During interviews, hiring managers occasionally throw curveball questions that seem utterly absurd, as if they’re testing your ability to keep a straight face while your brain does a somersault.
Picture this, you stride into an interview room or join via Teams or Zoom, your heart aflutter with anticipation, only to be met with the confounding question,
“If you were a vegetable, which vegetable would you be?”
In this moment, the very essence of your being is thrust into the vegetable kingdom, as you grapple with the philosophical implications of embodying the traits of a cucumber or the enigmatic allure of a turnip.
As you ponder your vegetative transformation, the interviewer leans in, their eyes gleaming with inquisitiveness, and asks,
“How would you describe the colour yellow to a blind person?”
A conundrum of chromatic proportions unfolds before you, as you engage in a mental symphony of sunsets, daffodils and buttercups. All the while you are desperately attempting to filter the essence of this description into a symphony of words that transcend the visual realm.
You’re left wondering if they’ve been sipping on a portion of absurdity before meeting you.
Another such zany question might be,
“If you were a fruit, which fruit would you be?”
Clearly, the success of a candidate rests on whether they identify as a banana or an apple. Perhaps the interviewer is secretly a botanist in disguise, assessing your self-awareness through your fruit choice. Should you be the wise avocado, symbolising patience as it waits for the perfect moment to be eaten? Or the energetic pineapple, standing tall amidst a sea of other fruits, showcasing your uniqueness?
Let’s not forget the timeless classic,
“How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?”
Oh, the mathematical skill required to determine the precise golf ball-to-bus volume ratio! Clearly, the future of the company depends on your estimation expertise in the world of absurdly large sports equipment.
There’s the ultimate brain teaser:
“If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?”
Because clearly, your ability to time travel and engage in meaningful conversations with the likes of Marilyn Monroe or Jackie O is directly related to your proficiency in software development or marketing strategy.
How can we overlook the evergreen question,
“Tell me about a time when you faced a challenge and overcame it.”
But wait, isn’t this an interview? Weren’t challenges supposed to be replaced with rainbows and unicorns in this alternate reality where professional growth involves conquering dragons and scaling mountains in tailored suits?
This one is a common question,
“If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower?”
The hiring manager secretly hopes to build a team of caped crusaders to tackle the market analysis and spreadsheet formulas and pivot charts with a team of superheroes.
These delightfully peculiar questions serve as a reminder that interviews aren’t just about proving your qualifications. They’re a chance for you to demonstrate your ability to handle the unexpected when it arrives in the form of fruit allegiances and fantastical powers. Also to show your character. Embrace the silliness, flex your creative muscles and remember, it’s not every day you get to ponder the world’s most pressing questions, like how many marshmallows can dance on the head of a pin.
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