voice with me, though.
Why don't I have such answers. Last time someone raised his voice during an interview, I shouted back and for me till was all downhill from there. It was technical round so I just answered without any enthusiasm and sounding really irritated. Even told my partner that there is no way i am getting this job. But for some reason they still hired me.
During an interview my insulin pump went off (it does this quite often). My potential boss asked me if I had to wear it all the time. I said yes and explained I was a type 1 diabetic. They then asked me if I could leave my insulin pump in a locket for a 8 hour shift. No, I can’t. It got awkward. I didn’t get the job.
Why would anyone have something against a required medical device? Might have dodged a bullet by not getting that job.
The OP told Bored Panda that the reason they decided to ask this question was the stress before an upcoming interview. They thought posting it might make them less nervous; also, they believed it was “a good general question for the lovely people of ‘Ask Reddit.’”
“I came up with the idea late at night before I went off to bed, and posted it,” they said.
The OP is far from the only one who feels worried before such an event, though; recent studies reveal that as much as 92% of US adults feel anxious about job interviews.
"I understand that you are profoundly deaf. [...] Will you be available for a phone interview with the HR?"
I was overwhelmed by the stupidity of someone who made 80K a year.
Got some bad news for you. That's the tip of the iceberg in the corporate world.
I got hired and quit this same day. I turned 19 and was looking for something full time. I got a call for an interview at some promotion business. I get called into a room where my new boss was sitting, he was very friendly and nice but it all became very very weird very quickly. He asks me normal interview questions: “What made you want to apply? Do you have experience in promotion work? Where do you see yourself in this company?” Eventually he trails off to make small talk which would be normal if it wasn’t weird. He asks, “How old are you? Oh wow you’re young. I think you’ll have an easy time here, you’re very beautiful. Very beautiful. You know, as soon as you walked in here I just felt something. You have such a strong energy, I don’t know if it’s that smile or your charisma.” I was very shy, I did not have a bubbly personality at all. He sent me “out on the field” along side another girl to test the waters I suppose. We stood infront of a well know bar where our “mentor” told us that the promotion at his stand was to sell backpacks for kids in need of school supplies. After he explained that, he called my boss and said I was a good fit. Immediately after that my boss called and was like, “I KNEW you had it in you. Ahh, I don’t know what it is about you *my name* but you just have something amazing going on. I already decided not to go with *the other girl I was with* because it’s your name I want to see up here with mine.” I told him I was late for class and sped back to campus where I told my teacher why I was late and what had happened. He instructed me to quit immediately.
I'm a paraplegic. I've been asked in a job interview, "How could you possibly use a computer?"
Another time, I was asked, "Do you really need to use that wheelchair?" They were worried about how a wheelchair could negatively impact the office culture or environment.
People have NO CLUE how to interact with disabled folks sometimes.
The OP told Bored Panda that they were quite amused by their fellow redditors’ answers; some—including people not understanding the question or having shockingly bad experiences—they found surprising.
Examples of the latter included a person being bluntly asked about their political views and a redditor sharing an appalling story about their workplace, which was later debunked as a lie by the Reddit community.
As for their own personal experiences in regards to bizarre interview questions, the OP admitted they didn’t have many to share. “I haven’t had the ‘luxury’ of many interviews in my life; however, I had a weird setting for an interview, when an interviewer took me to the business cafe in the reception-entrance area to conduct it. Another time, the interviewer was an old friend of one of my teachers, which was also weird.
“I haven’t had many weird or wacky questions sadly, but I hope to have some later on in life,” the redditor shared.
Him : You're not into older women are you?
Me : umm... I guess not. Why do you ask?
Him : I came home one day to find my boss f*****g my wife. I'm making sure nobody f***s my wife again.
I had tears in my eyes trying to hold back the laughter. I got the job though.
If you caught someone doing your wife why wouldn't you make sure no one "did" your wife again by divorcing her? Sorry, demonstrated unreliability is a deal-breaker.
Last question in an interview for being a bank teller “if you could be any kind of fruit what kind of fruit would you be and why?” I said a mangosteen. Years later I asked him about that question, he said he just wanted to know what people would say. He said there were no wrong answers.
What's your pet peeve? Told em it was people talking on their phones in public with the speaker on. Panel of 6 and four were guilty of it. I did not get the job.
Yeah, people are usually not happy when someone points out that they're being jerks.
