As a hiring manager, there are standard, formal questions to ask candidates during an interview such as “why should we hire you?” or “what makes you fit in this position?”. But these hiring managers are funnily creative that they ask unusual questions to their candidates. These questions are not merely to break the ice but also help the hiring managers gain better insight from candidates. 

Here are six popular funny questions asked by an interviewer. 

“If you were given an elephant and you couldn’t give it back or sell it, what would you do with it?”

This question is asked by ConnectWise for their customer care specialist interviewee. The question is to get a candidate’s reasoning skills. For example, your candidates might give a good reason or silly reason over the problem given to them such as “I would feed it and take care of it since the elephant is a well-behaved animal” or “I would take care of it and ride it to work”. These kinds of questions can give you clues to your candidates’ reasoning skills when their customers ask for a solution. 

See also: List of Questions to Ask When Recruiting Cyber Talents

So, of course, there is no right answer here. You should not look for specific answers here, instead, you should determine enough to see how your candidates think of their feet and how they handle unexpected situations.

“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”  

Asked by Walgreens company, this interview question is aimed to test candidates’ creativity. This question might also give you insight into your candidates’ related strength and what kind of person she/he is. Ideally, a candidate will answer with the reason why they chose that tree. For instance, your candidate might answer, “I would be a banana tree because I am dependable and always available. I also like to help when needed.” 

For this interview question, you should not focus on the “tree” but the “why” your candidates choose that tree and whether or not the reasons align with the position they are applying. Another alternative question is “If you would be an animal, what animal would you be and why?”

“What is the colour of money?” 

This is a funny yet tricky question for a candidate as most people would say that the colour of money is green. This question is first proposed by PolyOne to ask their candidates who apply for a financial role. The aim is to measure whether finance candidates have a well-rounded view of the economy or not. Since money is always associated with green colour, the real colour depends on the country the money is made. Thus, you might consider this question as a type of awareness question for your candidates to know the world at large, especially in terms of evaluating markets and making global financial decisions. 

“How many pennies would fill up this room?” 

Ipreo proposes this question for their product analyst candidates. This question is considered as a brain teaser to see how a candidate can use logic to solve seemingly impossible challenges. Asking this question can also show how your candidates think outside the box and whether she/he is critical to the question before delivering a solution. 

You might expect your candidates to give a clever answer such as “Well, it depends on the room. Will we have the furniture in this room? And what is the volume of the room? Once I have that information, I could do the math based on the volume of a penny.” 

“What was the last gift you gave someone?” 

Gallup asks this question to candidates who seem to be very stiff and formal. This question helps you see candidate’s personal character as it will elicit a warm, emotional response, helping you form a deeper bond with your candidates. 

“How would you solve a problem if you were from Mars?” 

Often asked by Amazon recruiter, the question is aimed to provide thoughts and logic that is beyond this planet. In other words, it helps you gather insightful, out of the box answer because the answer of an expected candidate will capable of entering a new environment and evaluating it fairly before any decision taken. 

As an example, an ideal candidate might say, “If I were on Mars, they will have their own problems, different from earth problems or other space. So, first, I would do research to determine the problem, cause and effect that are likely to occur. Then, I will offer potential solutions..”  

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What is a tricky, unusual, or funny question you often ask your candidates?

Read also: List of Questions to NOT ASK & to ASK on Your One-on-One Meeting