'How would you describe the color orange?': Job seekers reveal the hardest interview questions they have ever been asked

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Feb 19, 2024 1:00 PM EST

One of the most difficult parts of many jobs is getting them in the first place. Half the time our resumes get lost under a pile of hundreds, and if we're lucky enough to get an interview there are many different ways that we could potentially mess it up. The questions (and how we answer them) are the most vital part of the whole operation, and some interviewers will stop at nothing to trip people up. 

This has been emphasized in a detailed Reddit thread, in which people shared the trickiest interview questions that they had ever been asked. Ranging from the mundane to the bafflingly creative, there's no doubt many of us would struggle with these under pressure. Thinking on your feet is always stressful, and when your income is on the line it's even worse. We don't all get to do things the nepo baby way, no matter how much we want to.

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    Playful PrincesXO 23h I was going for my first job change as I was sick of working in fast food and thought a liquor store would be a good option. In the interview I was asked to tell a story and the interviewer said: "It doesn't have to be related to the job or anything, just tell me a story that you find interesting". That is NOT something I prepared for in the slightest.
    via PlayfulPrincesXO
  • 03
    ravikrn 23h Interviewer: Lets swap roles. Take this resume (my resume) and assume you have to interview me. Make sure you ask tough questions. Me: (As I know my weak points, proceeds to ask tough questions) Interviewer: Good, now answer these questions (I was shaking during the interview)
    via ravikrn
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    Tanky50 22h I recently had an interviewer ask me why manhole covers are round. He framed it as a critical thinking question, but he wasn't prepared for me to know the actual answer, let alone answer nearly immediately. I managed to turn it around and convince him that my random knowledge is earned through the preparation I've done over the years for various projects. Didn't get that role, but he recommended me for a different one!
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  • 05
    Soul of Sorrow556 23h "Tell me about yourself". I immediately forget everything about myself
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    tukk_vuly 1d Not in-person, but recently applied for an entry-level zookeepers position. The zoo had a very long online application process, which included these three questions: • Do you have experience dealing with intense, persistent, and varied unpleasant odors, in the workplace or while volunteering, and continuing to complete your assigned tasks in spite of them? If so, give examples • On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you in your ability to deal with even the worst animal odors withou
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    Sounded kind of ominous. I'm just a recently college grad but I just talked about my experience volunteering at a farm and a doggy day care, and put "10" for the second answer, but I'm not sure if that's what they wanted or not. I did get called for a practical interview next week, so...hopefully that goes well?
    via tukk_vuly
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    blueeyesredlipstick 23h "In the 1980s, AT&T had a set of payphones in Grand Central Terminal train station in New York City. They had a problem where they were getting complaints that the lines for the payphones were getting too long, because people were spending too much time hogging the phones. AT&T came up with a solution to reduce the problem and make the lines shorter; what do you think it was? Note: the answer cannot be to add more phones to the phone bank, and it cannot be something overl
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    Allegedly, this was based on a real problem AT&T had to solve in the 80s, though I can't find any proof of it off-hand. They explained that the idea was to see if interviewees could problem-solve creatively. They liked the solution I proposed (make the train announcements louder, so that it would be harder for people to have long & unnecessary phone conversations), though according to them, the solution IRL was to EDIT: Also, just for clarity's sake, this job interview was not with AT&T, so don'
    via blueeyesredlipstick
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    Sir_Atlass 23h Not sure this counts as a question, but was tricky none-the-less. I live in the Bible Belt (Mississippi specifically) and while it's not illegal to ask what your religion is or what church you go to, it is illegal to not hire someone because of their answer. So naturally, people just avoid this line of questioning all together.
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    Anyway, I was invited on a lunch interview and when the food came the two people from the potential employer didn't eat and kept talking. I thought it was strange after about 5 minutes so I started eating and they IMMEDIATELY looked at each other and asked. who was going to say the blessing. They were waiting to see if I prayed before I ate and could therefore find out if I was religious without asking. I thought it was pretty clever to be honest. I'm not interested in working for someone that m
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    ap1msch 22h I ask candidates, "You are asked to do something that you are certain will fail. How do you proceed?" Some people say they do it because they were told to do it. Some will say they will do their best not to fail. Some will refuse to do something they know will fail. Some will say that they will escalate/complain about the unreasonable request.
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    There is no single right answer, but the conversation is important. The best candidates ask questions, like "How do I know it will fail?" or "Do I have alternative approaches that would work?" or "Am I being asked to do the thing, or am I being asked not to fail?" Asking questions is important, and getting context is important before answering. The best answer I ever got was, "I'd want to understand what I'm being contracted to do. If it's to do the failing thing, then I'd revisit the request fo
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    hugesteamingpile 22h I was interviewing as a graphic designer for a company that produced ads for cars that would go on Facebook, newspapers, banners at airports and the like. The interviewer went over the regular sort of graphic designer questions, we went over past work that I had done and I thought I done pretty well. Then I was taken to another office and sat with a woman who only asked me: "how would you describe the color orange to a blind person?" remember stumbling for an answer while th
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    Mistake Mysterious347 23h A friend of mine was asked to solve riddles. He's a programmer.
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    mattsylvanian 22h The trickiest I've been asked: "Do you tend to follow your heart or your brain more?" This was for a children's theatre, and both answers seemed simultaneously to be good and bad responses. I've never been asked this, but I actually kind of like it for the variety of ways a candidate can choose to answer: "Describe step by step how you would make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
    via mattsyIvanian
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    kittenplusboop 20h TO For a cashiering job at Target I was asked why I wanted to work there. I was about 21. Turns out "I really like the store and the variety of products you sell" is not good enough, dude called me out. Sir, this is the lowest level job you have. What kind of answer do you expect? I mostly want money.
    via kittenplusboop
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    eltedioso 23h What value can you bring to our company? I was like , you got me.
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    piquerto 23h "If you were the one conducting the interview, what question you would have asked me?" That was a bit of a curve ball for me because I didn't manage to understand the intentions behind it at that moment, so I just went: "Do you have any vices?" Followed by a 20 minutes explanation on why is relevant to fully know the person you're intending to hire, because if today I'm doing something that could end up damaging my business, tomorrow I can do the same for you. This was an Executive
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    originalchaosinabox 22h I've worked in small towns all my life. Been trying for years to get a job in the city. My last interview for a job in the city hit me with this one: "So why do you think you've never been good enough to get out of the small towns?" He did not like my answer: "Well, your rejection letters always say you're looking for applicants with more experience. So I'm out here getting more experience. Do I have enough yet?"
    via originalchaosinabox

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