10 Best Creative (vs. Common) Interview Questions
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10 best creative interview questions
We are all likely familiar with a courteous question like “how are you” when really the time doesn’t allow for an authentic answer. Similarly when you consider how much time you’ll spend working in your career, the idea of really getting to know you would benefit the employer and you alike. Why not dive deeper and ask creative and effective questions vs. common familiar ones?
The idea behind preparing to answer creative questions (compared to common interview questions) is that the interviewer is able to better understand your character, personality, and agility. Anyone can prepare for the standard questions with rote answers likened to cramming for a test. What does this tell your future employer about the uniqueness of you - that you test well!
More and more employees are implementing a creative approach with a desire to really get to know how you’re different, qualified and a team player.
Consider too, interviewing is not limited to words alone. Outside the interview room, tasks may be included in this process such as asking you to do something under pressure or riding in a car with you during rush hour to see how you cope under pressure. The holistic approach to interviewing should not be overlooked and has become more common in today’s career search.
The reason for this blog, is to engage around the creative side of a job interview. The more prepared you are for the unexpected: showing up agile, willing to be flexible, with a sense of humor when things go wrong and be open to correction, the more attractive you are to your potential future employer.
Aren’t these the soft skills you’ve worked hard to embody? Ultimately this is the goal interviewers are getting at with these questions above and beyond any “right” or “wrong” answer you could cram for. They want to see that you are not only qualified to do the work, but truly the best candidate for the long term.
So do yourself a favor and grab a friend and a coffee and ask them to ask you the following creative questions.
Below are a list of common interview questions compared to creative alternatives. Prepare for both and see how you show up more prepared than your peers. Bottom line: Be prepared, honest, flexible, and concise.
Common Interview Questions:
1) Tell me something about yourself.
2) What did you like about your last job?
3) Why did you leave your last job?
4) What can you bring to this company/organization/team?
5) What specific skills do you have for this type of work?
6) What is your greatest strength?
7) Tell me about your work history?
8) What would your employers say about your past work experience?
9) In what way do you feel you can make the biggest contribution to this company?
10) What five words describe you best?
11) Do you consider yourself a team player?
12) What motivates you?
13) Describe your working style?
14) What is your biggest accomplishment?
15) Anything else we should know about your work history?
16) Who is your role model, and why?
Examples of Creative interview Questions:
1) If you could live anywhere, where would you live? This question indirectly asks about your lifestyle and hobbies. Hidden within it, are the questions: Do you like to travel? Would you want to relocate? Do you plan to be in this area long?
2) If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life what would it be? Better than, “tell me more about yourself?”, this question gets at your interests and openness not to mention cultural awareness and greater worldview as well as outside the box thinking.
There is a joke in our home that I asked this question of my family, to which my husband Jeff answered Kale! If I could only eat one type of food for the rest of my life, I say Asian! His response, was, “Wait a minute I thought you said type of food not region of the world!.” My understanding of the question included an interpretation different from his but it didn’t seem wrong! Comical now, I think it would be way more fun to eat my choice for the rest of my life! As you can see, the interpretation of even a simple question like this can spur on creative answers igniting a more playful spirit from even the beginning of our interaction.
3) What was the last gift you gave to someone? The question is getting at how generous, kind, thoughtful you are Do you have a good memory! Are you intentional? Relational? Caring?
4) What is an unpopular opinion you hold? Persuasiveness or uniqueness? You decide. I love this question because it grants permission and space for differences. We can hold unpopular opinions and be open to disagreement in this workspace. It also gives space for contradiction in the simplest of ways from a disliked movie to a deeper political stance. I’d probably err on the side of something slightly shallow in the first round and see where things go from there. (i.e. I think the STAR WARS series is over-rated or I am a rare person who really doesn’t like ice cream! (not true of me, just an example).
5) What is the last best movie (book, article) you read? What this question is asking, is are you well-informed, a life-long learner, interesting and/or insightful. Be prepared to talk about something of interest to the listener and not just to you. It may or may not relate to the work you do, however, relatable is better than obscure, strange or confusing.
6) What advice would you give your former boss? Delicate, yes. But simultaneously insightful into your relationship with past employers or supervisors. As well, notable what traits you value and need in your working world. A question like this gives you the opportunity to manage up. Saying something like, “I would tell my former boss that I work well autonomously and then collaboratively. I need space to ideate but also brainstorm with others. I am a ambivert, extroverted/introverted thinker and thrive in that type of environment.” Keeping it about you and not them, highlights your self-awareness and keeps you from speaking poorly or going down a rabbit hole about the former org or relationship.
7) If you were an animal what animal would you be? Without asking are you a people person, you can learn a lot about someone from this question. Your answer can speak to traits you share in common with a familiar creature without having to state, I’m funny, fun, loving, isolating, high maintenance, etc! As well, it tells me if you are an animal-loving personal which may or may not be relatable.
8) What do you do to rejuvenate? Or describe an ideal Saturday? Again, this question may be asking about hobbies or it may be asking about boundaries of work. What does your work-life balance look like and how are you caring for yourself. Do we share similar values on the idea of rest?
9) What does your ideal working environment look like? Whether or not an organization can accommodate your ideal working needs, if this question was asked, I would jump at the opportunity to say I work really well collaborating with others and then going back to my work alone. Basically stating, can I work remotely without micro-management and with or without people?
10) Which year of your life would you like to relive? This question allows you to highlight something others may never ask you about. I love this question as it basically states, “tell me more about yourself! What brings you life and why?”
Bonus: What’s one thing about you that people don’t ask but that you’d like others to know?
Preparing for an interview with these types of questions in mind gives you the leg up! As you can imagine it also gives you the opportunity to prepare not only for your vocation, but also the relationships that will make up your work environment. A good interview allows your potential future employer to see your unique attributes and learn more about you both inside of work and outside. Don’t be shy about your accomplishments, likes and dislikes. Let your unique self shine! Be concise and don’t forget that you can also ask intelligent and thoughtful questions in return.
Many forget that they are also “courting” the organization when they step into an interview. Ask yourself, Do you like what you see? Is the person friendly? Does the organization resonate with your values? Is there room for you to grow here?
You are entitled to ask the interviewer questions as well. “What are you looking for most in this position? How might I stand out from others you’ve spoken to? Why did the previous person leave?” Being proactive and assertively asking to better understand the individual and the company will likely to several things. 1. It speaks to your courage and leadership 2. It shows you care and are active in your pursuit 3. It will give a dopamine hit to the interviewee and ultimately set you apart as memorable.
Be bold and have fun with this process. If you let it, the experience of interviewing can be a process of gained self discovery; a gift to yourself and others in a season of transition.
For further reflection:
Which question would you like to answer? Have you been in an interview like this that allowed your best attributes to shine?
