As the competition to find the best talent heats up, many organisations are considering ways in which they can stand out from the crowd throughout their recruitment process.

We’ve seen the likes of Google ask candidates “how many golf balls can fit in a school bus?” while Urban Outfitters wanted to know “What would the name of your debut album be?" and there are a whole host of other examples floating around the internet.

But perhaps the real question we should be asking ourselves as business owners is just how effective these ‘quirky’ questions can be? The consensus is still unclear so I’ve explored the reasoning in more detail below, discussing whether companies should be asking oddball questions when interviewing.

Thinking on their feet

In many companies, attitude over aptitude is really important and asking your interviewee to think on their feet can help to uncover whether they have what it takes to be successful in the job that you’re hiring for.

Most of the ‘quirky’ questions asked won’t have a right or wrong answer but can reveal a lot about the candidate that you’re meeting with, especially in terms of how they’d approach a difficult situation and deal with challenges.

Getting the real deal

There’s a whole host of interview tips and advice out there for candidates and there’s no doubt you may have heard the same rehearsed answers time and time again! For example: ‘my weakness is that I’m too much of a perfectionist’ – sure!

Humanising the recruitment process is important and as mentioned above, you can really begin to understand a candidate on a deeper level when you throw in a few, less traditional, questions.

Covering all the facts

According to our research, one quarter (25.9%) of workers think that tricky interview questions don’t cover the important facts that an interviewer needs to know.

If you decide that you want to include quirky questions as part of your interview process, make sure you have collected all the important information first, so you can make a fair judgement based on the candidate’s ability to do the job and contribute to the business.

Candidate turn-offs

Job hunters are feeling the pressure, with one in 10 being put off applying for a role because of these types of questions. Nowadays, candidates can find out all about your interview process at the click of a button and may not want to meet you if they think it’s going to be a daunting experience.

Managing your reputation online is important and if you are getting quite a bit of negative feedback on your interviews, it may be a good idea to change your approach.

So what’s right and what’s wrong?!

Every company is different and the types of questions you ask in an interview should be reflective of your brand and what your company is about. Always think about the reasoning behind asking a question and what you want to get out of meeting the candidate.

This should help you shape your strategy for interviewing and ultimately hire the people that are the best fit for your organisation.