65 crazy interview questions

Almost every adult, at some point, has had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of crazy and even illegal job interview questions. Some fall more into the “waste of time” bucket, but some are downright idiotic.

My friend, Stephen O’Donnell, the Chief Growth Officer of TAtech and founder of the United Kingdom’s National Online Recruitment Awards (NORAs), wrote an article as a parody of the seemingly inane questions that some employers ask, supposedly to gain more insight to the character of a candidate. Stephen is hilarious, and so are his questions:

1. Would you rather have a hand made out of toast or a finger that dispenses jam?

2. Would you rather be a cow or a badger, and why?

3. Have you ever flown a kite?

4. Where do you get your crazy ideas from?

5. What’s it like being [insert name of interviewee]?

6. As you lay dying, which celebrity would you want to stroke your hair?

7. Which of the muppets would you rather go on holiday with?

8. Is there anything purple within ten feet of you?

9. Do you have any unusual phobias?

10. If you were given the powers of King (or Queen) Midas, what would you choose to turn everything that you touch into?

11. How do you sleep at night?

12. Of all the [interviewee’s name] in history, which one is your favourite?

13. Who was your favourite member of Girls Aloud?

14. Have you ever seen a ghost?

15. What is the meaning of life?

16. Who is the most famous person in your phone contacts – and would they take your call?

17. Have you ever had a near death experience?

18. How well would you do on The Apprentice?

19. What is your most mundane encounter with a celebrity?

20. What crimes have you got away with?

21. What song would you replace the national anthem with?

22. At age 10, what was your favourite chocolate bar, and / or biscuit?

23. Which animals have you been bitten by?

24. Have you got what it takes to be a spy?

25. What age do you plan on living till?

26. Have you earned any achievement badges, like in the scouts, and what for?

27. What is the worst incorrect rumour you have heard about yourself?

28. If you could travel back in time 50 years, what item of value would you take?

29. What becomes of the broken hearted?

30. Which conspiracy theory do you believe is actually true?

31. Has your life turned out as you expected?

32. If a serial killer murders another serial killer (like Dexter) does that work like conkers?

33. What is your favourite acronym?

34. What modern day item do you think will seem ridiculously archaic in 10 years time?

35. Do you ever think that this is a dream, and your dreams are reality?

36. Did any future celebrities go to your school?

37. Can you play an instrument, juggle, or ride a unicycle?

38. What was your nickname at school?

39. Does the world revolve around you?

40. What does mansplaining mean?

41. What is the point of rhetorical questions?

42. If you could have a dream dinner party with any person living or dead, who would you employ to do the washing up?

43. If you had the ability to be able to be a virtuoso on any instrument without practising, what instrument would you choose?

44. Can you name three occasions on which you cheated?

45. If you had a band, what would you call it?

46. Have you ever had a personalised car registration plate?

47. Have you planned out what you would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse?

48. When you Google yourself, what is the weirdest thing you find?

49. Which toy did you always want for Christmas, but never received? When you were an adult did you buy it for yourself and if so was it as good as you had hoped?

50. Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?

51. Which characters from a tv show would you like to appear in other shows as the same character?

52. What’s the hardest landing you ever had in an aeroplane?

53. What are your friends from school doing now?

54. Expressed as a percentage, how far through life have you got?

55. What’s the strangest thing you have found?

56. What’s the most valuable thing you have lost?

57. How much cash do you have on you right now?

58. Who are you wearing right now?

59. Do you iron your own clothes?

60. How much do you pay your cleaner?

61. Bath or shower?

62. Have you ever been hypnotised?

63. On your chips – brown sauce, ketchup, or mayonnaise?

64. Have you ever considered going into politics?

65. What is your regular order at Nando’s?