The 10 Toughest Interview Questions
Congratulations! You have made it past the application process and the scrutiny of the eyes of the infamous HR department. Now, the date is set for you to meet the person who could offer you the role of a lifetime and you don’t want to mess this up.
Preparation is key when going into the interview process, and it is important to know what questions to expect and how to approach them. From entry-level intern positions, to the CEO corner office, more and more companies are using innovative and tricky questions to sift through the numerous applications for a every role.
The number of applications is so high that employers often like to pull the rug out from under you and see how you deal with the unexpected. The main point for you to remember is to prepare for anything and everything. It is said that there isn’t a ‘right’ answer for these questions and the goal is to see how you handle the unpredicted and to reveal how you cope under pressure.
A survey was carried out online with Glassdoor to determine some of the hardest interview questions from companies in the UK.
Here are 10 examples of the toughest interview questions in the UK over the past few years:
- “Can you calculate how many tennis balls are used during the course of Wimbledon?” – Accenture
- “Estimate the total number of cars in the UK.” – Barclays Investment
- “How many calories are in a grocery store?” – Google
- “What am I thinking right now?” —Regional Director, TES Global
- “What would you take to a lonely island with you and why?”– Urban Outfitters
- “Is batman a super hero?” – AlphaSights
- “You are stranded on the moon with a group of other astronauts and you need to travel 200 miles back to base, here is a list of 15 items salvaged from the wreckage of the spacecraft you were travelling in. List them in order of importance.” —Sales Employee, Turnstone Sales
- “What cartoon character would you be and why?” – ASDA
- “What is the wildest thing you have done?” – Metro Bank
- “How do you cope with repetition?” — Product Specialist, Tesla Motors
And while Metro Bank don’t expect to hear about the time you ran through fields of wheat, they do want to know more about you and how you deal with difficult scenarios under pressure.
The key to the answer is to be honest yet strategic, giving enough information about yourself without taking yourself out of the running.
If you are are registered with 19 London and want some tips before your next interview, please feel free to get in touch with a member of the team, who will be more than happy to offer some guidance and support through what can be a stressful experience for many! Good luck!