In the middle of an IT job interview I got a "who do you consider your most inspirational historical figure?"
I couldn't think of anything else on the spot so I said "Joan of Arc", then listed the details of the Joan of Arc campaign from Age of Empires 2.
I got the job
Interviewer: "You don't have any kids?"
Me: "No, not yet."
Interviewer: "You're Mexican, aren't you?"
Me: "You can't ask that during an interview."
Dude went bright red and apologized immediately before I burst out laughing. The interview was going well and I already had the job in the bag. At this point we were more or less just chatting.
"Do you like to laugh?" -asked by the most stoic woman who worked in that office.
I laughed in response and got the job. Apparently I answered correctly
"If you were given a Black Rhinoceros and you couldn't sell it or give it away, what would you do with it?" I don't know what that question tells anyone. I said something along the lines of "I think they're endangered so I wouldn't kill it for meat. I would lend it to a zoo that could house it for me and take care of it in return they can use it for breeding and research." They liked the answer.
The only reasonable answer. I'd be much more curious about who could "give" me an endangered animal.
If I hire you as the HR manager will you go and F all the nurses? Because that is what the former HR manager did. (let's call this guy Hospital CEO)
Are you comfortable dissecting sheep organs? Around the same time, I was asked if I was comfortable handling a live tarantula at another interview for a different job… For clarity sake: I do not work in any animal centric/husbandry related fields.
Hmmm, maybe they were trying to see if you were interested in their hobbies.
"You mentioned on your background information forms you've pointed a weapon at someone and you've handled explosives, care to explain that to us in extreme detail?" At my interview for King County Sheriff's Department 😅 found out from the HR they didn't fail me for that and actually like my answer to it. Instead they failed me on the question of it's almost the end of my shift and I pull over someone appearing to be under the influence, it's the chief of police/sheriff of the next county/city to you, how do you handle this, and follow up, what if it was your own Sheriff? I told them I'd treat them exactly the same way I would for anyone else driving under the influence, only difference is I'd give my supervisor a courtesy call to tell them what's going on. They were not happy with that 😅
Edit:fixed some auto-corrects because my phone is dumb
Not an organization you'd want to work in. Lack of ethics is a huge warning sign.
Other than the pay (20k less) being less than what was originally offered to you, do you have any concerns about the job?…
I was offered the job and turned it down. They were surprised I didn’t take on the opportunity.
Smart move, considering they showed you right up front they weren't trustworthy.
I was asked, “What is best in life?”. I answered, “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women.” I got the job.
Conan the Barbarian!!!! My most favourite film in the whole world!!!!
“Why do you know [insert name of childhood best friends older sibling] on Facebook?” That was the first question. I had to explain the story and it turned out they dated. Turns out we had 35 mutual friends and went to the same high school, grew up in the same area, and she cried (super pregnant at the time) and hugged me and told me I had the job if I wanted it.
For residency, I was asked why I didn't do a bunch of research projects my intern year. Because I was working 95 hours a week like the rest of the interns? C'mon, man.
I was passed over for a job so I resigned. They asked me to think over it. Said in next 3-4 months if I can do projects besides my usual work (which I was doing all this time) , they will 'think' about promoting me. No, I didn't take my resignation back
Had an interview with a panel of three guys. Each would ask questions. It was a very professional environment and job position. All normal questions thus far then the lead interviewer said okay, I have one last question. Can you kick or throw a ball farther. I thought odd but said kick a ball farther. Then the next one chimed in and said what kind of alcoholic drink to you prefer, beer or hard drink. I said both. The last guy wanted to be part of this and just said ‘penis or vagina’ I was quite shocked of the question but played the game with them and only responded with, depends on which alcoholic drink I had earlier. They all laughed and said the job was mine. I didn’t take the job and ended up at a different company and much more successful end.
“Tell me about the lowest point in your life.”
This was after living through the pandemic, postpartum depression, and the death of over a dozen family, friends, and my dog in the span of two years. I kept it light and relevant to my career so not to trauma dump, but in my mind I was replying with a very loud “TF is that!?”
Mall Security Guard:
" There a reason your legs are crossed like a f*****g woman?"
Meanwhile I had the boss man's Muscle standing right on my a*s breathing heavy.
The rest of the interview was weird. Just a speech about not beating up people, but they made it seem like that's all it was.
