More Interview Questions

Yesterday I posted about the worst interview question: "What is your greatest weakness?" Today, I am wondering what are some unique interview questions you have been asked or that you have asked of candidates? Please post in the comments.

Here are some that I have asked:

"What do you like to do for lunch?" (We were a close-knit team and I was concerned about fit.)

"Tell me about your favorite project and what it made it your favorite?"

"Tell me about your least favorite project and why you didn't like it?"

Here are some that I have been asked, which aren't unique, but I don't like them:

"How would you handle this scenario..." (A totally legitimate question for assessing skills, but I was barely qualified for the job, so I tanked it. Fortunately, they were hiring 11 people and used an objective scoring method for the interview questions, so I was actually offered a position. I turned it down because it was pretty clear I couldn't handle the job.)

"Why should we hire you?" (I just hate this one. They probably aren't looking for, "Because of everything on my resume and I want a new job." I feel like this is a crappy question because, not knowing the make up of the team or department, or their reasons for wanting to hire, how can I say why they should hire me? I know this is about calling out skills that are a good match for their circumstances but, generally, it seems like the people who ask this haven't done a good job of explaining their circumstances prior to asking.)

Comments

[jo]

When I used to help interview helpdesk candidates I always asked "Why, when I'm having computer issues, is the first instruction have you restarted the computer?" I wasn't necessarily looking for an answer, but more an explanation that made sense to me. If the person could explain that to me, I figured they would be good explaining other computer fixes to others.

One question that came up here was "describe your commitment to diversity." I hate the question and I think the phrasing is awkward. I think there are better ways to ask if someone works well with others of a diverse background. As a white person what am I supposed to say to that? I have black friends??

[melissa]

Worst:
Define loyalty.

Best:
Wasn't so much a question, but the fact that the interviewers gave me the entire list of questions when I sat down. They said that given the job they assumed I was a visual person and would appreciate seeing the whole list at once.

Also, not a question, but best interview was with a school district that told me "Just so you know, during the interview we can't give you any feedback. We won't nod, smile or frown. In the past people were concerned about our lack of response so we thought you should know."