Are you asking unique interview questions?

Or, just the same old, everyday, run-of-the-mill ones?

Unique interview questions are designed to probe beneath the surface to get you the valuable knowledge you require to make the best hiring decisions.  

In this article, you’ll learn what the most common interview questions are, why you should ask unique questions, the uncommon questions you should be asking candidates, and so much more! 

Unique interview questions to ask your candidates

Ordinary questions are good for ferreting out basic information.

But if you want to go light years beyond that, ask your applicant some uncommon questions. Just remember brain teasers—like Google and other tech companies used to be known for—probably won’t provide you with the useful information you need to make sound hiring decisions.

Ask questions that reflect your idiosyncratic workplace culture and let you know what it might be like to have the person working for you.

Uncommon interview questions can test a candidate’s ability to think on his feet.  Keep in mind everything you ask needs to be purposeful and not just for your personal entertainment. 

A few caveats:

• Never ask questions that make your interviewee feel uncomfortable
• Don’t ask questions that are inappropriate, discriminatory, or refer to a candidate’s protected class information (gender, race, age, ethnicity, etc.) 
• Always try to have fun with candidates because humor can relieve jittery nerves 01. Tell me about a time you set a challenging goal for yourself and how you accomplished it.

The answer to this will show you how much effort the interviewee is willing to expend on challenges. Have him walk you through what they did to take their goal from nebulous idea to concrete reality.

Then, you’ll know how they might act when challenges arise in your company.  

02. Describe the work environment that will help you to contribute most effectively.

This question should give you an excellent indication of what the candidate’s ideal workplace is. After you get his response, you’ll be able to assess whether he would flourish in your company. Or wither away because the work culture won’t be to his liking.

If that happens, you’ll have hired the wrong person—a mistake that might have been entirely avoidable had you asked the right questions.

03. What kind of oversight would your ideal boss provide?

The response will reveal how self-directed your future employee is. Some employees need a lot of handholding.

If your company depends on autonomous team members, this is an excellent one to pose to weed these types of people out. 

04. What project is your most significant career accomplishment?

You want team members whose actions add value to your company. If the applicant talks about an impressive achievement he helped to bring about and his story sounds credible, this might be someone you want to bring on board.

05. What are the three most important attributes you’ll bring to our company?

Make sure the values your applicant mentions are congruent with those of your own workplace. If they’re wildly divergent, this might not be the person for you.

06. Talk to me about a period in your life when you had to conquer a significant limitation that stood in the way of you accomplishing a goal.

By asking this, you’ll get insight into how good an applicant is at transcending tough challenges.

The question might also help tease out their problem-solving style, which could be useful information to have when you’re making a hiring decision.

07. What excites you most about this job?

This one will help you discover if the prospective employee has a passion for the job he’s applying for. If he gives a lackluster response, you might want to steer clear of him and hire someone else.

08. How would your co-workers describe you?

This one will help you assess if colleagues enjoy working with the candidate, which will help you know if he’s a team player.  

09. How would your current boss rate the quality of your work?

 This question might tell you how good the candidate is at accepting criticism and feedback. If the applicant uses this time to vent about how bad his previous supervisor was, this might be a red flag.

10. How will your skills contribute to the accomplishment of our company’s mission?

These days, applicants are expected to conduct preliminary research on the company they want to work for. This question will show how much initiative the candidate took to investigate his future employer before coming to the interview.