If You Were a Font, What Would You Be? Wildcard Interview Questions

WHAT! “If you were a font, what would you be?” What kind of question is this? I look at these questions and sometimes just scratch my head. Have you been hit with one of these goof ball questions during an interview? Well I have. In fact, the above question was asked to applicants wanting to response to a job recently posted by a local company for an HR Director position.

These types of interview questions are sometimes called Wildcard questions or Off-The-Wall questions. The use of these oddball questions are even growing in popularity. As an HR professional, I never have been a subscriber to using these types of questions in the interview process. However, I have used them as icebreaker questions during workshops, staff offsites, and at parties when the conversation has stalled.

Over the years I have personally encountered some of these parlor-trick types of interview questions. Some were humorous or bizarre and others were just downright obnoxious. One time, right after I graduated from college, I interviewed with a company that asked a question in a written personality assessment that still ranks up there as one of the most bizarre questions ever. I kid you not, the question was: “Do you urinate in the shower when you are showering?” Obviously I didn’t work for that company.

The question that really comes to mind in asking one of these questions is: What is the interviewer going to learn from the answer? There has to be a value from the answer you receive from the candidate. What is that value? These types of questions are frequently used to break the rhythm of a well rehearsed candidate. Good candidates will prepare themselves before the interview by reviewing answers to possible questions. They also are supposed to give an insight into your reasoning skills and/or creativity. It is more about how you came about your answer than the answer itself. While it is said that there is no right or wrong answer to these types of questions, there are definitely better ways to answer these types of questions over other ways. If you get asked a wild card question, stay calm, think through your answer and reveal your reasons for the answer or the process you used to come to that conclusion.

I was discussing this title question about fonts to an HR colleague. We joked around about writing the whole cover letter in MT Extra, the symbols font (unfortunately this blog site does have it as a font option). It shows a little creativity, humor and problem solving. Problem solving on the part of the screener as he or she would need to figure out the in-joke. Basically, it is a little of the back at you mister/miss screener. However, I would suspect it likely might be viewed as a damaged or corrupted file when opened and just thrown out.

I did an internet search on these questions and found a couple of good articles that I thought I would share them with you. The first article has a laundry list of all the various oddball questions, the reasoning behind each question and suggested ways to answers them. It includes a good video clip on the “do’s and don’ts” to answering “Guestimation” questions. It also includes a Monty Python clip on interviews, which in my book, is worth the price of admission. http://hubpages.com/hub/Off-The-Wall The second article gives more rationalization behind these questions. In the article they share the response of a candidate that was faced with this question: “If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet, what would you want?" The candidate’s first response was clever and just downright perfect. At the end of the article you can go and answer 20 wildcard questions and submit them for evaluation. http://www.quintcareers.com/wild_card_interview_questions.html

So, what was the most off-the-wall question you have ever faced in an interview? I would love to hear what it was and how you responded.

Working the Network Event

I attended a professional evening network event for a trade association this past week. You know the kind where there are drinks, appetizers, and 100 people crammed into a backroom somewhere. I have to admit I am a bit out of my element at these types of functions especially when it has been a while since I have attended one.

Those of you that know me well know that I am a bit more reserved and normally on the quiet side. I am in awe of those that do these events well and make it look easy. That is not me. I have to work hard at it. I psych myself up for these settings and prepare to do some schmoozing. Just like when I play sports, I take a deep breath before stepping on to the playing field.

This event happened to be on the mezzanine level of the Bridgeport Brewery. As I entered the room I immediately saw an HR acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in a few months. Bingo, a friendly face to start the evening. As got into the conversation, I had to remind myself of a few key principles for these networking events.

#1 – Remember the end goal: You are there to make quality connections with as many new people as possible and reconnect with acquaintances that you see infrequently. It is a networking event. Not a social time between you and just one other person.

#2 –Get a lay of the land: Check out the flow of the room. Where are the drinks and food? Look and see where people are clustered. Do you recognize anyone? Are people mostly sitting or standing?

#3 – Don’t get caught up with just one person: Getting stalled with one person can be easy to do. It can be with someone you know or even someone you just met. Sometimes it is comfortable to hang around that one person but you need to remember the #1 end goal. Keep moving to meet new people.

#4 – Look to exchange business cards: Have your cards handy and easy to give out. One time I ran out of cards because I didn’t grab a new supply before heading out for an event. You have a few minutes with one or two people and you want to leave that conversation with the ability to follow up later. If you don’t offer your card and ask for theirs, you won’t be able to reconnect with them later.

#5 - Keep one hand free at all times: If you have a drink in one hand and a plate of appetizers in the other it is hard to shake someone else’s hand or exchange business cards. I remember spilling my plate or drink more than once trying to free my hand to greet someone. Keeping one hand free also takes care of the issue of feeding your face and getting crumbs or more all over your face or clothes.

#6 – Look like you are approachable: Are you smiling? Do you have arms folded? Are you standing back away from the groups? Your body posture, position in the room and whether you are smiling can make a significant difference on whether other people will approach you.

#7 - Follow up with the connections you made: Don’t waste what you have just gained. Be sure to follow up in the next day or two after the event and try to meet them one-on-one.

The Bridgeport Brewery event wrapped up and I took a deep breath as I exited the room. I made it through and was still charged up on adrenalin when I got home. My mouth was still in networking mode and my wife got more of an earful than normal. She just smiled and listened knowing that I am still burning down the nervous energy. I made some good connections at the event and I already have set up meetings this coming week with them.

I admit that I frequently read articles on how to work the room to become more skilled and comfortable doing it. I would like to hear from others that have some good tips. What do you do that works for you when you attend one of these events?