24 Real, Oddball Interview Questions

It may still be winter, but many companies will soon begin looking for college students and graduates to fill summer internship positions and entry-level jobs. Finding a job and applying for it may be the first step to securing a position, but it’s the interview that can often be the most difficult. That’s why candidates need to be prepared to answer all interview questions – from the most common to the most bizarre.

To help get a leg up, Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, dug into the thousands of interview questions shared by job candidates throughout the past year to shine a light on 25 of the most oddball interview questions.

The lesson here?  Expect the unexpected.

1. “How many people are using Facebook in San Francisco at 2:30pm on a Friday?” – view answers

Asked at Google.  More Google interview questions.

2. “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk.” – view answers

Asked at Acosta. More Acosta interview questions.

3. “If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you prove it?” – view answers

Asked at Hewlett-Packard. More Hewlett-Packard interview questions.

4. “What do you think of garden gnomes?” – view answers

Asked at Trader Joe’s. More Trader Joe’s interview questions.

5. “Is your college GPA reflective of your potential?” – view answers

Asked at the Advisory Board. More Advisory Board interview questions.

6. “Would Mahatma Gandhi have made a good software engineer?” – view answers

Asked at Deloitte. More Deloitte interview questions.

7. “If you could be #1 employee but have all your coworkers dislike you or you could be #15 employee and have all your coworkers like you, which would you choose?” – view answers

Asked at ADP. More ADP interview questions.

8. “How would you cure world hunger?” – view answers

Asked at Amazon.com.  More Amazon.com interview questions.

9. “Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?” – view answers

Asked at Pinkberry.  More Pinkberry interview questions.

10. “Does life fascinate you?” – view answers

Asked at Ernst & Young. More Ernst & Young interview questions.

11. “Given 20 ‘destructible’ light bulbs (which breaks at certain height), and a building with 100 floors, how do you determine the height that the light bulb breaks?” – view answers

Asked at QUALCOMM. QUALCOMM interview questions.

12. “Please spell ‘diverticulitis’.” – view answers

Asked at EMSI Engineering. More EMSI Engineering interview questions.

13. “Name 5 uses of a stapler without staple pins.” – view answers

Asked at EvaluServe. More EvaluServe interview questions.

14. “How much money did residents of Dallas/Ft. Worth spend on gasoline in 2008?” – view answers

Asked at American Airlines.  More American Airlines interview questions.

15. “How would you get an elephant into a refrigerator?” – view answers

Asked at Horizon Group Properties. More Horizon Group Properties interview questions.

16. “You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?” – view answers

Asked at Epic Systems. More Epic Systems interview questions.

17. “How many planes are currently flying over Kansas?” – view answers

Asked at Best Buy. More Best Buy interview questions.

18. “How many different ways can you get water from a lake at the foot of a mountain, up to the top of the mountain?” –view answers

Asked at Disney Parks & Resorts. More Disney Parks & Resorts interview questions.

19. “What is 37 times 37?” – view answers

Asked at Jane Street Capital.  More Jane Street Capital interview questions.

20. “If you could be a superhero, what power would you possess?” – view answers

Asked at Rain and Hail Insurance. More Rain and Hail Insurance interview questions.

21. “If you were a Microsoft Office program, which one would you be?” – view answers

Asked at Summit Racing Equipment.  More Summit Racing Equipment interview questions.

22. “Pepsi or Coke?” – view answers

Asked at United Health Group.  More United Health Group interview questions.

23. “Are you exhaling warm air?” – view answers

Asked at Walker Marketing.  More Walker Marketing interview questions.

24. “You’re in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard (the chain is long enough so the anchor rests completely on the bottom of the tank). Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?” – view answers

Asked at Tesla Motors.  More  Tesla Motors interview questions.

25. “How do you feel about those jokers at Congress?” – view answers

Asked at Consolidated Electrical.  More Consolidated Electrical interview questions.

 

Think you could handle these questions during an interview?