Introduction

As hiring managers and recruiters, it's our job to find the best fit for our organization. But with so many qualified applicants, it can be difficult to distinguish between candidates and select the right person for the job. That's why it's important to think outside the box and use unique interview questions to assess candidates in new and creative ways. In this blog post, we'll explore 12 different types of unique interview questions that can help you identify the best candidate for the job.

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are a great way to assess a candidate's past behavior and predict their future behavior. For example, "Can you give an example of a time when you had to work with a difficult team member?" or "Tell me about a time when you had to make a tough decision." These types of questions give you a glimpse into a candidate's problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and ability to work under pressure.

Case Study Interview Questions

Case study interview questions are a great way to assess a candidate's analytical and problem-solving skills. For example, "Can you walk me through how you would approach a project with a tight deadline and limited resources?" or "How would you go about solving this hypothetical business problem?" These types of questions give you a sense of how a candidate thinks and how they would handle real-life scenarios in the job.

Role-Specific Interview Questions

Role-questions are a great way to assess a candidate's knowledge and skills specific to the job they are applying for. For example, "Can you explain a technical concept you're proficient in?" or "How would you go about performing this task specific to the role?" These types of questions give you a clear understanding of a candidate's qualifications and capabilities for the specific role they are applying for.

Brainteaser Interview Questions

Brain questions are a unique way to assess a candidate's problem-solving abilities and creativity. For example, "How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?" or "If you were to build a bridge to connect two islands, what materials would you use?" These types of questions are not meant to have a right or wrong answer, but rather to spark a conversation and give you insight into a candidate's thought process and out-of-the-box thinking.

Hypothetical Interview Questions

Hypothetical interview questions are a great way to assess a candidate's ability to think on their feet and make decisions. For example, "If you were the CEO of this company, what is the first thing you would do?" or "How would you handle this specific situation if it were to occur on the job?" These types of questions give you a sense of how a candidate would handle real-life scenarios and make decisions in the workplace.

Role-Play Interview Questions

Role-play interview questions are a unique way to assess a candidate's communication and interpersonal skills. For example, "Can you role-play a sales call with me?" or "Can you act out a scenario of a difficult conversation with a customer?" These types of questions give you a sense of how a candidate would handle real-life situations and interactions in the workplace.

Stress Interview Questions

Stress interview questions are a unique way to assess a candidate's ability to handle pressure and perform under stress. For example, "Can you give a presentation on this topic with only 5 minutes of preparation?" or "How would you handle a high-pressure situation on the job?" These types of questions give you a sense of how a candidate would handle stress and pressure in the workplace.

Riddle Interview Questions

Riddle interview questions are a unique way to assess a candidate's problem-solving abilities, creativity, and critical thinking skills. For example, "What is always in front of you but can't be seen?" or "What starts with an E, ends with an E, but only contains one letter?" These types of questions are not meant to have a right or wrong answer, but rather to spark a conversation and give you insight into a candidate's thought process and problem-solving abilities.

Self-Reflection Interview Questions

Self-reflection interview questions are a unique way to assess a candidate's self-awareness and personal growth. For example, "What is one thing you wish you had done differently in your last job?" or "What is something you're currently working on improving in yourself?" These types of questions give you a sense of a candidate's self-awareness, personal growth, and willingness to improve.

Industry-Specific Interview Questions

Industry-specific interview questions are a great way to assess a candidate's knowledge and understanding of the industry they are applying for. For example, "What are the current trends in this industry?" or "What do you see as the biggest challenges facing this industry in the next 5 years?" These types of questions give you a sense of a candidate's understanding and knowledge of the industry they are applying for.

Teamwork Interview Questions

Teamwork interview questions are a great way to assess a candidate's ability to work well in a team. For example, "Can you give an example of a time when you had to work with a diverse team?" or "How do you handle conflicts within a team?" These types of questions give you a sense of a candidate's teamwork skills, communication skills, and ability to work well with others.

Creative Interview Questions

Creative interview questions are a unique way to assess a candidate's creativity, imagination and out-of-the-box thinking. For example, "If you were a brand, what would your slogan be and why?" or "Can you come up with a new product or service that our company could offer?" These types of questions give you a sense of a candidate's creativity and ability to think outside the box.

Conclusion

As hiring managers and recruiters, it's important to use unique interview questions to assess candidates in new and creative ways. By using behavioral, case study, role-specific, brainteaser, hypothetical, role-play, stress, riddle, self-reflection, industry-specific, teamwork and creative interview questions, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of a candidate's qualifications, skills, and abilities, and make informed hiring decisions. So next time you're conducting an interview, think outside the box and try some of these unique interview questions to identify the best fit for your organization.

How Hume Can Help

Hume is an interview intelligence platform that can help hiring teams unlock the full potential of their interviews by recording, transcribing, and summarizing the interview sessions. With Hume, teams can easily access and review interviews, gain insights from the data, and make more informed hiring decisions.

One of the key benefits of using Hume is that it allows teams to move faster in their hiring process by providing them with a more objective view of the interviews. With recorded and transcribed interviews, teams can review the data and get a deeper understanding of the candidate's qualifications and skills, without relying on their memory or notes.

Hume also allows teams to train their interviewers to perform better by providing them with feedback on their interviewing skills, and helping them to identify areas for improvement. With the ability to review and analyze past interviews, teams can identify patterns and trends in their interviewing process, and make adjustments to improve the overall effectiveness of their interviews.

Additionally, Hume can help teams to use unique interview questions more effectively. With the ability to transcribe and summarize interviews, teams can easily identify the key points of the conversation, and gain insights into how the candidate responded to different types of questions. This can help teams to make more informed decisions about which questions to ask in future interviews, and how to interpret the answers.

Overall, using Hume can help teams to unlock the full potential of their interviews, and make more informed hiring decisions. By providing teams with a more objective view of the interviews, training interviewers to perform better, and helping teams to use unique interview questions more effectively, Hume can help teams to improve the overall effectiveness of their hiring process.