Strange job interview questions how to handle?

Question

I have been asked some non work related (but I dont think illegal) questions at job interviews..such as:

If you were a dog what kind of dog would you be?
Is that your natural hair color?
What kind of car do you have?
Is your house messy, clean or in between?
How often do you go to the denist/doctor?
What is your favorite food?
How long have you known your closest friend?
I could go on but you get the idea...these questions are not work related, I wasnt sure how to answer them, so I kind of dodged them...

Answer 1

If you were a dog what kind of dog would you be?
This could tell something aout your personality.......but could be misleading if the asker or askee dosent know about different dog breeds.

Is that your natural hair color?
not appropriate, could be related to ethnicity

What kind of car do you have?
They could be trying to find out if you have kids..if you drive a minivan you prob have kids...2 seater sports car, single no kids

Is your house messy, clean or in between?
If your house is messy you might be a messy worker, just assure them you are an organized worker.

How often do you go to the denist/doctor?
Could reveal medical conditions/disabilities

What is your favorite food?
a vegitarian might more politically concious, also they might have lower health insurance premiums

How long have you known your closest friend?
Could reveal your loyalty...or your age.

Unfortunately, comapnies have found new sneaky ways to find out things they are not allowed to ask about directly.

Illegal questions I have been asked: what kind of a name is that? about my last name

if I have a boyfriend

Are you married? Do you have children?

Tell me about yourself, do you have a family?

You have a lot of experience but you look very young. How old are you anyway? You can tell me!

Are you looking for a career?

WHY don't you want to travel?



I did not go work for any of these comapnies

Answer 2

If you were a dog what kind of dog would you be? - The dog question is actually not that bad of a question. They are trying to look into your character and type of personality. They usually ask what kind of animal you would be..I got this once.

Is that your natural hair color? - Kind of a strange question unless they were looking to change their hair color..but generally I think it is okay.

Is your house messy, clean, or in between? - They want to know if you are organized...you can reply to this question..just.ensure them you are organized at work

How often do you go to dentist/doctor? I think they are trying to pry into how often you use benefits..I would just answer it varies..but normal checkups...i don't like this question because they may want to know how much you might miss work and honestly if you get sick for a week..you get sick!

What is your favorite food? - An icebreaker type question but kind of strange...

How long have you known your closest friend? They are gauging loyalty probably to the company itself..and want to know how long you can keep an relationship...however..this is quite a personal question and I would feel uncomfortable answering it. Just because your closest friend may only be known a few years..you shouldn't be judged by this.

If you feel uncomfortable with any question that does not relate to the job..I would say "I do not feel this question is applicable to my job duties. I would like to discuss my qualifications." If they cannot understand that then they are not being respectful and you wouldn't want to work there anyway.

Answer 3

The only one that treads the line is possibly the dentist/doctor one and maybe hair color...one could be tied to disability and one to race-type characteristics.

The rest might offer some sort of insight into your values, or be just getting to know you time fillers. I might ask the food question only because the person is such a disaster in giving answers I was trying to make them a little more comfortable talking. It didn't work, and I wouldn't do it again.

Answer 4

WOW

If you were a dog what kind of dog would you be? "Creative thinking"
Is that your natural hair color?NO
What kind of car do you have?NO
Is your house messy, clean or in between?NO
How often do you go to the denist/doctor?NO
What is your favorite food?NO
How long have you known your closest friend?NO

These are nobody's business. Operative word: "BUSINESS"

If they are running a business they must stick to business related questions such as "describe how you would resolve this problem..."

Some people may think that it gives the prospective employer a bit more of an idea of who you are. In your off hours, maybe, which time he doesn't own.

What would they think if you asked them - "and how often do you see your shrink?"

Answer 5

The interviewer has been reading too many articles or watching too much TV. These are definitely weird - and if several popped up in the same interview, I'd consider staying away from the place unless they made a too-good-to-pass-up offer - if they do this on interview, they're likely to be weird to work for too.

Answer 6

Those are just informal questions to gauge your off-the-cuff response and personality. They don't care about the answer so much as they way you express yourself.

I don't think any of those are that bad. There was another question on here where a guy said he'd been asked if he'd accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior. Which would totally be illegal, and if I was ever asked that personally, I'd sue their pants off.

Answer 7

They really don't care what the answer is, they're looking for things like your ability to change the subject without getting flustered; sometimes they're looking for insight into personality, but since very few interviewers are psychologists, your deep dark secrets are safe.