Best, Most Unique, and Valuable Interview Questions You Should Be Asking
Job interviews are nerve-wracking for all parties involved. After all, this is a high-stakes conversation. Your candidates really want the job, and you want to find the very best fit for your team.
Unfortunately, many interviewers miss out on incredible opportunities and potential by using the same standard (and boring) interview questions over and over again.
One of the best ways to find the most qualified employee and the best fit for your company’s unique culture is to ask unique questions.
Why Ask Unique Questions?
Why should you think outside of the box when asking interview questions?
It’s true the main purpose of a job interview is to assess an applicant’s skills and determine if they’re capable of filling the job requirements. However, qualifications aren’t the only important factor in finding the best fit for your team.
Catching candidates off-guard with unique questions allows you to see the many different shades of a prospective hire’s personality.
- Are they collaborative?
- Are they creative?
- What unique attributes will they bring to the table in addition to their technical skills?
Interesting and unusual questions also keep the interview engaging for both parties! When you passively ask the same questions over and over, it’s easy to zone out and miss the important nuances in candidates’ personalities, which indicate how well they’ll fit in.
Even better, candidates will remember your company as that awesome, fun team they’d love to join! In the end, adding creative questions into the mix improves the hiring process for everyone.
Some “Do’s” When Asking Creative Interview Questions
When deciding what questions to ask, make sure to take into account the necessary skills for the position you’re filling.
For example…
- For a management position, make sure to ask questions that display a candidate’s style of leadership or problem solving.
- For a creative position, ask questions that require out of the box or imaginative answers.
The “Don’ts” For Asking Unique Interview Questions
Don’t ask any questions just to be “different.” Your questions should be fun but also have a purpose. The goal is to learn about each candidate’s skill set and personality to assess how they’d fit in with your company culture.
Most importantly, even when challenging your candidates to think on their feet, the goal is never to make anyone uncomfortable. And of course, never ask questions that reference a candidate’s protected class information (gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc.) or that are inappropriate or discriminatory.
Make sure to have a variety of unusual questions available. It’s great to have tried and true favorite questions, but having an arsenal at your disposal allows you to stay in the moment with your candidates and tailor the interview based on what each personality reveals.
Some Of Our Favorite Unique Interview Questions
You’ve established what you’re looking for when asking unique questions. Now comes the fun part: What questions will you ask? We recommend you build up a large arsenal of options. To get you started, here are some of our favorites!
Great Icebreakers - These are fun questions to put a candidate at ease while also learning about their personality and interests.
- What’s your idea of an amazing day?
- If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
- If you were living on a deserted island and all of your basic needs were already met, what 2 items would you bring and why?
- If you could have dinner with 3 famous people, alive or dead, who would they be?
Assessment Questions -These are lighthearted, but they also paint a picture of how a candidate performs in a team setting.
- Tell me about a time you were the hero in your workplace.
- What personal or professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
- Your friend’s birthday is coming up. Tell me how you go about picking out a gift for them.
- If you had an unlimited budget, what innovation would you want to create in our industry?
Just for Fun! - These are some questions to showcase a candidate’s personality.
- If you had to move across the country tomorrow, where would you go and why?
- Describe a time when you laughed the hardest.
- If you could only watch one movie over and over again for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
- Out of all the trips you’ve taken, which was your favorite?
It’s Time to Shake Up Your Interview Process.
Interviews don’t need to be tense. You can relieve the pressure, improve the interview process, protect your reputation as a workplace, and increase the odds of finding the right cultural fit for your team by keeping your interview approach agile and alive with a wide range of unique questions.
Our team at eHire is always here to do more than connect your business with the right talent. We equip your team with the latest information on the best practices in hiring. Reach out to us anytime and we’ll work to find the key players needed to grow your company.