HOW TO SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

LET’S face it; interviews have become boring both for the interviewer and for the interviewee. Time and time again we hear the same questions being asked and all too often the answers are well rehearsed which never really gets to the crux of assessing job suitability and fit. Is it any wonder that some interviewers are now turning to more creative, less traditional questions and scenarios in order to separate the wheat from the chaff? If you’re an interviewer looking to break the mould or if you’re an interviewee and find yourself served a curve ball of a question, take note of the following as we discover some of the more unique scenarios presented from interview rooms across the globe.

USE OF IMAGINATION –How would you survive the zombie apocalypse? What superpower would you choose and why? All non-standard questions designed to test imagination, reaction and creative thinking.

THAT’S AWKWARD? What’s your favourite song and can you perform it for me now? No, not an audition for X-factor, but one that pushes the boundaries of comfort. Have you got nerves of steel to ask this of a candidate? Let alone, as an interviewee, belt out a rendition of Sweet Child O’ Mine?

BRAIN TEASERS – How many cows in Canada? If you could be remembered for one sentence, what would it be? There’s no right answer here, but it’s the approach you take to answering that determines whether you pass or fail.

Undoubtedly there will always remain a place for stock standard questions, but to get a real spark from a candidate, why not deviate from the norm and see where the interview takes you? Who knows, the best candidate might just be the one that can tell you how they’d get an elephant into a refrigerator? And for the interviewee, when faced with an unusual question, demonstrate lateral thinking and embrace the unexpected.