Interview questions may vary but in essence they are all trying to establish the following:
- Your skills and experience to do the job
- Your enthusiasm and interest for the job
- Whether you will fit in
- Tell me about yourself?
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- Why should we hire you? or What can you do for us that other candidates can't?
- What are your goals? or Where do you see yourself in five years time?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
- What salary are you seeking?
- If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
- What were your responsibilities?
- What did you like or dislike about your previous job?
- What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
- What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
- What is your greatest strength?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- How do you handle stress and pressure?
- Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it?
- What was the biggest accomplishment / failure in this position?
- How do you evaluate success?
- Why are you leaving or have left your job?
- Why do you want this job?
- Why should we hire you?
- What are your goals for the future?
- What are your salary requirements?
- Tell me about yourself?
- Who was your best boss and who was the worst?
- What are you passionate about?
- Questions about your supervisors and co-workers.
- Questions about your career goals
- Why do you want this job?
- Have you got any questions?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- What skills and experiences would make an ideal candidate?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- Why do you want this job?
- Tell me about a difficult situation or scenario at work and how you dealt with it?
- Tell me about an achievement that you are proud of?
- What are your career goals?
- What are your expectations of salary?
- What do you know about our organisation?
- What motivates you?
- Give an example of a time when you showed initiative.
- Why do you want to join our organisation?
- What would you do if ........ happened? (hypothetical questions)
- Describe a situation in which you dealt with confrontation (for example a difficult customer).
- Describe a situation in which you influenced or motivated people.
- What other careers have you considered/applied for?
- Why did you choose your degree subject?
- Describe yourself (in one word).
- Are you prepared to be mobile?
- Describe a situation in which you used initiative.
- Describe a situation in which you solved a problem.
- Describe a situation in which you took responsibility.
- What are your hobbies?
- What was your biggest setback? (How do you deal with adversity?)
- Tell me about your project
- Describe a situation where you had to plan or organise something.
- What computing skills do you have?
- What is your usual role in a team?
- Describe a situation where you had a difficult decision to make.
- ‘Have you ever had a bad experience with an employer?’
- What has been your greatest achievement?
- Why did you choose your university and what factors influenced your choice?
- Who else have you applied to/got interviews with?
- Describe a situation where you worked in a team
- Describe a situation in which you led a team
- How do you manage your time and prioritise tasks?
- Give an example of a time when you showed initiative.
- Give an example of your lateral thinking
70 - 101. Top 10 tough interview questions for 2015 - UK - belfasttelegraph.co.uk
- "Can you calculate how many tennis balls are used during the course of Wimbledon?"
– Asked at Accenture
- "Estimate the total number of cars in the UK."
– Asked at Barclays Capital
- "How many calories are in a grocery store?"
– Asked at Google
- "How would you sell a fridge to an eskimo?"
– Asked at Harrods
- "What would you take to a lonely island with you and why?"
– Asked at Urban Outfitters
- "Is Batman a superhero?"
– Asked at AlphaSights
- "You have 17 red and 17 blue balls, and you remove 2 at a time. If the two are the same colour, add in one extra blue ball. If they are different colours, add in an extra red ball. What colour is the final ball removed?"
– Asked at Geonomics - "What cartoon character would you be and why?"
– Asked at ASDA
- "What is the wildest thing you have done?"
– Asked at Metro Bank
- "What was your opinion of the film Blair Witch Project?"
– Asked at Jefferies & Company
Top 10 oddball interview questions for 2015 - USA
- "What would you do if you were the one survivor in a plane crash?"
– Asked at Airbnb
- "What's your favorite
90s jam?"
– Asked at Squarespace - "If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them how would you choose which ones to answer?"
– Asked at Dropbox
- "Who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman?"
– Asked at Stanford University
- "If you had a machine that produced $100 dollars for life what would you be willing to pay for it today?"
– Asked at Aksia
- "What did you have for breakfast?"
– Asked at Banana Republic
- "Describe the colour yellow to somebody who's blind."
– Asked at Spirit Airlines
- "If you were asked to unload a 747 full of jelly beans, what would you do?"
– Asked at Bose
- "How many people flew out of Chicago last year?"
– Asked at Redbox
- "What's your favourite Disney Princess?"
– Asked at Cold Stone Creamery
Top 10 toughest job interview questions - theguardian.com
- Can you calculate how many tennis balls are used during the course of Wimbledon? Asked at Accenture, analyst candidate
- Estimate the total number of cars in the UK. Asked at Barclays Capital, trading analyst candidate
- Answer: 31.9m according to the industry
- How many calories are there in a supermarket? Asked at Google, product manager candidate
- How would you sell a fridge to an Eskimo? Asked at Harrods, temporary sales associate candidate
- What would you take to a lonely island with you and why? Asked at Urban Outfitters, sales assistant candidate
- Is Batman a superhero? Asked at AlphaSights, support engineer candidate
- You have 17 red and 17 blue balls, and you remove two at a time. If the two are the same colour, add in one extra blue ball. If they are different colours, add in an extra red ball. What colour is the final ball removed?Asked at Geonomics, software engineer candidate
- Answer: Red
- What cartoon character would you be and why? Asked at Asda, administrative assistant candidate
- What is the wildest thing that you have done? Asked at Metro Bank, teller candidate
- What was your opinion of the film The Blair Witch Project? Asked atJefferies & Company, data analyst candidate
- Some of the questions have correct – if not easy-to-find answers – others clearly don’t. All are apparently designed to reveal a candidate’s thought process.
- Joe Wiggins, Glassdoor career trends analyst said: “These interviews questions may sound crazy and you could argue that very few people would actually know the answer. However, by throwing in such a wildcard, employers are testing strength of character, logical thinking and how the applicant responds under pressure.
- “There may not be a correct answer but if you’re willing to explain how you get there, it speaks volumes.”
