By Mike Simpson
Every now and then, hiring managers like to throw candidates some curveballs by asking funny interview questions. While weird questions might seem like a waste of time, they really aren’t. In fact, they can reveal a lot more about you than you’d think.
By nailing these funny questions, you can showcase your amazing personality, highlight critical capabilities, and give the hiring manager crucial glimpses into your professional mindset. If you want to make sure you can tackle the top funny interview questions like a boss – and would appreciate a few example answers, too – here’s what you need to know.
How to Answer Funny Interview Questions
Alright, we know you’re here for the top funny interview questions list and some example answers, and we promise those are coming. The thing is, examples won’t do you much good alone.
Instead, you need a solid grip on how to answer any funny question. Why? Because there’s no guarantee which ones the hiring manager will ask.
Unlike most job interview questions, funny interview questions aren’t position-specific. Instead, they are used to see how you navigate the unexpected or get some insights into your personality. That means you can’t always anticipate which ones will come up.
So, how do you deal with that? By having an awesome strategy!
First, understand that even weird questions need to be taken seriously. Yes, it’s okay to share a quick laugh with the hiring manager. But you need to pivot quickly, moving from comedy into an answer with substance.
Do a little research to find out more about the company’s needs. Review the job description, then take a trip to the company’s website. After all, 47 percent of hiring managers won’t extend an offer to a candidate – even if they have the right skills – if it’s clear that they know nothing about the business.
Second, embrace the Tailoring Method. With the Tailoring Method, you can customize your answer to make it more compelling to that hiring manager. It’s all about addressing a company’s unique needs, ensuring your reply is relevant.
In the end, 57 percent of interviewers make hiring decisions based on how well a candidate’s personality meshes with the company’s culture. That’s what makes nailing funny interview questions so important. Plus, if you can work in more relevant details, all the better.
We also wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free cheat sheet that will give you word-for-word answers for some of the toughest interview questions you are going to face in your upcoming interview. After all, hiring managers will often ask you more generalized interview questions!
Click below to get your free PDF now:
Get Our Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet!
FREE BONUS PDF CHEAT SHEET: Get our "Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet" that gives you "word-word sample answers to the most common job interview questions you'll face at your next interview.
Top 3 Funny Interview Questions
Okay, now it’s time for what you’ve been waiting for: the top three funny interview questions and example answers. Take a look at these three weird questions and how you may want to respond. That way, you can see the tips above in action.
1. If you had a chance to pick a superpower, which one would you want?
This question gives the hiring manager glimpses into your personality and priorities. Ideally, you want to choose a superpower that aligns with the job or has larger potential in the business world.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
“I would like the power to understand or translate any language, written, spoken, or physical, like body language. While the benefits in a global economy are the clearest, language dominates so much more than our communications with one another. Software code is a language, for example.
By being able to understand any language, I could be a bridge between people. Additionally, I could help solve a variety of problems since, in the end, language is at the core of so much.”
2. If you got to choose a song that would play every time you entered a room, what song would you pick, and why?
Here’s another question that you can actually relate to the position if you approach it correctly. Ideally, pick something with a positive connotation, both when it comes to the sound of the song and the larger message.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
“Well, if I had to pick just one, I think I’d go with ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,’ from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. It’s upbeat but doesn’t gloss over that life can come with challenges. Instead, it acknowledges that hardships happen but that your attitude makes a difference. I think that’s a powerful message, and I keep it in mind whenever I face an obstacle, so I think it’s fitting.”
3. Do you consider yourself lucky? Why or why not?
Whether someone considers themselves lucky can be quite revealing. In the end, not coming across as pessimistic is the most important part of the equation.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
“Generally, I consider myself lucky, though not in a traditional sense. I focus on working hard and being open to opportunities worth seizing. That openness and willingness to take reasonable risks leaves me primed for growth and exploration, leading to situations that some may view as lucky.”
27 More Funny Interview Questions
Here are 27 more funny interview questions you might encounter:
-
- If you were stranded on an island alone and all of your food, water, and shelter needs were met, how would you pass this time?
- How many soccer balls would it take to fill this room?
- Imagine someone gave you an elephant. You aren’t allowed to sell it or give it away. What would you do with it?
- Do you consider yourself a hunter or a gatherer? Why?
- Tell me about a time you feel you gave someone the perfect gift.
- What animal do you think you’re most like? Why do you feel that way?
- Describe the color pink to someone who is blind.
- If you had the chance to write your own eulogy, what would it say?
- If a benefactor gave you $75,000 to launch a business, what kind of business would you start?
- What fictional character do you identify with the most? Why?
- Describe this job as if you were speaking to a five-year-old child.
- Imagine you were given enough money to cover all of your needs for the rest of your life, but you only get to keep the cash if you maintain a job, any job? In that scenario, what kind of job would you have?
- What color is money?
- When you’re alone in your car, driving to or from work, what do you think about?
- If you had to choose today, what would be the title of your autobiography?
- How many traffic lights are there in Dallas?
- If you needed a ride, and using a limousine or a taxi would cost you the same amount, which vehicle type would you choose, and why?
- Between your desk, room, and car, which would you clean first, and why?
- On a scale of one to ten, how weird do you think you are, and why?
- If you were a brand, what would your slogan be?
- If you could only eat one kind of cuisine for the rest of your life, what type would you choose, and why?
- How would you sell hot chocolate during the summer in Florida?
- If you had to pick three songs that describe your work ethic, what would they be?
- If you headed to the breakroom and discovered a live penguin in the freezer, what would you do?
- Imagine you’re the CEO of this company. When you wake up, what’s the first thing you’d do?
- If you had to grade your life as if it was a college class, what grade would you give yourself?
- If you could be your team’s top performer but everyone would dislike you, or an average performer but everyone liked you, which would you prefer?
5 Good “Funny” Questions to Ask as the End of an Interview
At the end of an interview, you’ll usually get a chance to ask a few of your own questions. While a bit of humor is okay, your priority needs to be gathering helpful information. If you’re looking for a funny question to add to the mix, here are five options.
-
- If the company’s culture had a theme song, one that isn’t part of its commercial jingle, what would it be, and why?
- What’s the funniest mishap this team has ever experienced when working on a project? How was the issue received and resolved?
- How does the team have fun together?
- If this team was a brand and needed a slogan, what would that slogan be?
- Every professional has unique talents and capabilities, not unlike superpowers. What superpowers do your top performers – past and present – have in common?
Putting It All Together
Ultimately, with all of the tips above, you should be able to navigate tricky funny interview questions with ease. Make the most of the information. That way, you can rock your next job interview no matter what the hiring manager throws at you.
Good luck!
FREE: Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet!
Download our "Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet" that gives you word-for-word sample answers to some of the most common interview questions including:
- What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
- What Is Your Greatest Strength?
- Tell Me About Yourself
- Why Should We Hire You?
- And more!
Click Here To Get The Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet
—
Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.
His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan, Penn State, Northeastern and others.
Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page.