Preparing for an interview is no easy task. From researching the company to picking out the perfect outfit, there are so many details to consider. I’ve even done a run through of the directions the night before, just to make sure I didn’t get lost the next day. Slightly neurotic, yes, but I was on time.
Regardless of how much you prepare, sometimes the cards just aren’t in your favor. Maybe you spill coffee down your shirt? Or the subway stalls for twenty minutes? Or worse, you interviewer asks you a question and you have no idea how to answer.
Interviewee: Excuse me?
Interviewer: If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?
Interviewee: Huh, that’s a toughie.
This is just one of the many questions that landed on Glassdoor’s “Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions of 2010.” Asked by Goldman Sach’s, this question received some pretty interesting responses.
- “Take my pants off.” “Why?” “So I can kiss my ass goodbye!”
- Scream really loudly because the pitch of my voice might have become really high and might crack the glass.
- Take out my phone and look up the answer on Google.
Maybe the finance firm was trying to gauge the creativity of their candidates? Or they could just enjoy seeing them sweat? Personally, I wouldn’t mind witnessing the interviewees’ initial reactions. Whatever the case, Goldman Sach’s was not alone – Glassdoor’s list featured 25 bizarre questions from companies hailing from a variety of industries.
Here are a few of my favorites:
“You have a birthday cake and have exactly 3 slices to cut it into 8 equal pieces. How do you do it?” –Asked by Blackrock. My initial reaction to this question was what flavor is the cake. If it’s chocolate, no need to cut it, I’m not sharing! Andrew, a lucky interviewee to get this question, had some similar thoughts: “Cut each slice into 3 slices. Then eat one of them.”
“What do wood and alcohol have in common?” — Asked for a staff writer position at Guardsmark. This question just put dirty thoughts in my mind.
“What would you do if you just inherited a pizzeria from your uncle?” — Asked for a business analyst position at Volkswagen. My response: get really fat. Pizza is probably the sole reason my New Year’s resolution has already failed.
Check out the full list at glassdoor.com. Some of the responses are even more ridiculous than the questions. What are some of the toughest interview questions that you have been asked collegiettesTM?