F*****g super glad I didn't get that job.
because in kindergawrten I learned criss cross applesauce when you sit to be respectful siw
"What do you think about the Reagan Youth? Or are you one of those hippie types?"
This was in 2007 for a cashier job at CVS.
"Reagan Youth" sounds very fascist. "Hippie types?" This person is stuck in the 60s.
There was a section that they required you to fill out a writing in cursive. I asked them why and they said they would send it out for handwriting analysis. Nope out of there pretty quick.
HR is full of nonsense. Handwriting analysis, Meyers -Briggs assessment. What color is your parachute nonsense... It goes on and on.
For the job I have now, “there’s no dress code, no drug test, and people learn things the hard way here.” Didn’t quite understand that last one, until I split my middle finger open with a hammer and was handed hydrogen peroxide, gauze tape and a few band aids. Also cut my palm open with a skill saw (my own dumb a*s fault trying to do something in a hurry, was told, well you got another hand.
I do love my job though.
My favorite swear word. (It was an interview with someone I’d been working with for years and he was mostly kidding, just asked to break up the seriousness!)
I pretended to take it seriously and answered honestly. And got the job.
I don't curse all tat much, but every know and then I find "F**k, f**k, f**k!" to be useful or appropriate.
Well, I already know your weaknesses ( have no idea what he is talking about ), What are some of your strengths?
“How do you tie your shoes?”
Opening question. It honestly helped calm me down and made the interview easier to get through. I brought up the TedTalk on how to properly tie your shoe and the lesson I learned from that.
"Did you take [one of my committee members]'s methodology course? So, back when I took it, he'd occasionally throw chalk at us if we weren't following along, does he still do that?"
Turns out, he'd mellowed with age.
Note: this post originally had 53 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Is it just me or does BP seem to have a heck of a lot more ads the past few days?
"Why should I hire you?" VP of operations asked me. "I have 50 applications from people more qualified than you. Why should I hire you instead of one of them? What can you do for my company that they can't?" I just started talking. Told him why I thought I was the best choice and what I felt I could do better. He shook my hand and then I left. Got home 20 minutes later and had a message to call the District manager. He told me the VP said to hire me and start me as soon as possible. I guess I convinced him.
I'm guessing it was because you spoke openly and honestly instead of reciting some sort of meaningless pablum that you thought he wanted to hear. I imagine they hear that stuff way too often.
Load More Replies...
One of my favorite jobs was advertised on Craigslist. They wanted a part-time only bookkeeper and wanted to know WHY the candidate only wanted to work part-time. My response: "I've done the whole "corporate" thing, have sold all my expensive suits, don't want to wear high heels and quite frankly just don't want to work that hard anymore". Yeah, I got the job.
I have a friend who's let's say, eccentric. He made a fortune trading bonds on Wall Street in the late 90's and retired at age 36. He does a lot of volunteer work but mostly just hangs out on his rural property with his wife and their dogs. He does have one very eccentric hobby though. He does bad job interviews. Imagine what you could do if you had a job interview and the goal was to absolutely not get the job. He showed up in a top hat and tails once and did a song and dance routine about squirrels. He did one where every answer started with "My kitty says..." He had his 87 yr old mother go in with him once, and she did most of the talking. And on and on. He insists he's going to open a store that sells nothing but scrap wood and bent rusty nails but "I still haven't found a nail guy". He wants to call it Maureen's Dress Shoppe. He's by several orders of magnitude the smartest human being I've ever met. He would verbally cut some of these interviewers into little pieces.
I volunteered for our library this summer and you had to do an interview. It’s was my first ever interview and I was nervous so i looked up common questions and rehearsed my answers. At the actual interview they only asked one of the questions I practiced. Everything else was stuff like “what’s your favorite scent” (Rain or old books) “if you could choose to be an animal what would you choose” (cat) and “if you were a crayon what color would you be” (Sparkly purple). I did end up getting the job and absolutely loved it. 100% applying again next year.
Sometimes an interviewer asks a question not to know what the actual answer of the question is, but to see how you process the question with a logic of your responses and how your thought process goes. Nothing tells me more about somebody I'm interviewing when I asked them a question and they look at me like they have no clue, and then when they or they finally give an answer it doesn't bear any relationship to what I asked
Can confirm. It's a stupid and overused question, but "What approach would you take if someone asked you to estimate how many piano players there are in the city" still remains my favorite question. There's no wrong answer but it tells me a lot about how a candidate approaches work.
