6 Out-of-the-Box Interview Questions

Have you ever asked a candidate questions like “What is your biggest weakness?” or “Where do you see yourself in five years?” If so, you may be asking the same old, rehearsed questions during the interview. There’s a chance that you might not get the most honest or helpful information from answers to these questions and more importantly, it could hurt your chances of hiring the right person.

Asking more intuitive, outside-the-box questions during the interview is a way to keep candidates on their toes and reveal more about job seekers than you both would have expected. Here are a few examples and explanations:

“What are some of your hobbies? How can you translate them into the workplace?”

Asking this type of question helps the candidate loosen up and answer questions truthfully on a subject they’re passionate about. Not only will you gain insight into who they are outside the office, but they might also describe strengths and weaknesses they have that are related to the job.

“What makes you memorable?”

This can give the interviewee the opportunity to personally distinguish themselves, while also shining a light on something that makes them unique. This type of question helps the candidate think deeply about what they could be remembered for. It can also indirectly demonstrate confidence, humility, and self-awareness, all key traits that you might want on your team. 

“What do you want to achieve here and how will you achieve it?”

While this question helps reveal whether the candidate took the time to learn about your company, it can also show the intentions of a candidate and how they aim to contribute to your company’s success. 

“Why shouldn’t we hire you”

This question can noticeably catch any candidate off guard. From an interviewer’s perspective, this question reveals the limitations of a candidate. When carefully considering the question, they might unfold their true weaknesses and take their job-related qualifications into actual consideration, revealing the honesty and integrity of the candidate.

“What would you do with one million dollars?

Depending on the response, this million-dollar question can reveal the candidate’s motives, values, and life priorities. Is the candidate more of a short-term thinker, or do they focus on the long term? 

“Why did you leave your last job? Can we call your previous employer?”

Was it the worker? The workplace? There are so many reasons, and some may even be personal. This is an important detail for hiring managers to note because for whatever reason that is causing a job change, both the candidate and the company hiring should be better off from making the hire. 

Now that you know some out-of-the-box questions to guide you through an interview, you’ll find yourself connecting with candidates on a greater (or not-so-great) level and be able to choose the right person for your team. Of course, in order to conduct an interview, you’ll need candidates. EDI Staffing has an active database of more than 2 million professionals with the expertise for all your hiring needs.