At JTGO, we love to preach about people power, and about how important it is that a new hire gels with the whole team. But it’s also important that you gel with them!
Interviews are incredibly stressful for everyone, candidates and interviewers, so some ice-breaker questions to put everyone at ease is a great way to hit the ground running!
We’ve heard the classics, like “are you a hunter or a gatherer?” and “what animal are you?” Some recruiters place severe importance on how they can categorize your personality.
We’ve even heard of interviewers telling candidates “I’m looking for a monkey, an elephant, and a wolf,” and engineering their questions around that goal. It’s not necessarily a tactic we would recommend – typically it would just push an interviewee right out of their comfort zone and into overthinking territory! But if you’re looking to revitalize your interviewing experience, it’s important to think outside the box.
So in no particular order, here’s some of our favourites we’ve picked up on the circuit.
A seemingly random question without a sensible answer will give you some insight to how a candidate responds to a problem with no immediate solution. It opens the door to them cracking a joke in return to break the ice – we’ve even heard of candidates using the population of New York to give a solid guesstimate!
This opens the door for a candidate to loosely tell you as much as they know about your business. Have they done their research? Let them show off! Have they spotted any areas for improvement as an outsider which they would be keen to bring into their first few months? Or would they just simply tell everyone to go home? (The wrong answer!)
This one is from CRM specialists Hubspot. It helps you dig into the true motivation of a candidate in applying for this job. Let’s face it, nobody would say they’d give up the money and wait for the call about the job – if they do, they’re just telling you what you want to hear, which is a red flag in itself!
This takes a leaf from the classic “are you a hunter or a gatherer?” without the wall street vibe and bravado. What you’re really asking here is, “are you a leader?” with some comic book paint splashed on to keep things light and fluffy. (Of course, Robin eventually went on to become Nightwing, so he stopped being a follower in 1963!)
Have this one in your back pocket for candidates who really impress you during the interview. Especially for sales roles, it’s a great chance for someone to talk about what they’re passionate about, it gives you an insight into their quirks and hobbies, and it will give you a sense of how they would be selling a product they would (eventually) become extremely knowledgeable about!
The most important thing to remember with interview questions is that they need to be framed in a way which puts the candidate at ease. The best candidates are likely to be enthused and excited about your business and what you can offer, so they’ll be invested and nervous! An anxious person never paints themselves in the best light, but sprinkling one or two of these fun interview questions with your serious “brass tax” ones will help them loosen up around you.