Load More Replies... The other one was for IKEA, working in the accounting office. People - numbers are f*cking numbers - IKEA, BOEING, AMAZON - numbers are numbers & accounting doesn't change other than what software they might use. Period. So the IKEA interview: she wanted to know what my background was (oh, gee, other than all of the bookkeeping history listed on my application AND RESUME?) Okay, so we do that dance and then she asks, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Oh, f*cking puke ...REALLY? So I replied, "I see myself on a tropical beach with a Mai Tai in hand after just having sold my first novel". Yeah, believe it or not I got the job. And quit about a month later because IKEA absolutely SUCKS to work for.
Thank God I never have to go to a job interview ever again. My answer to all but a couple of these is "F*** off, eat s***, and die.
Is it just me or does BP seem to have a heck of a lot more ads the past few days?
"Why should I hire you?" VP of operations asked me. "I have 50 applications from people more qualified than you. Why should I hire you instead of one of them? What can you do for my company that they can't?" I just started talking. Told him why I thought I was the best choice and what I felt I could do better. He shook my hand and then I left. Got home 20 minutes later and had a message to call the District manager. He told me the VP said to hire me and start me as soon as possible. I guess I convinced him.
I'm guessing it was because you spoke openly and honestly instead of reciting some sort of meaningless pablum that you thought he wanted to hear. I imagine they hear that stuff way too often.
Load More Replies... One of my favorite jobs was advertised on Craigslist. They wanted a part-time only bookkeeper and wanted to know WHY the candidate only wanted to work part-time. My response: "I've done the whole "corporate" thing, have sold all my expensive suits, don't want to wear high heels and quite frankly just don't want to work that hard anymore". Yeah, I got the job.
I have a friend who's let's say, eccentric. He made a fortune trading bonds on Wall Street in the late 90's and retired at age 36. He does a lot of volunteer work but mostly just hangs out on his rural property with his wife and their dogs. He does have one very eccentric hobby though. He does bad job interviews. Imagine what you could do if you had a job interview and the goal was to absolutely not get the job. He showed up in a top hat and tails once and did a song and dance routine about squirrels. He did one where every answer started with "My kitty says..." He had his 87 yr old mother go in with him once, and she did most of the talking. And on and on. He insists he's going to open a store that sells nothing but scrap wood and bent rusty nails but "I still haven't found a nail guy". He wants to call it Maureen's Dress Shoppe. He's by several orders of magnitude the smartest human being I've ever met. He would verbally cut some of these interviewers into little pieces.
I volunteered for our library this summer and you had to do an interview. It’s was my first ever interview and I was nervous so i looked up common questions and rehearsed my answers. At the actual interview they only asked one of the questions I practiced. Everything else was stuff like “what’s your favorite scent” (Rain or old books) “if you could choose to be an animal what would you choose” (cat) and “if you were a crayon what color would you be” (Sparkly purple). I did end up getting the job and absolutely loved it. 100% applying again next year.
Sometimes an interviewer asks a question not to know what the actual answer of the question is, but to see how you process the question with a logic of your responses and how your thought process goes. Nothing tells me more about somebody I'm interviewing when I asked them a question and they look at me like they have no clue, and then when they or they finally give an answer it doesn't bear any relationship to what I asked
Can confirm. It's a stupid and overused question, but "What approach would you take if someone asked you to estimate how many piano players there are in the city" still remains my favorite question. There's no wrong answer but it tells me a lot about how a candidate approaches work.
Load More Replies... The other one was for IKEA, working in the accounting office. People - numbers are f*cking numbers - IKEA, BOEING, AMAZON - numbers are numbers & accounting doesn't change other than what software they might use. Period. So the IKEA interview: she wanted to know what my background was (oh, gee, other than all of the bookkeeping history listed on my application AND RESUME?) Okay, so we do that dance and then she asks, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Oh, f*cking puke ...REALLY? So I replied, "I see myself on a tropical beach with a Mai Tai in hand after just having sold my first novel". Yeah, believe it or not I got the job. And quit about a month later because IKEA absolutely SUCKS to work for.
Thank God I never have to go to a job interview ever again. My answer to all but a couple of these is "F*** off, eat s***, and die.
