Really Bad Interview Questions. Really Bad. Like, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

Lots of people stink at interviewing. They think it’s important to come up with “interesting” or “out of the box” questions for job candidates. Yeah, well, this is what happens. Here’s my favorite (least favorite?) of the bunch:

If you were stuck in an elevator, with no way to get out, and every 30 seconds a 5th grader would fall through a ceiling tile of the elevator that would periodically open, and was programmed to kill you, how long would you last and how?

Click over to Business.com to read the rest: Hilarious Real Interview Questions and What You Should Ask Instead

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15 thoughts on “Really Bad Interview Questions. Really Bad. Like, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

  1. Fuzz on a tennis ball isn’t for fun. It’s functional. Tennis balls are made of bouncy rubber, and the felt covering helps make them softer, slow their speed in the air, and regulate their bounce. As importantly, it gives the tennis ball a lot of surface for spin, which is a key part of the game

    1. Since tennis balls come in a can and are exposed to extreme heat, I expect the fuzz also keeps the underlying rubber surface from becoming sticky.

  2. As an engineer, the elevator question is incomplete. Is the tile opening inward or outward? What’s the weight limit of the elevator? The average weight of the children falling into the car? What do I have with me?
    That one could be turned right back onto the interviewer, or I would answer “I’m claustrophobic, so I wouldn’t be stuck on the elevator in the first place”

    1. Obviously the panel is sliding open, the weight limit of the elevator you need to estimate based on your knowledge of elevator mechanics, and the average weight of a 5th grader is easy if you’re a pediatrician. You have on you what you have on you right now.

      Go! 🙂

  3. “If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?”

    I could cut off my boy bits, go back to being a delivery woman, and not be afraid to stop and ask for directions if I got lost, leading to better delivery times. /snark /stupidgenderstereotyping

  4. “Show me where on your body you can hide this jumbo sharpie.”

    After hearing this question, I’d like to show you on YOUR body where you can hide that marker.

  5. These are all incredibly stupid and lead me to lose respect for my interviewer. I always say I have no answer.

  6. There is one good thing about such stupid questions – they let me know who I do NOT want to work for.

    Seriously, I was once asked if I was a cat person or a dog person. They did not offer me the job and I do not regret it.

  7. My first boss ever always talked about how she used that gas station question in all of her interviews because she said it told her how a person thought. She didn’t expect a person to actually know how many gas stations were in the US, but she wanted to see if someone would be able to hypothetically figure it out.

  8. They’re pretty lame but the could be fun for anyone who does Table Topics at Toastmasters. The could be pretty amusing

  9. For some of these questions I’d counter with one of my own, “Is there any correlation between the cute question you are asking me and your ability to manage or work with me as an adult?”

    To me, nearly all of these questions are sophomoric game playing and demean the professionalism of mature career professionals. I wouldn’t hesitate to walk out of an interview if the interviewer seemed to be employing questions that might be found in supermarket tabloids.

  10. That is a bad one…I thought I heard my fair shares already.

    Sometimes interviewer dramatized the event (interview) beyond all it’s meaning. It’s like watching Jeopardy or some low-grade dating show.

  11. Hmm, the sharpie one is particularly offensive. But I could actually see using a couple of these in certain circumstances. In user experience or industrial design, the spice cabinet design could actually be very relevant. (Also for mechanical engineers or programmers). And the teleportation question could be an interesting spin for a finance person or someone in Industrial engineering or logistics. So they aren’t all worthless.

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