Ensure you’re making the best hires for your business with these creative interview questions.
When was the last time your leadership team evaluated its hiring process – specifically the standard interview questions? Are they the same questions you were asked when you were hired? Do the questions involve asking about greatest strengths and weaknesses? If so, it’s time for a refresh.
Luckily, when it comes to interview questions, they’re completely customizable. That seems obvious, but far too often, businesses stay stuck in the same cycle of interview questions because they don’t make creative thinking a priority or understand the benefit.
In a nutshell, taking the time to establish thoughtful, relevant and creative interview questions for potential hires can directly affect employee retention. And now more than ever, it’s vital to make the right hires.
Thoughtful and relevant interview questions likely make sense. But you might be wondering why you should include creative or rather unexpected questions. Simply put, creative interview questions can help you gauge a new hire’s ability to handle stress, think creatively and gain insight to their personality, to name a few. These questions make the interview process more engaging for all.
Here are some examples to help your team establish a new set of creative interview questions:
“What do you think of X?”
Inspired by Trader Joe’s interview question about garden gnomes, this question allows your team to gain insight to a candidate’s personality, culture fit and quick wit. Quirky ideas include garden gnomes, fake plants, scavenger hunts, etc.
“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?”
To test a candidate’s creativity – and possible knowledge of trees – Walgreens incorporates this question in its hiring process. This is a great way to inquire about strengths without asking the age-old strengths question. This can also be adjusted from tree to house plant, flower, bird, etc.
“How many X would fit into this room?”
Inspired by the company Ipreo that uses the example of pennies, brain teasers are not only fun to ask, they also showcase a candidate’s logic and ability to solve challenges. If your candidate asks follow up questions, it can display their ability to think creatively for the best solution before responding too quickly.
Overall, one of the best ways to initiate a refresh is by gaining a new perspective. If your creative juices aren’t flowing, don’t be afraid to ask your team for their creative interview questions. You could gain really great ideas, or even uncover a member’s passion for interviewing.
For additional ideas like the ones above, you can also check out HubSpot’s 15 Fun, Weird, and Unexpected Interview Questions. This article provides additional examples, why you should ask these questions and sample answers.
I’ve added the following to our interview questions:
Tell me about your best friend. – This helps me understand if they are loyal and caring.
What podcast are you listening to, or book are you reading? – This will help me understand if they will have things in common with the team at the front desk.