10 “Outside-of-the-Box” Interview Questions You Should Be Asking

Kristina Meyer | HRTools.com Business Writer

Why do you want to work for this company? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What is your greatest strength? Like a family of lingering poltergeists, these tired, archaic questions seem to haunt every interview. Google “interview questions and answers” and you’ll get pages of sites dedicated to teaching candidates how to answer these run-of-the-mill queries. And indeed many jobseekers do spend days, even weeks, rehearsing suitable answers. Greg Churchman, an interview and retention strategist and owner of Churchman Consulting Solutions Inc., says interviewees will be well-versed when answering such standard questions.  

“Candidates will be answering the question before you’re even done asking it,” says Churchman. And what are these cereal box answers going to tell you? Nothing. In reality, says Churchman, these boilerplate questions give employers little insight into candidates’ abilities. 

“You want to get a story,” Churchman says. “Get some data on what happened and what the outcome was.” These stories aren’t only going to tell you the individual’s skills, but it will also you give you some clues about their character and how they’re likely to behave day-to-day.  

The list of questions we’ve put together below may help you escape the interview rut.  The goal of these questions is to drag the candidate out of their box and actually make them think for a change. What will their responses tell you?

1. What do you think is needed for you to perform well? This will help you decide what type of worker the candidate is. Does he or she need a lot of guidance or support? Do they crave recognition? Do they work better alone or with a team?
2. Where are you hitting your mark and where are you missing it? Churchman says that when he asks this question he is investigating what type of training the candidate might need.
3. What is your most recent accomplishment? This is a great way to lead into their work experience. Churchman also points out that this question gives you insight into what candidates feel is significant and what obstacles they’ve faced.
4. Where does this job fit into your career path? As a small business, you can’t afford constant turnover. This question will help ensure that you’re not just a quick stop on the road to bigger and better things.
5. Describe a situation when you took a risk professionally. What was the outcome? This will help you determine whether your candidate is willing to go out on a limb for his job. Churchman says that when you interview a candidate, you want to discover what they’ve learned from their experiences. This question will give you a tangible example of their work as well as help you understand their ability to grow professionally.
6. What kinds of people do you have difficulties working with? We all get in our moods, but if your business operates in a team-driven environment, you need to determine whether the new player will mesh well. Churchman says you should gather data in multiple areas. Interpersonal skills are just as important as technical skills. Personality conflicts can cause major disruptions in productivity. Make sure your candidate will fit in without making too many waves.
7. Tell me about a time when you had to win someone over to your way of thinking. How did you accomplish this? What was the outcome? This will give you some insight into the candidate’s communication skills and how they handle conflict. See how well a candidate can think on his or her feet. How is the situation approached professionally without offending other individuals?
8. Tell me about a time when you were working hard to complete a task and you were asked to leave that task before completing it in order to start a different job. How did you handle the situation? This question tells you how well your candidate is able to multitask. Can they prioritize? Can they jump between jobs or are they more process-oriented?
9. Can you give me a specific occasion in which you followed a policy that you didn’t agree with? At some point your employees may be forced to follow a company policy that they disagree with. In many cases, going against the grain can mean serious consequences for your business. You need to make sure the candidate is on board with company protocol and can put aside their personal opinion when it comes to the tasks at hand.
10. Is there anything that I have not asked you or is not in your resume that I should know? Churchman says not all candidates will interview well, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a bad fit. This question allows the candidate to fill in any gaps or reveal information that may not have fit in the resume structure or in the interview process. 

Churchman says employers should keep an open mind when conducting an interview. “You don’t want to go in with a question, expecting to get something,” he says.  

A candidate may not necessarily give you the answers you’re looking for — they may give you more than you want. Get to the heart of their character and capabilities by asking questions that require them to think on their feet and stretch beyond the typical rhetoric.

Churchman says before you ask the candidate a question, ask two questions of yourself: 1) Why am I asking this question? 2) What do I hope to learn about the individual by asking it? This will help you weed out what’s unnecessary so that you have more time to ask the questions that will reveal your best candidates.

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