Dealing with Odd-Ball Interview Questions

I can remember a back in the late 1980’s and early 90’s a famous software company in the Northwestern United States was known for asking odd interview questions. One that sticks on my mind was, “If you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?”

At the time it seemed kinda stupid but I had an oddball question of my own that I asked, “How do you change a tire?” One of my clients mentioned in a group session that he was practicing interviewing with his family and his daughter asked him a question: “How do you make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich?” Someone else commented that they were asked once in an interview a title of a book they had read.

Someone asked, “Is this a legal question?” and someone else commented that they didn’t think it was fair asking this kind of question. The answer is yes, these are all fair and legal questions. But, why in the world would anyone ask these questions if I’m interviewing for an Administrative Assistant or an Electrical Engineer position? What do these questions have to do with the job?

The reason for the question may or may not make sense to the interviewee, but I am sure the interviewer has a reason. Maybe they just want to see how you would react to the odd question. Maybe the question leads to a discussion that helps them better know you as a person. Or maybe they are looking for something specific.

When I use to ask the changing the tire question, I had actually standardized the question within my organization. I had asked everyone working for me to seriously answer the question in writing. I was running the company’s Quality organization and it was made up of Testers, Analysts and Engineers. The tire changing question helped me understand the candidate’s attention to detail, ability to describe a process and their written or oral communication. Plus, it was a common enough life experience that most people knew or had personal experience with.

BTW, my favorite response to this was, “I’d pick up the phone, call triple A and wait by my car for the service truck.” Other answers involved bicycle tires, old fashioned inner tube patching and a manual pump. The point was that there was no one right answer and many different answers. This is the case for most odd questions that come from left field in an interview. It comes down to how you respond and not the specific detail of the response.

So I’d be an Oak tree. Why? Because an oak tree is big, beautiful and provides lots of shade. This response is what I would have answered if I had been asked the question. Why? because it is who I am. I always say that in an interview you need to be yourself, be genuine. And so I remind you, if you are asked an oddball question... think for a second and give a real answer, then smile and wait for the next question.