7 New and Unusual Methods Job Interviewers Are Already Using to Test You

People might think that most questions asked during a job interview are common and predictable. However, this is not completely true. The interviewers usually want to know more about your skills and qualifications for a position, but they also may try to evaluate your personality in some rather surprising ways.

5-Minute Crafts has decided to share some unusual techniques used by job recruiters that can reveal a lot about a candidate’s personality.

Technique 1. The “Coffee Cup” Test

Trent Innes, the former managing director of a company called Xero, reveals that they test their potential employees by conducting a rather unusual personality test. When the candidate arrives, they are taken for a walk to the kitchen and given a drink. When the interview is finished, the recruiter pays attention to whether the candidate will take the cup back to the kitchen or just leave it empty on the table. According to Innes, this is a good indication of the person’s attitude. The company’s concept is all about the culture of ownership, so the “wash your own coffee cup” concept is highly relevant to them.

Technique 2. The “Weirdness” Test

Chris Savage, the co-founder and CEO of Wistia, has said that they like to ask their candidates how weird they are on a scale from 1 to 10. Although this might seem rather unusual at first, the interviewer’s aim here is to check whether the candidate will be completely genuine while answering and just be themselves. The candidate who replies with excitement and comes off as authentic is quite likely to get the job.

Technique 3. The Trial Run Test

Pratham Mittal from OutGrow has talked about the Trial Run test used at their company. The recruiter is putting the candidate into the epicenter of action and checking how they would handle an actual work day. They should spend the entire day doing tasks that are part of the job description as if they were a full-time employee. This helps the interviewer discover how the potential employee interacts with other people, what attitude they adopt toward the company goals, and how they spend their working hours when there are no particular tasks to do.

Technique 4. The Ping-Pong Test

Rob Bellenfant, the CEO of Technology Advice, believes that introducing a little friendly competition during the evaluation process can help them assess their candidates better. For example, inviting a candidate to play a ping-pong game with an experienced player can give the recruiter broader insight into their personality. For instance, the interviewer can find out about their approach to the game and, by doing so, check out their ambition and willingness to adapt to new conditions. This way, it’s also possible to see how a potential hire handles a loss.

Technique 5. The “Superstar Candidate” Test

Tejune Kang, the founder of the IT firm, Six Dimensions, has revealed a technique they use to find a superstar candidate. According to him, all the employees in his company have a desirable background, degree, and skill set, so his goal is to find so-called superstar candidates — those who are driven and truly want the job.

This is why during the interviews he misleads the candidates by telling them he just doesn’t see that extra quality in them. Many candidates do not continue the conversation, appreciate the opportunity, and simply leave. But Tejune wants to find a person eager to prove him wrong. The superstar candidate knows they deserve to be part of the company’s team and work hard to prove it.

Technique 6. The “Research” Test

Most recruiters usually complain about candidates who just don’t do enough research about the company they are being interviewed for. In their opinion, the lack of knowledge about the position and what the company does is a sign of indifference. If you want to be taken seriously, make sure you demonstrate you are well-prepared for the interview and the job opportunity. At the end of the day, companies like it when they are admired.

Technique 7. The “Shuttle Driver” Test

Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of the online retailer, Zappos, once mentioned his company used a rather interesting personality test while interviewing their potential employees. Those candidates that lived out of town were picked up by a company shuttle bus and, at the end of the day, the shuttle driver had to say how they were treated by the candidates. In case they hadn’t been nice to the driver, they wouldn’t be hired, no matter how well their interview went.

Have you ever had an unusual test to complete at a job interview? If so, what was it like?